OT Sleep solutions?
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EL PRESIDENTE
Username Retired in Honor of Lanny.
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Have you tried blue blocking glasses a few hours prior to bed?
https://www.swanwicksleep.com/
These are pretty expensive though, you can get much cheaper ones but this guy seems cool, listen to his podcast. He's more of a business guy than a sleep guru.
https://www.swanwicksleep.com/
These are pretty expensive though, you can get much cheaper ones but this guy seems cool, listen to his podcast. He's more of a business guy than a sleep guru.
donkiez
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I dont think CBDs are meant to help with sleeping. My goto for good sleep is to have a giant dab when I get home from work, make dinner, eat dinner, have another dab, then try not to drool on myself as I pass out around 8 or 9 pm. Works every time.
Also may be obvious but have you tried things like going to bed early, no electronics (except maybe TV) for the last hour? Electronics are really bad for "amping" up your brain.
Also may be obvious but have you tried things like going to bed early, no electronics (except maybe TV) for the last hour? Electronics are really bad for "amping" up your brain.
Natebishop3
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Ever tried Zquil? It usually works for me.
If you're looking for a long term solution.... I got nothing.
If you're looking for a long term solution.... I got nothing.
Haakzilla
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...here is some great info regarding CBD oil tinctures --> https://www.marijuanabreak.com/best-cbd-oils-sleep-review <-- combine any of those with melatonin and you should be able to sleep like a baby without feeling groggy the next morning
Sheldon Shape
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Been doing Melatonin for a decade. It's the only thing that works without harmful effects for me.
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Workout super hard after work, smoke a fat blunt with a deep indica strain, then jerk off.
It’s the ultimate sleep solution.
It’s the ultimate sleep solution.
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Meletonin, magnesium, benadryl, a long movie, a cup of hot chocolate, a cup of chamomille tea...all work for me.
dviss1
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Smoke Indica.
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Melotonin, Chamomille tea, Magnesium and folic acid and fail videos with the volume turned down.
calvin natt
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Have had sleep issues forever. Tried almost all of the above. Some worked, some didn't. I think you need to first figure out whats making you stay awake. For instance, if you have anxiety, you can take things that treat the anxiety and will make you sleep - Remeron will do it. If you just are antsy at night and cant settle down, maybe its a Zquil or something light, a melatonin, or glass of wine. It all depends on the cause. Whatever it is, it can be fixed, so keep trying things.
MARIS61
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Best results will come from a little exercise, a large glass of water, some slow, deep breathing, and mentally relaxing your entire body.
Drugs may knock you out, but you will get few of the actual health benefits of natural sleep.
Drugs may knock you out, but you will get few of the actual health benefits of natural sleep.
riverman
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water before sleep is not good advice
PDXFonz
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Yes, and it is tough work strangling liberals. I bet you sleep like a baby.
bodyman5000 and 1
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I've had horrible nightmares my entire life. I just didn't want to sleep they are so bad. Finally I found a way to look forward to going to bed. Each night when I think it is time, I look at one of the many @HCP selfies that litter this forum.
After that horror show a few demons and ghost dreams seem like a step up.
By the way, any picture that makes Steve Blake look like a Hollywood leading man....yikes.
crandc
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Stevenson, I am an unwitting expert, having suffered chronic and sometimes severe insomnia for about 8 years or so.
I define two types, situational and true insomnia. Situational is being upset, angry, worried, excited (it can even be over a good thing) and can't sleep. IMO taking sleep aids works for situational insomnia which generally lasts only a night or two. If it lasts longer, then the underlying problem needs to be resolved.
True insomnia has no reason for being. Ordinary day, ordinary evening, feeling just normal physically & mentally, no reason the person should not be able to sleep, and BOOM, can't get to sleep, even when he/she was unable to keep eyes open before going to bed. Mild insomnia means getting to sleep after a while. Moderate, get out of bed, eventually fall asleep. Severe, up all night.
As to what to do - you've probably researched the basics, avoid electronics before bed, exercise during day but not near bedtime, avoid heavy meals late. Try to sleep in quiet room, although if you live in urban area, where neighbors rev motorcycles and have outdoor parties, that can be tough.
If you don't fall asleep in about 20 minutes, get out of bed. You will only stress out more tossing & turning. Make some herbal tea (chamomile is soothing), find a comfy couch, read something low impact. A lightweight novel you've read before, or yes, a cookbook. That has helped me fall asleep on couch and at some point I would wake enough to stumble to bed.
Severe insomnia, nothing. Nothing. Nothing works. Do you get "earworms"? Because I sometimes felt I don't mind being up all night if the noise would JUST STOP. One line of a song repeating over and over and over and over. Every time I would start to fall asleep I would be awakened by the same line playing over and over. (The earworms were different each bout. I now, not surprisingly, LOATHE every song that ever kept me up.) Sometimes playing soft music through headphones would drown out earworm, with moderate insomnia but with the really bad bouts, NOTHING. And no one who has not experienced that cannot understand how absolutely maddening it can be.
So - the one useful thing I learned from a sleep specialist (more on that later), is just keep telling yourself you won't die, even though at 3 AM you might feel like it. You'll be tired. You won't die. I am not joking, believe me, anyone who has been up several consecutive nights hearing the same line waking them up over and over knows this is no joke.
OK - medical. I went to a sleep specialist. She tried to use drugs. Cure worse than disease. No one told me a side effect of Lunestra is panic attacks. I thought I was going totally off my onion, in a constant state of panic verging on terror. It wasn't me, it was the drug. I found that out because at the time I was still at Genentech and they get a 10 day holiday break. Lunestra was no longer working well so I figured during the break I'd stop taking it, insomnia would be easier to handle when I did not have to go to work next day. After a week off Lunestra all the panic symptoms disappeared. I looked it up and that's when I learned it was a well known side effect.
Several years later my primary suggested a neurologist. It was unlikely, but possible, the earworms were caused by micro-seizures which can be treated. After various testing, everything came back normal. So not neurological.
Did research on earworms. The lines that get stuck in our heads are generally repetitive and catchy. Articles I read suggested they can sometimes be driven out by singing something that is repetitive but not catchy. Many countries' national anthems fit that. The US does not, however, both Oh Canada and God Save the Queen do. I can't tell you how many millions of Oh Canadas I've sung to myself! It works with mild earworms but as I said when they are really bad nothing works.
Then later on I tried a behaviorist. By this time I had researched insomnia and earworms so thoroughly that she told me I was already doing everything she would suggest.
I have heard marijuana can help, but I work at a place that is under US Drug Enforcement Agency regulations. We can be tested any time and the feds don't recognize state laws allowing marijuana, medical or otherwise, so I can't try it.
Upshot of all this, I have insomnia!
Don't know if any of this screed was helpful. Best. If nothing else you sure as hell have my sympathy.
I define two types, situational and true insomnia. Situational is being upset, angry, worried, excited (it can even be over a good thing) and can't sleep. IMO taking sleep aids works for situational insomnia which generally lasts only a night or two. If it lasts longer, then the underlying problem needs to be resolved.
True insomnia has no reason for being. Ordinary day, ordinary evening, feeling just normal physically & mentally, no reason the person should not be able to sleep, and BOOM, can't get to sleep, even when he/she was unable to keep eyes open before going to bed. Mild insomnia means getting to sleep after a while. Moderate, get out of bed, eventually fall asleep. Severe, up all night.
As to what to do - you've probably researched the basics, avoid electronics before bed, exercise during day but not near bedtime, avoid heavy meals late. Try to sleep in quiet room, although if you live in urban area, where neighbors rev motorcycles and have outdoor parties, that can be tough.
If you don't fall asleep in about 20 minutes, get out of bed. You will only stress out more tossing & turning. Make some herbal tea (chamomile is soothing), find a comfy couch, read something low impact. A lightweight novel you've read before, or yes, a cookbook. That has helped me fall asleep on couch and at some point I would wake enough to stumble to bed.
Severe insomnia, nothing. Nothing. Nothing works. Do you get "earworms"? Because I sometimes felt I don't mind being up all night if the noise would JUST STOP. One line of a song repeating over and over and over and over. Every time I would start to fall asleep I would be awakened by the same line playing over and over. (The earworms were different each bout. I now, not surprisingly, LOATHE every song that ever kept me up.) Sometimes playing soft music through headphones would drown out earworm, with moderate insomnia but with the really bad bouts, NOTHING. And no one who has not experienced that cannot understand how absolutely maddening it can be.
So - the one useful thing I learned from a sleep specialist (more on that later), is just keep telling yourself you won't die, even though at 3 AM you might feel like it. You'll be tired. You won't die. I am not joking, believe me, anyone who has been up several consecutive nights hearing the same line waking them up over and over knows this is no joke.
OK - medical. I went to a sleep specialist. She tried to use drugs. Cure worse than disease. No one told me a side effect of Lunestra is panic attacks. I thought I was going totally off my onion, in a constant state of panic verging on terror. It wasn't me, it was the drug. I found that out because at the time I was still at Genentech and they get a 10 day holiday break. Lunestra was no longer working well so I figured during the break I'd stop taking it, insomnia would be easier to handle when I did not have to go to work next day. After a week off Lunestra all the panic symptoms disappeared. I looked it up and that's when I learned it was a well known side effect.
Several years later my primary suggested a neurologist. It was unlikely, but possible, the earworms were caused by micro-seizures which can be treated. After various testing, everything came back normal. So not neurological.
Did research on earworms. The lines that get stuck in our heads are generally repetitive and catchy. Articles I read suggested they can sometimes be driven out by singing something that is repetitive but not catchy. Many countries' national anthems fit that. The US does not, however, both Oh Canada and God Save the Queen do. I can't tell you how many millions of Oh Canadas I've sung to myself! It works with mild earworms but as I said when they are really bad nothing works.
Then later on I tried a behaviorist. By this time I had researched insomnia and earworms so thoroughly that she told me I was already doing everything she would suggest.
I have heard marijuana can help, but I work at a place that is under US Drug Enforcement Agency regulations. We can be tested any time and the feds don't recognize state laws allowing marijuana, medical or otherwise, so I can't try it.
Upshot of all this, I have insomnia!
Don't know if any of this screed was helpful. Best. If nothing else you sure as hell have my sympathy.
Stevenson
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@crandc, thank you. That is very helpful, and kind of you to take so much time writing it.
I do many of the things you suggest. Your insight that really helped already was "the worst that can happen is that you will be tired the next day." Good advice! Sometimes when I am up at 3 am, I can get into a panic about the next day, so that really helps. My sweet wife falls asleep in about 2 minutes, so lying next to her deep breathing so quickly can also up my anxiety level.
Yes, I also get earworms sometimes, strangely, it happens most if I happen to hear the soundtrack from The Producers. I swear! Damn that Mel Brooks can write a catchy tune. Ha!
I have sworn this week to get off the Ambien and that's why this is up right now. The melatonin and chamomile and no electronics is helping. Yesterday I went to the pot store and bought some edibles. I took those too last night. Apparently they were not cbds like I thought as I woke up 2 hours later totally stoned!
I do many of the things you suggest. Your insight that really helped already was "the worst that can happen is that you will be tired the next day." Good advice! Sometimes when I am up at 3 am, I can get into a panic about the next day, so that really helps. My sweet wife falls asleep in about 2 minutes, so lying next to her deep breathing so quickly can also up my anxiety level.
Yes, I also get earworms sometimes, strangely, it happens most if I happen to hear the soundtrack from The Producers. I swear! Damn that Mel Brooks can write a catchy tune. Ha!
I have sworn this week to get off the Ambien and that's why this is up right now. The melatonin and chamomile and no electronics is helping. Yesterday I went to the pot store and bought some edibles. I took those too last night. Apparently they were not cbds like I thought as I woke up 2 hours later totally stoned!
