Official insomnia thread

[fightinfrenchman]

So despite waking up relatively early this morning and taking a NyQuil a bit ago I can't sleep. My heart is racing, feels like I took a Biaxin again (long story).

What are your suggestions for going to sleep? Alternatively just post your thoughts about how/why you can't sleep.

[evilcheadar]

I usually drink a lot of soda then can't sleep.

[deleted_user]

It's strange, NyQuil and Tylenol PM and such make you drowsy but only drowsy. If it is anxiety keeping you awake you'll be thrust into a hell hole of desperately being too anxious to sleep, not wanting to, and thus fighting a rather convincing biological response to the medicine. It makes for a very unpleasant experience.

Reading is the honest to god best solution I've found, personally. Reliance on any addling substance, OTC or legal or not will likely produce some sort of dependence. Sleep is one of those natural things, heavy on rhythm. Go to sleep and wake up at the same times. No screen time 15 minutes before bed. I have even used meditation to my benefit before. Wake up to natural light, drink a glass of water in the morning, etc.

Too many nights I've spent lying wide awake, getting anxious, and needing to reach for my phone, staring at that screen for 10 minutes, and repeating the process for hours. Reading induces a natural drowsiness generally for me. Make sure it's not a too suspenseful piece!

[HUMMAN]

Sports, do things you will get tired.

[Cometk]

make sure your bed is made and comfortable. i've also found that heavy blankets (ie. weighted blankets) help me get a better nights rest

unrelated but you should clean your pillowcase often, your skin will thank you

[momuuu]

Dont take shit to fall asleep. Its a terrible idea. Except maybe if you cant sleep due to stress, but then just solve the stress.

Im a poor sleeper, Ive always been like that. Part of it is that Im a night owl, but even if I go to bed only when Im really tired it takes more than an hour on average to fall asleep. In high school my parents would make me go to bed at 10-10:30 pm and I was usually still awake at 1:30 am. But thats not all bad, you still rest some by lying down, and you have some time to contemplate life what new shitposts to make.

Sometimes you just cant sleep, then so be it. Ive had nights where I couldnt actually sleep at all but then the next night you'll be more tired and sleep well.

[Snuden]

A quick wank.

[Dolan]

First steps:
- Remove all caffeine-based drinks from diet: coffee, coke, RedBull. So no coffee and energy drinks. None at all.
- No psychoactive drugs that could stimulate or influence your alertness/wakefulness.

2nd steps:
- Don't miss any chance to go to sleep earlier. Always try to sleep during the night and be awake during the day, because that's the optimal time for your brain to secrete melatonin naturally (depending on light exposure). Sleeping during the day and staying awake during the night messes with this natural secretion of melatonin and is likely to have systemic effects in the whole body. If you don't sleep right, things get toxic for the whole body, because it doesn't get the chance to repair things that get broken during wakefulness.
- When you get a good night of sleep, next day make sure you do plenty of physical effort, to accumulate fatigue during the day.
- Do not sleep during the day, even if you're sleepy. Sleep can be a spent quantity: if you spend some during the day, you may have less of it during the night.

3rd steps:
- Get some sleep hygiene. Meaning, make sure after 9PM all your lights in the house and your devices (phone, tablet, PC) are red-shifted by blocking any blue light, which induces mental alertness. Leave the window open to let some fresh air in the room, before going to sleep. Gradually dim all your lights in your home and on your devices, until by the time you get close to the point of going to sleep, their brightness is also very low. There are apps both for PC and phone/tablet to control the brightness and red-shift in the display.
- Create some atmosphere in the room, which can induce drowsiness, like listening to very soothing music on a very low volume, as soft as possible, but still just a bit audible.
- Maybe using some very comfy blankets and sleep position might help too.

4th step:
- Read on a device with red-shifted lighting and very low brightness (under 10%). Read some boring and long articles on wikipedia or something like that. Don't read anything that requires you to reply or is likely to provoke mental alertness (so nothing violent, nothing about crime, conflict etc).

If nothing works, go to a doctor.

[deleted_user]

that's pretty much a /thread right there

[momuuu]

Actually, don't go to bed early unless you're tired. This is key for poor sleepers imo.

[Dolan]

Well, yeah, if you go to sleep too early, you risk waking up too early, like 1-2AM.
So after 10.30.-11.00PM I think it's OK to go to sleep, if you feel really tired. Don't miss that chance, if you get sleepy before your usual late hour of sleep. I think many people sometimes delay their sleep and ignore the first signs of sleepiness, and eventually they push themselves to stay up too late.

[momuuu]

If I do that though, I literally fall asleep for an hour or two and then lie awake for another hour or two.

[deleted_user]

If I do that though, I literally fall asleep for an hour or two and then lie awake for another hour or two.

What does your alcohol consumption look like these days? That fucks with sleep pretty hard.

[tedere12]

What works for me is NOT thinking when I go to bed. I try to clear my brain from random thoughts that do not allow me to sleep. Try to think nothing. What is also good is getting yourself tired. Do some excercises, or go for a walk during the evening.

[momuuu]

If I do that though, I literally fall asleep for an hour or two and then lie awake for another hour or two.

What does your alcohol consumption look like these days? That fucks with sleep pretty hard.

Non alcoholic

[deleted_user]

If I do that though, I literally fall asleep for an hour or two and then lie awake for another hour or two.

What does your alcohol consumption look like these days? That fucks with sleep pretty hard.

Non alcoholic

Could be something to look into anyways

[Snuden]

I guess I am blessed in regards to sleep :)
All I do is lay my head on the pillow and 2 minutes later i'm sleeping like a child. I have started to wake up at 4am-ish for a night piss though, which I see as an opportunity for a smoke without getting caught.

[DayoftheNinja]

Adhering to a sleep schedule has been the best for me, just got a Fitbit the other day to help keep track. I get 6.5 hours a night but now that things are consistent I feel much better.

[gibson]

Adhering to a sleep schedule has been the best for me, just got a Fitbit the other day to help keep track. I get 6.5 hours a night but now that things are consistent I feel much better.

Yes keeping to a strict sleep schedule is very underrated. Iv also had a slightly easier time sleeping since I started taking a vitamin d supplement.

[n0el]

Wake up to natural light

@deleted_user4 you would

[fightinfrenchman]

if you cant sleep due to stress, but then just solve the stress.

Thanks for this advice, I never considered it before. Seems easy enough!

[momuuu]

if you cant sleep due to stress, but then just solve the stress.

Thanks for this advice, I never considered it before. Seems easy enough!

In your case it's probably impossible.

[deleted_user]

@n0el In my old house I had a window right next to my bed. The window had two panes. The space between the two panes was large enough for a beer can. During the winter time I would regularly store many beers in there. It was a natural mini fridge and wickedly ingenious if I do say so myself.

[Guigs]

Even if you don't manage to sleep, close your eyes and focus on your breath, even if you're not sleeping, your body will rest

[lejend]

Don't do drugs, kids. Just make sure to be active and get plenty of exercise during the day. The reason people can't fall asleep is because they aren't tired.