5 ms·

I used to suffer terrible sleep until recently. Always exhausted in the morning. Sore all over. Missed meetings, or called in sick some days. Would wake up arou

I used to suffer terrible sleep until recently. Always exhausted in the morning. Sore all over. Missed meetings, or called in sick some days. Would wake up around 11 if I could Now I can wake up around 630 am, lift weights, do HIIT, and be early to work Melatonin wakes me up in the middle of the night. I take Unisom (Doxylamine) as well. Works pretty well in combination I have blackout curtains but I need some light to wake me up in the am, so I leave them open about six inches on one side I eat a small organic meal for dinner, early as I can, usually by 630

TheEzEzz 8y ago
Just an anecdotal warning. Unisom is not recommended for long term use. I didn't know this and used it for a year straight to combat stress induced insomnia during my first startup. It took me a few years before I returned to feeling "normal". YMMV.
- travbrack 8y ago
  Another data point: I've been using it on and off for a year now and it's been a life saver. I can reliably get to sleep when I need to for the first time in my life As best I can tell it's not recommended for long term use because it hasn't been studied for that purpose and because there are prescription sleep aids that don't cause as much drowsiness I'm terrified of taking a prescription sleep aid because of all the sleepwalking horror stories. I take only 5 mg so the drowsiness isn't that big of a problem for me especially if I exercise in the morning. I'll take drowsy and rested over alert and unrested any day.
  - joveian 8y ago
    The first generation antihistamines are strongly anticholinergic, so long term use might have cognative effects and may increase the chance of dementia later in life. They can also interact with a lot of other medication since they are much less specific than most drugs. I agree that they are still quite a bit better than GABA-A agonists. IMO, any sleep medication is best taken with breaks as frequently as possible, which can both increase effectiveness when you take it and reduce side effects of long term use.
    - travbrack 8y ago
      Wow, that is good to know. Thank you.
droopyEyelids 8y ago
Can you share any more details about your life?
- spraak 8y ago
  It's hard to tell if you're being snarky/sarcastic or sincere
jambalaya 8y ago
If it helps I found melatonin wakes me up in the middle of the night if I take too much of it.
spraak 8y ago
Do you drink caffeine? Discontinuing caffeine improved my sleep quality dramatically.

TheEzEzz 8y ago

Just an anecdotal warning. Unisom is not recommended for long term use. I didn't know this and used it for a year straight to combat stress induced insomnia during my first startup. It took me a few years before I returned to feeling "normal". YMMV.

travbrack 8y ago
Another data point: I've been using it on and off for a year now and it's been a life saver. I can reliably get to sleep when I need to for the first time in my life As best I can tell it's not recommended for long term use because it hasn't been studied for that purpose and because there are prescription sleep aids that don't cause as much drowsiness I'm terrified of taking a prescription sleep aid because of all the sleepwalking horror stories. I take only 5 mg so the drowsiness isn't that big of a problem for me especially if I exercise in the morning. I'll take drowsy and rested over alert and unrested any day.
- joveian 8y ago
  The first generation antihistamines are strongly anticholinergic, so long term use might have cognative effects and may increase the chance of dementia later in life. They can also interact with a lot of other medication since they are much less specific than most drugs. I agree that they are still quite a bit better than GABA-A agonists. IMO, any sleep medication is best taken with breaks as frequently as possible, which can both increase effectiveness when you take it and reduce side effects of long term use.
  - travbrack 8y ago
    Wow, that is good to know. Thank you.

droopyEyelids 8y ago

Can you share any more details about your life?

spraak 8y ago
It's hard to tell if you're being snarky/sarcastic or sincere

jambalaya 8y ago

If it helps I found melatonin wakes me up in the middle of the night if I take too much of it.

spraak 8y ago

Do you drink caffeine? Discontinuing caffeine improved my sleep quality dramatically.