help with insomnia, please!

[buttons11]

I take magnesium for my asthma but I'm grateful it does help me sleep. 200mg doesn't seem to do much 600mg was great for my sleep BUT...

Be careful with the dose though. Magnesium can soften stools and induce diarrhea if taking more that what your body tolerates. Each of us responds differently. I got 200mg capsules so I could 'start low and go slow' working my way up...I'm stuck at 400mg at the moment. But I'm working on slowly increasing my intake of dietary fiber so I can continue to increase my magnesium dose. My target dose for asthma is 600-800mg daily as tolerated.

I take my magnesium about 30 minutes before bedtime. Then I make sure to take my inhalers and brush my teeth etc right after i take the magnesium so I am ready for bed when I get sleepy. If I force staying awake for 1.5-2 hours after taking the magnesium, the sleepy benefit slips away... . If I time it just right, I can barely make it to bed and get the light turned out.

Hot herbal tea like camomile [I like Celestial Seasonings sleepy time] really any warm non-caffienated non-sugary beverage may help...even warm water.

Warm bath helps some people. I don't take baths much due to dry skin, but they are relaxing.

Yoga, meditation, and/or breathing exercises can help some also.

And, Yes perimenopause can Wreck your sleep...just depends on how your hormones surge. I've had occasional challenges with this so far. But, if my Mom's & Sister's track record is any indication, more sleep challenges lie ahead

Lots of great VF'ers suggestions above. The list of 'sleep hygiene' tips is long, and sleep can still be quite frankly, frustratingly illusive. With all these suggestions, it's important to try one thing at a time to see what helps and what doesn't. Sherry, I hope you find something that works for you.

[Vantreesta]

Originally Posted by Tracyso2

Not sure what's wrong with registering for the app...I'm pretty sure there's a free version, and the one I paid for (optionally) was, I think, $4.99. ??? To each her own, I guess. I hope someone else can help.

There's nothing wrong with it really. It's just a weird thing I have. I prefer being anonymous whenever possible.

[Bubbeez]

Sorry you are having trouble sleeping Sherry.

I have had periodic insomnia for years.

What works for me...Melatonin, magnesium, and a warm shower right before bed. I also have great nights when I sleep on freshly washed sheets!

After my first acupuncture treatment I slept like the dead. Subsequent treatments did not have the same effect.

Good luck to you on improving your zzzzzzzzzzzz's.

[BunnyHop]

I've had insomnia issues in recent years too. Staying asleep is my main issue.

Last spring/summer I had worse trouble than usual so I worked hard to figure out if anything I was taking/ingesting might have been the problem. Lots of allergy meds act like stimulants on me, so that was one culprit.

We did some blood work and figured out that I have some deficiencies, and was taking too much of some things and not enough of others.

I'm sleeping better now, feeling better, more rested, but still haven't quite figured out which antihistamine I can tolerate, so I cycle on and off with small amounts of Allegra just to keep things under control. Very frustrating.

Oh, and yes, I take something to help me stay asleep, but I realize that option isn't for everyone. At the moment I'm trying to reduce my dose for a while to see if I can get away with it. Wasn't sleeping all that consistently anyway. sigh.

I feel your pain, I really do (she said, at 11:24 PM, LOL!)

[bzar]

Originally Posted by dutchgirl

Here are suggestions I give to clients.

1) Stop looking at things that emit blue light (phones, tablets, TV) at least 1 hour prior to your bedtime.
2) Finish drinking all fluids 1 hour before your bedtime so you won't have to get up to pee.
3) If you need a snack before bedtime make sure it's protein dense and light on sugars.
4) If you're in bed and can't sleep, get up and leave the room until feeling sleepy. Do not watch TV, check your phone, etc. You can read and you can color. Go back to your bed when you feel sleepy. You don't want to associate your bed with feelings of frustration.
5) If you can't sleep because of stress or worry, make a worry box. Prior to going to bed, write your worries/stresses on slips of paper and place them in the worry box. Make a ritual of putting your worries away for the night and leave the box in a room outside the bedroom. Revisit the worries the next morning and actively decide if you need them for that day.
6) Utilize aromatherapy. Find a scent that is soothing or calming for you. Light a candle of that scent, use a diffuser, or apply to hands and throat as a lotion prior to bedtime. Only use the scent for nighttime.
7) Make sure the room temperature is cool (not cold) and the room is adequately dark.

I would also suggest yoga and stretching, specifically forward folds and upper back stretches.

Good luck! Poor sleep is a real energy and emotion suck.

yes.

I would also like to add, from a feng shui standpoint:

1) remove all mirrors. if you can't do this easily, cover them with a large cloth.
2) move TVs, Laptops, cell phones, tablets, all electronic devices to another room. if you have a clock that you can see in the dark, face it away from you
3) the above is to reduce energy in the room.

also - make the room as dark as possible:
1) buy eye shades!
2) use "black out" curtains/drapes or install a liner between the curtains and the windows

i also loaded this recording to my MP3 player:
I can make you sleep

keep a notebook next to your bed and write down whatever is on your mind that might be keeping you awake. take a warm shower before bed.

i discovered a new strategy:
when i'm laying in bed, i imagine gravity weighing me down, every muscle, joint, bone in my body is heavy, heavy, heavy. i imagine every cell in my body descending to the earth. i sometimes imagine being bundled up like a baby.

when my thoughts distract me from relaxing, i imagine it's playing in my head innnnnnnn sloooooow mooooooootionnnnnnnnn.

[BunnyHop]

Originally Posted by bzar

...
i discovered a new strategy:
when i'm laying in bed, i imagine gravity weighing me down, every muscle, joint, bone in my body is heavy, heavy, heavy. i imagine every cell in my body descending to the earth. i sometimes imagine being bundled up like a baby.

when my thoughts distract me from relaxing, i imagine it's playing in my head innnnnnnn sloooooow mooooooootionnnnnnnnn.

I like these ideas, will definitely give them a try. Thanks for sharing!

[PhyllisG]

Read this somewhere and it has worked for me. Start at 300 and count backward minus 3....297, 294, etc.

[leigh1673]

I've had sleep issues on and off since I was in college - so I feel your pain!

A few things that help me:

1. Natural Calm powder before bed
2. Melatonin
3. A hot (hot as you can make it without it being painful!) bath with Epsom salt, baking soda and a few drops of lavender oil about an hour before bed
4. When I'm really desperate - Unisom. Not the kind with diphenhydramine - the kind with doxylamine succinate.

[spotted zebra]

.

[Sue B]

Originally Posted by PhyllisG

Read this somewhere and it has worked for me. Start at 300 and count backward minus 3....297, 294, etc.

I do something similar, count slowly backward from 100. I don't think I've ever made it to 1.