4 ms·

<bitter>We need to change the name of this site to “Sleep – is there anything it can’t do?”</bitter> (My sleep is absolute garbage despite years of attempts to

by tomcam 5y ago

<bitter>We need to change the name of this site to “Sleep – is there anything it can’t do?”</bitter> (My sleep is absolute garbage despite years of attempts to fix it, and all of these articles both scare and dismay me)

xmprt 5y ago
I'm sure you've probably tried everything but the thing that helped me the most was being extremely strict about forcing myself to wake up and sleep at regular times (even if I wasn't feeling tired. A little melatonin can help with that). Also, restricting screen time before bed. For the first week it's really tough especially when you have a lot of other things going on in life, but you'll quickly notice gradual improvements - like sleeping at 1am instead of 2 or 3am.
- tomcam 5y ago
  Thanks kindly for sharing. I will absolutely listen to and try just about anything. That fixed wake up time concept seems to be the bedrock of sensible sleep programs. It makes massive common sense. Unfortunately it nearly ruined my life. I tried it for a couple of months and it ground my life to a raging headache halt, taking my sleep from two or three hours a night to 30 minutes or an hour if that. Restricting screen time before bed doesn’t seem to matter for me, but what I did find to be very helpful was not to have any in the periods I wake up at night, which happen at least every hour. Melatonin does nothing for me, whether it’s 1mg or 10mg. Very touched that you took the time.
  - xmprt 5y ago
    If you're getting less than 4 hours of sleep a night then you might want to see a sleep therapist or neurologist specializing in sleep. That seems out of the realm of things that you can fix with sheer willpower and determination.
    - tomcam 5y ago
      Hey! Never thought about a neurologist! All sleep specialists have been useless. Great idea! Thank you, I shall.
mcntsh 5y ago
I've also struggled a lot with insomnia and the best advice I can give is: 1. See a therapist 2. Avoid taking sleep medication 3. Accept that you're not going to sleep when you aren't sleeping If you're not taking drugs then everything that you're going through when you're not sleeping is natural. Your body is designed to go without sleep. When you haven't slept in 48 hours don't worry about "not sleeping again tonight" just accept that you may not and that's fine, and you'll sleep eventually. Following this advice I've gotten into a rhythm where I've slept 7h a night for months. I've had maybe a couple bad nights but it never spirals out.
- tomcam 5y ago
  Thank you. 1. I had ~15 years' therapy with multiple approaches & therapists w/out success. 2. I used to happily try any sleep medication but none works for more than a week or so, and now I take the same attitude as you. 3. I do get up and do something else when not sleeping, but lately the sleep has been so ratched I'm not as successful. Have also tried things like yoga, meditation, melatonin, milk before bed, waking at a fixed hour, eating early, eating late, not eating at all, high complex carb diet, paleo diet, exercising early in the day, exercising late in the day, not exercising, and others. Very grateful for the advice, though. I am very very open to it and am grateful for your caring.
  - mcntsh 5y ago
    Look all I gotta say is you’re in very good company. Insomnia is extremely common, your body is designed to have it and is super equipped to deal with sleep deprivation.
    - tomcam 4y ago
      That’s actually very comforting, especially because I’m old and a new article comes out every other week explaining how it shortens one’s life!
sinsterizme 5y ago
You can try experimenting with supplements. I’ve been taking l-theanine and I’ve been sleeping throughout the night now, whereas before I would wake up within 3 hours. I think my GABA levels are low which also manifests as anxiety so you can look into which neurotransmitter(s) you suspect are the issue for you and experiment accordingly. Of course, cleaning up your lifestyle will do wonders for your neurotransmitters over the long term. Focus on diet, exercise, and reducing stress. Good luck
- tomcam 5y ago
  Thanks much. My body is evil and quickly adapts to any kind of supplement or medicine. They sometimes work for a week or so, then fail in 2 weeks at the latest.
dchristian 5y ago
You might look up Dr Gominak on Youtube. She figured out that higher levels (60 - 80) of D3 correspond to much better sleep. It worked for me and that first night when you get good sleep is just amazing. Her website has all the specifics.
- tomcam 4y ago
  Thank you! I’ll review her but I always take that much D3.

by tomcam 5y ago

xmprt 5y ago

I'm sure you've probably tried everything but the thing that helped me the most was being extremely strict about forcing myself to wake up and sleep at regular times (even if I wasn't feeling tired. A little melatonin can help with that). Also, restricting screen time before bed. For the first week it's really tough especially when you have a lot of other things going on in life, but you'll quickly notice gradual improvements - like sleeping at 1am instead of 2 or 3am.

tomcam 5y ago
Thanks kindly for sharing. I will absolutely listen to and try just about anything. That fixed wake up time concept seems to be the bedrock of sensible sleep programs. It makes massive common sense. Unfortunately it nearly ruined my life. I tried it for a couple of months and it ground my life to a raging headache halt, taking my sleep from two or three hours a night to 30 minutes or an hour if that. Restricting screen time before bed doesn’t seem to matter for me, but what I did find to be very helpful was not to have any in the periods I wake up at night, which happen at least every hour. Melatonin does nothing for me, whether it’s 1mg or 10mg. Very touched that you took the time.
- xmprt 5y ago
  If you're getting less than 4 hours of sleep a night then you might want to see a sleep therapist or neurologist specializing in sleep. That seems out of the realm of things that you can fix with sheer willpower and determination.
  - tomcam 5y ago
    Hey! Never thought about a neurologist! All sleep specialists have been useless. Great idea! Thank you, I shall.

mcntsh 5y ago

I've also struggled a lot with insomnia and the best advice I can give is: 1. See a therapist 2. Avoid taking sleep medication 3. Accept that you're not going to sleep when you aren't sleeping If you're not taking drugs then everything that you're going through when you're not sleeping is natural. Your body is designed to go without sleep. When you haven't slept in 48 hours don't worry about "not sleeping again tonight" just accept that you may not and that's fine, and you'll sleep eventually. Following this advice I've gotten into a rhythm where I've slept 7h a night for months. I've had maybe a couple bad nights but it never spirals out.

tomcam 5y ago
Thank you. 1. I had ~15 years' therapy with multiple approaches & therapists w/out success. 2. I used to happily try any sleep medication but none works for more than a week or so, and now I take the same attitude as you. 3. I do get up and do something else when not sleeping, but lately the sleep has been so ratched I'm not as successful. Have also tried things like yoga, meditation, melatonin, milk before bed, waking at a fixed hour, eating early, eating late, not eating at all, high complex carb diet, paleo diet, exercising early in the day, exercising late in the day, not exercising, and others. Very grateful for the advice, though. I am very very open to it and am grateful for your caring.
- mcntsh 5y ago
  Look all I gotta say is you’re in very good company. Insomnia is extremely common, your body is designed to have it and is super equipped to deal with sleep deprivation.
  - tomcam 4y ago
    That’s actually very comforting, especially because I’m old and a new article comes out every other week explaining how it shortens one’s life!

sinsterizme 5y ago

You can try experimenting with supplements. I’ve been taking l-theanine and I’ve been sleeping throughout the night now, whereas before I would wake up within 3 hours. I think my GABA levels are low which also manifests as anxiety so you can look into which neurotransmitter(s) you suspect are the issue for you and experiment accordingly. Of course, cleaning up your lifestyle will do wonders for your neurotransmitters over the long term. Focus on diet, exercise, and reducing stress. Good luck

tomcam 5y ago
Thanks much. My body is evil and quickly adapts to any kind of supplement or medicine. They sometimes work for a week or so, then fail in 2 weeks at the latest.

dchristian 5y ago

You might look up Dr Gominak on Youtube. She figured out that higher levels (60 - 80) of D3 correspond to much better sleep. It worked for me and that first night when you get good sleep is just amazing. Her website has all the specifics.

tomcam 4y ago
Thank you! I’ll review her but I always take that much D3.