I have a serious problem! (sleeping)

Yep, so it's about 12:30am now, and I need to wake up in less then 7 hours, and I cannot sleep.

This happens every single day. Unless I am completely exhausted it takes me more then an hour AT LEAST to finally get to sleep.

So you can call it insomnia I guess, but the weird thing is that during the day, I get tired, sometimes it's while playing video games or homework or whatever, but I try to put off sleeping because if I'm tired now, at 4pm, I should be really tired during the night. No! It doesn't work like that. Whether I take a nap or not, I'm still not tired from 11pm to 2am. I don't understand it! When I don't want to sleep, I start falling, when I need to fall asleep it's impossible.

One time 1 or 2 weeks ago, I tried to go to sleep at 11am, and I did not fall asleep until 3am or 4am. 4 hours sitting in my bed, trying to go to sleep...

I don't understand my stupid body, why can't I fall asleep, what's wrong with me?! What should I do. Are there any good ways for me to fall asleep, like maybe drinking a glass of water or something? Please help me, I can't take it anymore.

PS. A weird thing is that no matter what time I fall asleep, and I need to wake up early like before 10am, it's really hard for me to get up, but once I get up and out of bed, boom, I'm good. I won't even get tired until the afternoon when I start feeling tired but I do something so I don't fall asleep.

I understand what you are talking about. I have never been able to sleep, it literally takes hours to actually drift off. It's like I just can stop my brain from thinking.

I have gone to sleep specialists for this and the only prescription that ever helped was Ambien (zolpidem). However, the side effects are intense. Anterograde amnesia, loss of cognitive functions, etc. You won't remember saying or doing things. It's hard to get prescribed because people like to abuse it.

The only thing that seems to have ever worked is forcing myself to get up at 6am every day. If I don't fall asleep before 6 then I just stay up all day. It has helped slightly with training my brain to create a sleep schedule but it is easy to relapse.

I fear we have simply been dealt an awful hand as far as falling asleep goes. Other people rarely understand how incredibly frustrating this is.

Sometimes I have trouble getting to sleep, like when I have something important in the morning, and when I do it takes me up to several hours. I'm not sure what to tell you in this case though.

I do find it easier to sleep if I've worked out during the day, so perhaps you could try that. The best thing I do is that when I go to bed I simply try to enjoy the warm contentness of my bed, regardless of whether I am still conscious or not.

think that there is nothing at all I need to be doing in the world so just try to enjoy the warm contentness, even if I'm not asleep yet.

What do you think about when you go to sleep? As odd as it sounds, I think it is good to be thinking about escapist sorts of things that allow your mind to wander. Good ones for me are thinking about a story you enjoy, or fantasizing about what you'd do if you won the lottery... really anything works for me as long as I'm engaging my imagination. Before I know it, I'm asleep. The times when I can't sleep are when I lay there worrying about how I need to go to sleep because I won't get enough, or when I worry about things going on in my life. The best advice I can give is to close your eyes and let your mind wander. You can't force yourself to sleep.rragnaar

I think I have found that thinking about random fun things does work, but not how you think, not for me anyways. When I do think about things like this, (don't make fun) I like to think of how I'm rescuing someone elses life, and change the situation. But what this does it waste time, I will think about this, and after a while, I will suddenly think, jeez I need to go to sleep, look at the time, it's an hour later.

Then if I do think about how I need to fall asleep, the time goes by really slow, and then I start tossing and turning in bed, and I start feeling hot.

I don't want to take a prescription to fall asleep... But jeez, it's frustrating not being able to fall asleep, that's the reason I'm here now.

I have to be awake in 5 hours instead I'm posting on here...

First thing to do, get off the computer. A while before bedtime. Avoid stimulants, like flashing lights on the TV or a game, and don't get hyped up on coffee or pop. Shut your brain off when you try to sleep (don't calculate things, figure out how long you have to sleep, try to memorize things, etc) or make up a story in your head. I do that, and it's as simple as recalling an episode of a tv show I watched and imagining myself in the story. I swear, I never get past 2 minutes of anything, I'm out like a light.XilePrincess

I'm going to get off soon, but I hadn't even been on my computer the whole day...

I was watching TV though, no matter what I think about I can't fall asleep, the only thing that helps is closing my eyes and sitting in one position not moving, but sometimes I will still move uncontrollably and that just ruins my meditation sort of thing.

Sounds like a lot of people have this problem, but that's probably because all the people who have this problem can't get to sleep right now haha.

Thanks guys for the advice, I'll try some of the things noted.

It may work for you, but doesn't necessarily mean it'll help someone else.ayanami_rei

:? well no ****....?

We aren't all sleep-disorder experts or doctors here, so what exactly are we supposed to be giving to him besides our own experiences and tricks that work for us? That's the entire point of asking a forum a question, to get the users' ideas, opinions, and experiences on the subject.

:? well no ****....?

We aren't all sleep-disorder experts or doctors here, so what exactly are we supposed to be giving to him besides our own experiences and tricks that work for us? That's the entire point of asking a forum a question, to get the users' ideas, opinions, and experiences on the subject.

XilePrincess

[QUOTE="XilePrincess"]

:? well no ****....?

We aren't all sleep-disorder experts or doctors here, so what exactly are we supposed to be giving to him besides our own experiences and tricks that work for us? That's the entire point of asking a forum a question, to get the users' ideas, opinions, and experiences on the subject.

ayanami_rei

ahh alright. I was wondering what was up with you, I've never heard you say something like that before, figured you had to be out of it to some extent. Hope I didn't come off as really rude or anything didn't mean to sound that way. Sorry >.>

XilePrincess

I'm glad that we can all get along, sleepy time now, good luck everyone!

ive had sleep problems for years.. i know it will sound weird but, it helps me if i say my abc's in my head

Meh...

Some people just don't need that much sleep.
I go to bed around 11pm and get up at 4 am.

Just sleep how much your body tells you to

I tend to have the same problem. My sleeping schedule is pretty well destroyed right now. That said, I've found the best way to fall asleep is to either create stories or run through stories I already know in my head. I eventually tire myself out in a about half an hour and fall asleep.

[QUOTE="rawsavon"]

Meh...

Some people just don't need that much sleep.
I go to bed around 11pm and get up at 4 am.

Just sleep how much your body tells you to

MichBelle

I actually like it. I get way more done in my life than most people

You consume any caffeine throughout the day, tea, coffee, chocolate, etc? I found I'm pretty sensitive to it; I used to drink a cup of green tea (which isn't even that high in caffeine) when I got home around 3PM and I wasn't able to get to sleep very well (around 10PM). As soon as I stopped, I was able to get to sleep pretty easily and stay asleep.

I had a phase where I had trouble sleeping. I recommend listening to podcasts, listen to a good one (Xbox World 360 and Spill.com are two) that will keep your mind just occupied enough to get tired. Don´t have on any light, especially not from screens as they burn into your eyes and keep you awake FOR A LONG TIME . Just listen until you notice that you start slacking off and not paying attention, then turn it off and if you are anything like me, you will be fast asleep.

So GTFO of the computer, mate ;).

When I can't sleep I'll sit outside for 5-10 minutes and take in some of the night air, which always calms my mind down so I can fall asleep right away.

What do you think about when you go to sleep? As odd as it sounds, I think it is good to be thinking about escapist sorts of things that allow your mind to wander. Good ones for me are thinking about a story you enjoy, or fantasizing about what you'd do if you won the lottery... really anything works for me as long as I'm engaging my imagination. Before I know it, I'm asleep. The times when I can't sleep are when I lay there worrying about how I need to go to sleep because I won't get enough, or when I worry about things going on in my life. The best advice I can give is to close your eyes and let your mind wander. You can't force yourself to sleep.rragnaar

What do you think about when you go to sleep? As odd as it sounds, I think it is good to be thinking about escapist sorts of things that allow your mind to wander. Good ones for me are thinking about a story you enjoy, or fantasizing about what you'd do if you won the lottery... really anything works for me as long as I'm engaging my imagination. Before I know it, I'm asleep. The times when I can't sleep are when I lay there worrying about how I need to go to sleep because I won't get enough, or when I worry about things going on in my life. The best advice I can give is to close your eyes and let your mind wander. You can't force yourself to sleep.rragnaar

same. I tend imagine about robbing banks or kicking the crap out of people in front of girls I want to impress.

I know it sounds lame, but honestly, t hinking about incredibly cool and unreal stuff helps.

When I can't sleep I'll sit outside for 5-10 minutes and take in some of the night air, which always calms my mind down so I can fall asleep right away.

kittensRjerks

same, except usually with a cigarette

drink 1 beer.

Well I can close my eyes and see things as clear as if they are open. If you don't believe me try it. See whatever it is clearly and it can be random. So what does that have to do with getting sleep? Well you breath normaly and at each exhale say to yourself one and clear your thoughts *but if you want you can let your mindscreen see images. Eventually you will hit what is called an alpha wave and that is equal to sleep. In other words you slept and didn't know it. Rinse and repeat.

I'm exactly like this, I've had sleep problems my whole life. I took Ambien for a while but it eventually lost its effectiveness.

I don't really have any advice, but I will tell you that since I started working in an office full time, I no longer have problems sleeping. I'm mentally exhausted at the end of the day and fall right to sleep. This also has an impact on other activites. For example, I love Starcraft 2, but the game takes intense mental focus and I usually just don't bother because I'm too tired.

I've always had the same problem – the mind just races in or direction or another you can almost hear it hum. The issue is that after a couple of hours lying there you can get frustrated, at which point there's no chance of getting to sleep. I learnt to accept it – if you can't drop off just get up and have a herbal tea, watch some TV or read a (dull) book for 20 mins or so then re-attempt. Avoid any kind of mental activity, e.g gaming, Sudoku's (whatever floats your boat) or physical activity pre-trying to sleep.

I always found my mind was particularly active in the evenings and I couldn't sleep because I was thinking about so much stuff. If it's similar for you try working through it by doing some stream of conciousness writing. Most of what you write will be rubbish but you'll eventually reach a point where you run out of stuff to put down and hence you're not trying to get to sleep with all these thoughts buzzing around your head.

You can always try the classics as well like a hot bath or mug of warm milk.

[QUOTE="kittensRjerks"]

When I can't sleep I'll sit outside for 5-10 minutes and take in some of the night air, which always calms my mind down so I can fall asleep right away.

mrbojangles25

same, except usually with a cigarette

I often do that as well. Funny idea that sucking down on a stimulant actually helps dropping off though...

Give less power to thought. There is only really one way and that is meditation and imagination.

some people dont need a lot of sleep.

some people dont need a lot of sleep.

T_REX305

And I think that I've actually had those alpha waves or whatever, because sometimes when I'm thinking about a cool senario or something fun, it will feel like i'm dreaming or thinking very vividly, then after awhile I will just see the wall of my room, and realize I must have dozed off or something but I don't think I was actually asleep because I don't usually wake up in my sleep.

Also I always take showers at night, the past 2 days I took one and I didn't, the one day I took a shower I couldn't sleep, the next I didn't take one but I could sleep, but also, I had class one day, the next I didn't.

Yes I'm back, but I haven't tried to sleep yet.

Sometimes I notice I'll be lying in bed thinking about some ridiculous scenarios or trying to solve a problem and then I'll suddenly realize I'm supposed to be sleeping. My problem is when I go to sleep, that is the only time I'm not being stimulated by anything visually, or physically so I think my mind takes that opportunity to try and solve any questions or other thoughts I may have had througout the day.

Now I'm an incredibly light sleeper and also a very anxious person. Tests often stress me out to the point where I cannot sleep. What I find helps me:
1. Most people don't want to hear this, but a good workout will make you physically exhausted and you usually end up falling asleep quickly.
2. Lay off any caffeinated drinks of any kind a couple hours before you plan on sleeping.
3. Ambient noise such as a fan or my computer helps block out any random noise like people talking (I'm in a dorm) so it helps me sleep.
4. Worst case, I take NyQuil when final exams roll around. Puts me out but gives me some bad diarrhea in the morning. Kind of sucks but sleep is absolutely necessary when studying anything.

4. Worst case, I take NyQuil when final exams roll around. Puts me out but gives me some bad diarrhea in the morning. Kind of sucks but sleep is absolutely necessary when studying anything.

PS2_ROCKS

Not my favorite way to start the day:P

It's too bad that I'm strongly against any kind of drugs, pills, and what not. So no, I'm not going to smoke, do drugs, or pop pills for this problem, I'll get through it without the help of an outside source.

I don't usually have any caffeine before I go to bed unless I go out to eat for dinner, which is like once a week and I don't think really affects my sleeping.

Yep, so it's about 12:30am now, and I need to wake up in less then 7 hours, and I cannot sleep.

This happens every single day. Unless I am completely exhausted it takes me more then an hour AT LEAST to finally get to sleep.

So you can call it insomnia I guess, but the weird thing is that during the day, I get tired, sometimes it's while playing video games or homework or whatever, but I try to put off sleeping because if I'm tired now, at 4pm, I should be really tired during the night. No! It doesn't work like that. Whether I take a nap or not, I'm still not tired from 11pm to 2am. I don't understand it! When I don't want to sleep, I start falling, when I need to fall asleep it's impossible.

One time 1 or 2 weeks ago, I tried to go to sleep at 11am, and I did not fall asleep until 3am or 4am. 4 hours sitting in my bed, trying to go to sleep...

I don't understand my stupid body, why can't I fall asleep, what's wrong with me?! What should I do. Are there any good ways for me to fall asleep, like maybe drinking a glass of water or something? Please help me, I can't take it anymore.

PS. A weird thing is that no matter what time I fall asleep, and I need to wake up early like before 10am, it's really hard for me to get up, but once I get up and out of bed, boom, I'm good. I won't even get tired until the afternoon when I start feeling tired but I do something so I don't fall asleep.

gotdangit

Yeah, you are definitely not alone. I've had horrible insomnia for three years now and I rarely sleep. I've got a list of medical conditions and it completely sucks when you're so tired but can't fall asleep. Mine's ideopathic (no apparent cause) so I'm in the 'screwed' category.

Good tips: Have some sort of white noise (like a fan), dont take naps, always go to bed at the same time even if you cant sleep and wake at the same time too, dont read or use electronics before bedtime, practice breathing in through ur nose and out ur mouth while in bed, if you cant sleep after an hour or so, get up and just look out the window until you become tired, Lastly u could try melatonin or tylenol pm to see if that helps you. warm glass of milk or tea before bed never hurts either

I am blessed with a super cozy bed and a pretty gal to nap next to.

I do not have trouble sleeping :P

[QUOTE="PS2_ROCKS"]

4. Worst case, I take NyQuil when final exams roll around. Puts me out but gives me some bad diarrhea in the morning. Kind of sucks but sleep is absolutely necessary when studying anything.

Joshywaa

Not my favorite way to start the day:P

What do you think about when you go to sleep? As odd as it sounds, I think it is good to be thinking about escapist sorts of things that allow your mind to wander. Good ones for me are thinking about a story you enjoy, or fantasizing about what you'd do if you won the lottery... really anything works for me as long as I'm engaging my imagination. Before I know it, I'm asleep. The times when I can't sleep are when I lay there worrying about how I need to go to sleep because I won't get enough, or when I worry about things going on in my life. The best advice I can give is to close your eyes and let your mind wander. You can't force yourself to sleep.rragnaar

sleeping pills are the answer.

sleeping pills are the answer.

loft8000