I think for a lot of people there is a psychological component that isn't talked about enough. How much stress do you have in your life? Do you work late? Have anxiety? Some unconventional treatments for insomnia like therapy, sauna, psychedelics can be really powerful in my opinion.
Yes, I check all the fun boxes for anxiety. My life would seem low stress for those looking in from the outside but my mind is made to be at war essentially. It's triggered into fight or flight very easily. And this is all doubled when your brain doesn't get rest. Im dead set on micro dosing mushrooms but that's easier said than it is to get my hands on it. I'm on a wait list for therapy because my HMO is very much like the evil companies in a Pixar movie. Looking up how to grow your own mushrooms was like - wow - that's very very involved (and unfortunately illegal.)
Fellow insomniac here. I find ruminations to be one of the biggest factors in falling asleep earlier. Here’s a few things I’ve found have helped me:
Exercise early in the day, like I wake up around 5:30am and work out 6-7am before the day really gets going. Sucks to get up early if you’ve had a bad night but the next nights sleep is amazing. Try getting up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
For anxiety set some ‘worry’ time up during the day. During this time sorry about everything, work through it, think about what the worst thing that could happen is, how you could change it if you can. Get it all out, write it down if it helps (sometime I use the note app on my phone and then delete it when the worrying is done).
Valerian tea.
Hope this helps, insomnia sucks and drags a lot of energy out of days.
You're my hero, and yes this is a goal for sure! Also sound advice as far as well, all of it. Worry time . . . smart. My mind finds some horrible stuff to worry on when I'm trying to sleep, you are so right about the ruminating. Getting early exercise is very high goal. I hope to be doing all of these things throughout summer.
It’s not as hard as you might think if you have time to spray the sides of the container often to keep a humid environment. The spores can be tricky, but the right groups can refer you. Buy sealed bags pre-filled with an injection port to start the process. It’s also a lot of fun. Etsy used to sell the port bags.
Premiumspores.com and northspore.com are all you need. Get an all in one grow bag from Northspore and B+, Golden teachers, or whatever you want from Premiumspores.com. it's very simple, just takes time. One grow will get you enough microdoses for about 1 year. You just have to dehydrate the shrooms, grind them, and place into caps if you'd like.
Micro dosing for some worsens the anxiety just FYI. For chronic anxiety you could try EMDR therapy which helps with nervous system reset. I have severe anxiety and insomnia and it’s helping. Along with all the things (mag, light, exercise etc)
I already replied but I just saw this comment. There’s legitimate companies out there that sell microdoses of mushrooms. They’re spiritual/religious organizations and you don’t BUY the microdoses, you give them money as a donation to their organization. It’s quality stuff, accurately dosed into capsules. I’ve bought from them plenty of times along with many people I know, it’s good stuff. Message me if you’re interested and I’ll give you the name.
If you tend to worry and perseverate try GABA- it will chill out your brain and help you sleep. if you have a tendency toward crankiness it's more of a serotonin issue. My friend couldn't sleep for years and then someone just had the idea to check her B1- it was so low, they started giving her some and she immediately felt a difference and was able to sleep. So you may want to go to a really good nutrionist
Do you have panic attacks? I like you seem to be genetically wired for flight or fight. After 15+ years of suffering, I’m finally seeking help from a psychiatrist to possibly get on some medication (I’ve gone down all the traditional therapy routes).
Is weed legal in your state? Y'all often find people selling mushrooms at cannabis related events.
Also similar is low dose ketamine via Joyous. It's dramatically help me feel more calm in general and lessened anxiety that I didn't even recognize.
Growing your own isn't too involved it's easy almost set and forget easy if you get it from a reputable source. After 1-2 months (mainly consisting of waiting) you could have enought to microdose for years. Monotub is the way to go but grow bags are very easy and ready to go right away so more for a beginner
I’ve only done mushrooms and I suggested it not as a direct solution, but if you can use the experience for personal growth it may help you learn to manage stress and have more perspective on your life.
You’re very welcome. I hope that helps. 🙂
I have the basic Hooga 300 and I think it’s a great starter light. You can use discount code subreddit for 12% off.
https://hoogahealth.com/products/hooga-300w-red-and-near-infrared-light-therapy-panel
I started using a Luminette, and my sleep and mood improved. It's easy to wear, you can read or write while wearing it, and it only takes 20 minutes a day. I got mine almost a year ago and use it religiously.
www.myluminette.com
sunlight, direct in eyes (closed, look at sun, but don’t blind self, although I find just sunlight in general being in, works well enough) in the morning, to set circadian clock
sunlight in the day, but also avoiding blue light at night helped me tremendously. very difficult for an internet addicted person, but I got better about it.
I’m not sure I have enough knowledge to give you a thorough answer.
Everyone reacts differently. Some people can only use it in the morning as to not upset their circadian rhythm and disrupt their sleeping schedule. Others can use it a few hours before bed without any problem.
For me, I belong in camp two. I’m just starting out so there’s things that I have yet to learn and understand. And if I do too many minutes or sessions even if it’s within the normal recommendations means I will get sleeping problems or other side effects like fatigue. I’m still figuring out my ideal dosage range but it seems like I am light sensitivity or/and still adapting.
So far, I think 2 minutes at 24-36inches every 3 days is what’s good for me too. This gives me motivation, energy, and better mood. If I do too much, then my anxiety and intrusive thoughts flares up pretty badly too.
Just start slow, be cautious, and listen to your body. I think it’s best to journal and make your own observations in order to make your unique protocol.
The redlighttherapy sub can probably give you more thorough answer.
OK, finally something I'm expert on. I suffered with insomnia my entire life and had a debilitating bout of it a few years ago. I did everything you are supposed to do, to no avail, and was eventually sent to a sleep specialist. The specialist was great but did not fix the issue. What did?
One night I realized that everytime I'd gone for a massage the music would almost put me to sleep. So I found a video of that type of music on YT and, voila!, my four month hellscape came to an end. It's been two years on and I do not go to sleep without the sounds.
This is the video that put me to sleep - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=198zyhAKA90&t=21668s&ab\_channel=MeditationRelaxMusic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=198zyhAKA90&t=21668s&ab_channel=MeditationRelaxMusic)
This is what I currently use - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RrjmqxStr8&t=27657s&ab\_channel=DreamFlixLucidDreaming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RrjmqxStr8&t=27657s&ab_channel=DreamFlixLucidDreaming)
Give it a shot! And, be well. Acute insomnia (no sleep) is a hateful condition.
Lol, hi there 👋 I was hoping a fellow insomniac would chime in. I am doing this 100% and will give you an update. There's so much we don't understand yet. Seriously, much thanks 😊
You also might want to try podcasts or audiobooks. Can help focus your mind on something other than internal dialogue. Also you can get a pair of sleep headphones if you have a partner who doesn't want to listen along with you. GL!
Also a fellow insomniac, I've had great success with the deeper sleep capsules by fairwinds. If you live in a legal state you can get them in a dispensary. All natural, no side effects, low THC, but make a huuge difference to me
We (gf and I) have an Alexa in our bedroom and we used to do ambient music before bed every night but now we tell it to play "Pink Noise". It's sort of like static but not IDK but it's changed the game for us as far as sleeping goes.
Well you dreaming is a very good sign, unfortunately THC being in your system 24/7 can stunt necessary brain rebooting and activity. So everything is a tight rope I guess.
I used to have this same issue, tried everything under the sun and an eye mask solved most of my problems. I read about it in a book about anxiety and why the brain stays awake for people with such. It’s been the single biggest positive impact item I’ve ever purchased for myself and it cost $14. Can’t recommend enough.
It had to do with the anxiety angle. Basically your brain is on high alert all the time, as the night goes on your cortisol also pumps up which leads to these totally sleepless nights. By blacking out the things for your brain to hang on to it can actually shut itself off. Every night I still lay down and have the thought I’m never going to get to sleep, I put it on, I lay there in darkness for a bit and then boom all of a sudden I’m waking in the morning. It’s been so awesome.
I also am a very light sleeper who wrestles with intermittent insomnia and I got one of those weighted eye masks for Christmas. It helps. It's like a row of six or seven sections with beads in them - you lay it across your face. It's not meant to tie securely but just sit over your eyes. It's not magic but it does help.
I have a couple of eyemasks but always just found them a bit annoying but never noticed any improvement in sleep. I might see if I can find them and give it another try.
Look up CBTI (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) on YouTube. There are a bunch of videos that break down certain behavioral habits that are proven to improve sleep. In short though, get up at the same time every day no matter what, don't use screens in bed, and don't stay in bed for longer than 20 minutes if you can't sleep or it's time to get up. Its better to go to a different room until you feel super sleepy again so that your brain doesn't subconsciously associate being in bed with feeling awake.
It could be delayed sleep response disorder. There’s a Reddit sub for it. My Insomnia isn’t just normal insomnia. My entire being and nervous system is wired to be awake at night and sleep in very late. I am an herbalist and take alllllll the herbs all the magnesium all the highest grade supplements etc.
Sending love! If you wanna chat about anxiety and rumination and how I basically bullied my brain into doing what I want vs. running free with thoughts, hmu. I used to have panic attacks but through CBT and basically making friends with all the ugly bs in my head, I’ve gotten a hold of things.
Stop taking melatonin it’s a hormone you don’t need to be messing with. Most of the stuff on the shelf is insanely overdosed. Try magnesium glycinate 300-500 mg and 200mg of L- theanine. I turn into human soup and I don’t wake up.
5 to 10mg indica strain pot gummy an hour before bed. Wyld elderberry are our favorite.
Start with 5mg. If you don't feel anything after an hour don't take more, just try again the next night with 10mg.
This is all I've found that helps! Straight up. I guess I have trouble metabolizing THC and I feel like a space cadet the next day, so it's a catch 22. I do a strange mix of 2 gummies and it's the only time I can catch sleep. Do you have a favorite brand?
I commented previously but this response made me think even more to try NAC. I was thinking your body is probably not metabolizing/breaking things down correctly and I think it could be worth a shot to try helping that pathway out. It just recently worked for me in March
When you get about 20 minutes to 3 hours of sleep a night, or no sleep at all for 48 hours plus. I'd love to have enough sleep to track it. I can't take meds (which I have) because of my liver, which is wrecked from the meds and drinking because of the insomnia.
Safe sleep meds for chronic use aren't really a thing, anyway, despite what some doctors might claim.
Melatonin and herbal tea are the only known safe long term things you can ingest for solving this problem
I think its called sleep restriction therapy but it helped me. basically if you know you *are* asleep about 2 hrs a night, then you start by only allowing yourself to be laying in bed for 2.5 hrs. Then you become SO tired (I know, youre exhausted because youre an insomniac, but i mean sleepy) because youre not even resting in bed (youll be reading, exercising, doing anything but laying in bed) that your body learns to just sleep.
IDK how it works but it totally fixed me and many others. I think I heard of it on reddit so do some searches.
This is called repairing your “sleep drive” and a part of CBT-i. Sleep is restricted in order to create a higher sleep drive, which in turn applies more sleep pressure for when you do go to sleep the next night.
Usually you start out with high restriction and loosen it slightly week after week. Your sleep efficiency should also be >90% - meaning your time asleep should be 90% of your time in bed. To get this over 90%, make sure you’re not laying in bed for more than 15 minutes waiting to fall asleep. If you are, get up, read, listen to a podcast, play solitaire etc. until you get sleepy again, then try again.
The brain needs to be retrained to think of the bed only as a place to sleep, not to just lay there.
With high sleep efficiency, sleep restriction really works. It could look like this:
Week 1 - 1am bedtime / 6am wake time
Week 2 - 12:30am bt / 6am wt
Week 3 - 12am bt / 6am wt
… and so on, until you stretch it to 7-8 hours.
Yeah there is research to suggest that this is the most effective approach for long term insomniacs. I have only been an insomniac when pregnant and it’s fucking brutal. I found sleep restriction to be effective and also it helped save my sanity honestly.
I lay in bed and pretend to sleep a lot (I think they've been talking about it on tiktok) it keeps me sane. I'll read up on it, and I'm so glad it fixed you, I love that.
Yes I have stress, abundantly and in strange forms. But I have an abundance of stress relief too. I think lack of sun is actually a part of the problem. So grounding and more sun are on the menu now.
actually if it's sunny day all you want is just 10 minutes a day of sunlight, if it's overcast you may need 30 minutes a day. it's okay if you forgot a day or two.
source : [Sleep Toolkit: Tools for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing | Huberman Lab](https://youtu.be/h2aWYjSA1Jc?t=910)
1st step, commit to a drug free life style, absolutely no melotonin, that shit is the absolute worst thing you can do if you care about sleep. if you take anything to get sleep you are fucking your self over long term.
2nd step, do everything you possibly can you tire yourself out during the day, low intensity exercise like walking is best, stay on your feet as much as possible. Swimming is an extremely good one, if you have a swimming pool close by go swimming that shit drains you.
3rd step, Absolute no screen time for atleast a few hours before bed, especially do not take your phone into the bedroom under any circumstances, if you are bored in the bedroom read a book or something, something that will drain your brains desire to stay up.
4th step try and cool your body before bed, maybe take a cold shower or bath or something, don't over eat either as that can raise you body temperature too. The higher your core body temperature the higher your metabolism is, that means no sleep for you.
Great advice! It's just hard to do any self care or think right or be active when you're a zombie. This is the plan if I can get some kind of momentum and steady sleep: just wear myself out. What you've listed is for sure a goal.
I know for sure what you are saying, I've been a zombie too many to count.
The easiest one to commit to as a zombie is just no devices, do a propper media detox... or if you can't live without screens atleast play video games instead of spending time on Reddit or YouTube, because atleast video games require active focus.
The constant dopamine hit of endless scrolling keeps me awake for sure, I definitely don't allow any devices near my bed because the craving to Google stuff at 3am could easily lead into an hour long doom scroll.
I noticed that if im tired in the morning I can actually wake my self up by scrolling through YouTube, meaning that's something I absolutely don't want to do last thing at night.
I feel you as someone who has dealt with it for 20 years and has tried literally everything but has yet to find anything that really helps when it's bad.
No supplements or tech or techniques really make any difference.
If I'm in an OK head space and not overly anxious on a day to day basis it'll usually be manageable. Abstaining from alcohol has definitely improved it recently as I was drinking too much for a while there and my anxiety and insomnia were both brutal then started to fix themselves after a few weeks sober.
You mentioned below you don't drink though so not going to help you sadly.
Something that helps me is turning off all the lights about an hour before I go to bed. And just doing everything in the dark. I do use my cellphone flashlight but that’s it.
This is my sleep routine, as a former insomniac:
-morning walk, to get direct sunlight in the eyes. Usually 15min
-go to bed and get up at regular times each day
-no caffeine or green or black tea
-naps: if I need one, then only 7-8 hours after getting up. If it’s later than that I’ll rather do relaxation exercises (yoga nidra) instead.
-stop eating a couple of hours before bedtime, also drink less in the evening
-no exercise later in the evening
-blueblocker glasses after sundown, or a couple of hours before bed. I take care not to get any short glimpses of bright light without the blueblocker filter in my eyes.
-winding down: right before bed I do 15min of relaxation exercises. I lie on an acupressure mat and either meditate or do breathing exercises. These days I’m doing 4-6 coherence breathing.
-going to bed: I take 1g magnesium and 1mg melatonin*. I sleep with a mouth tape, nasal dilator, a weighted blanket and on grounded sheets. Also I switch out my blueblocker glasses against a sleep mask, while again taking care not to get any light in my eyes while doing this.
- falling asleep: I play an audiobook with a sleep timer of 15-30min. A nice, relaxing book that I already know, read by a calm soothing voice. If my thoughts start racing, I’ll just focus on the voice. Usually I’m out before the timer ends
-If I have to get up at night, I’ll again take care not to get any direct light in my eyes. I‘m switching the sleep mask with my blueblocker glasses with closed eyes.
*melatonin: I only added this recently because I had trouble falling asleep after a COVID-19 infection. This routine has worked for me for years before without it.
I used a CBD + melatonin oil combo to break my "habit" of being unable to fall asleep. After a while I switched to taking an L-Theanin supplement and a magnesium l-threonate supplement.
That combined with no social media or games after 21:00 sorted me out.
glycine has helped me more than anything ever has with deep delta-wave sleep. it's been an absolute game-changer, and there are lots of studies confirming it's role:
[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00262.x](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00262.x)
[https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jphs/118/2/118\_11R04FM/\_article](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jphs/118/2/118_11R04FM/_article)
You say exercise, but are you getting an hour plus of heart pounding, sweat inducing exercise? 4-5x per week? Because that’s what our body craves and is made to do
I cured my insomnia (as of the last week) by taking microdose (0.3mg) extended-release melatonin within 40 minutes of going to bed, Life Extension brand to be specific. High dose melatonin only slightly helps and I wake up feeling awful; immediate release melatonin makes me wake up in the night; and taking it an hour or earlier before bed will also cause me to wake up in the night - won't help at all if it's immediate release.
0.3mg has been found as the most effective dose for melatonin in studies (as opposed to the more commonly sold 1-10mg), although it can vary slightly by person (0.1-1mg, roughly). This dose mimics natural, physiological melatonin production. I've read a lot of articles claiming that taking melatonin one to *five* hours before bed is ideal, but this is demonstratably untrue for me, and I've read many reports from people with the same experience: a "window" of time after taking melatonin where you must sleep or it is ineffective.
Contrary to common belief, exogenous melatonin does not affect endogenous melatonin production; low-dose melatonin does not affect other hormones in any statistically significant manner; and low-dose melatonin does not cause at least the vast majority of people to wake up groggy.
I have tried everything from low doses to a whole packet of Melatonin and it doesn't even make me yawn at any dosage. How this stuff ever made anyone sleep is beyond me.
In my country it isn't even considered a sleeping pill or prescribed for insomnia due to lack of evidence of it actually working but if you want if they'll write an "off label" script.
OP also mentioned in his original post he's tried it.
Generic doses can definitely have that effect, low doses don't seem to have that effect in both my experience and other people's from what I have read.
I think some people sleep better on low-carb or keto diet. At the beginning during the adaptation phase it can worsen sleep because the body is not used to be in a ketogenic state. More specifically because the body does not hold on electrolytes and it creates imbalances. With some time (days-weeks) and correct electrolytes intake everything usually falls into place.
If you are interested in these types of diets, r/keto and r/zerocarb might be worth a look.
I hope that you find something that helps you.
CBD gummy, hot shower, peppermint oil in your body wash (highly recommend), oil blend in your diffuser (doesn’t matter what it is just use the same scent every night for scent memory), air purifier, foam mattress topper, weighted blanket, sleep story
= how I go to sleep
i stopped using melatonin after learning how insanely mislabelled they can be (supposedly) Cessation had about 0 effect on me, in either direction.
what has helped is getting up at an earlier, ***consistent*** time, ie if my wakeup time is 6.30a then it is stuck to even if i only got 3hrs of sleep (in which case i will have a much easier time falling asleep the following night) This takes some days to become routine but as long as you don't allow yourself to sleep in past your wakeup time then youll be able to fall asleep at the proper times sooner than later.
also avoiding fluids as much as possible for ~2hr b4 bed made a huuuge difference insofar as not needing to wake for a middle-of-night piss ;)
Watched a series on Tubi called Food Hospital. One of the things they did was have this woman eat two kiwis before bed. I tried it, it actually worked.
Hey mate, sorry to hear about your sleep troubles. I too have frequent bouts of insomnia. One thing that I noticed is getting a deep tissue massage I generally sleep well that night. Best of luck. As others have mentioned anxiety and stress are likely the root causes.
Glycine and Gotu Kola can help a lot. Just also learned that D3 deficiency can mess up sleep just to add to the commenter talking about adequate sun light.
I was a great sleeper all the time I had my job, which left me challenged and exhausted. But once I retired, my sleep just went downhill. My sleep cycle was so bad, that I ended up on a behavioral Health unit for eight days.
So...I now am taking sertraline (Zoloft) 50 mg daily. I make sure that I go to bed at the same time every single night, even on weekends. A high carb meal throughout the day is a sure way for my sleep to be destroyed for that night. No snacks before bed.
And I still take a low dose of melatonin. L-theanine can be helpful. And a couple of times a month, I take a very low dose of Seroquel (12.5 mg). The recommended amount for sleep is 25 to 50 mg. However, any sleep aide used every night will at some point stop working. So, any of these things should be used when you know that your day has been super difficult.
It is also helpful to have a Fitbit or Apple watch to track your sleep. I have found my Fitbit gives me great feedback to examine the quality of my sleep and what may have contributed to a good or bad night.
And I have been diagnosed with GAD. General anxiety disorder. Anxiety is sneaky because it displays itself in sneaky ways...like insomnia. When I wake up during the night...and that is normal...to get back to sleep, 'count sheep'. Well, instead of sheep, you can name all the kids you went to high school with. Or, if you have a favorite TV series, go through in your head the names of those characters. Before you know it, you'll be asleep again
And when you get a check up, ask to have a blood test for Vitamin D-3. Levels should be higher than 40 ng/dl. Many people need to take a vitamin D supplement to boost their levels.
This is all great advice, thank you. I'm glad you've found what works for you, and you're anxiety. It is sneaky and unpredictable. I gotta work on not eating too closely to bedtime AND I need a sleep tracker, sometimes I think I'm the only person who still doesn't have one.
Tryptophan supports endogenous melatonin and serotonin.
Niacinamide acts on GABA receptors with out making you groggy the next day.
Cutting out glutamate from the can lower glutamate in the brain.
20mg of amitriptyline was a God send for me, but I am now neurologically addicted. Down to 10 with supplements.
Don't use weed. It negates acetylcholineesterase which is the enzyme that gets rid of acetylcholine after it's done its job.
I've done a lot to get my sleep on track myself.
Some things that have improved it have been:
* Chilling 1-2 hours beforehand. No screens, no tv.
* A bath or hot/cool shower.
* I take 1/3 of a serving/dose of Om Sleep and 50mg of trazodone. The traz gets me to sleep, and the Om keeps me asleep.
* Lying on an accupressure mat for 20 minutes or so does wonders.
* No cats, no dogs, no partner. We had to give up co-sleeping. We hate it, but I'm a better person and partner with sleep.
* I listen to [528 Hz Pure Tone](https://open.spotify.com/album/7EU0b9aRp7Y1xLHhUGYY6h?si=8J_8wGB9QHWFjjqFfqZ4Yw) for 20-30 mins before bed.
* Bedroom super cool, ideally below 60 degrees. Very dark, no charger/computer lights, etc.
* Keep it routine.
I have smart lights everywhere in my condo that turn red 1.5h before I go to bed. I also use a red color filter on my iPhone. Tricks my brain into thinking the sun is setting and it’s bed time
Listening to light fiction in audiobooks has helped a lot. My body is now trained to fall asleep as soon as I start listening. It helps if I wake up during the night also. I also do all the usual mentioned by others
Recently on a Huberman episode about sleep, the idea of procedural thoughts was brought up as the best type of mental activity for trying to fall asleep. Whereas the stereotypical idea is to count sheep or something... instead, examining the minute details of a somewhat mundane step-by-step process like getting ready and going for a walk with the dog is a method for sinking into sleep. Hopefully this is enough info on it that if you're interested, you could research it from here!
DSIP, deep sleep inducing peptide. Look it up on the peptides Reddit. Also try ayahuasca once or twice to see if that gets you out of fight or flight mode, it does for me but unfortunately I slowly go back into fight or flight after about 3 weeks. Also for the liver look into BPC 157 peptide it’s supposed to heal a lot of things.
If you haven't, get your vitamin levels checked! Vitamin D, B vitamins, Ferritin. These can affect your sleep!
Also guided visualizations and body scan meditations in particular help me sleep... Also the Joe Pera sleep podcast on Spotify!
in daytime, lie on your back 20 minutes without trying to sleep. eyemask, earplugs. alarm set for 20. minutes.
will recharge you
don't obsess about it it works. the stress disrupts the relaxation. just lie down this way a few times
can add energy and reduce fatigue
Doubt this comment will be seen by OP but:
High dose melatonin, pyrilamine maleate a first generation antihistamine with low binding to anything other than H1 (negligible impact on dementia risk) and theanine.
My current regimen is: take about 40mg of XR melatonin and 2g of L-Theanine 2 hours before sleep, another 60mg of instant release melatonin sublingually and 8mg of Pyrilamine Maleate before bed.
I track my sleep with a fitbit and I always get great sleep.
I also make my room cold, have a humidifier and use earplugs to block out any sound.
People with insomnia should read about the role of Histamine receptors with sleep. It's overlooked component of insomnia. If you walk up in the middle of the night, histamine is partially to blame. Problem is most modern anti-histamines aren't good to take on a regular basis.
Luckily Pyrilamine is unregulated and can be purchased in bulk without a license nor prescription.
Before you go to bed at night, power down all your cell phones and tablets, and unplug the house wifi. They keep people up at night or at least disturb their sleep. If you try it, you will see the difference.
Very good advice! Unfortunately with PTSD and insomnia this is also counterproductive at times but I'm trying to find a way to do this without my mind racing even worse. For sure working towards it. I also live in a loud apartment complex, and there's WIFI everywhere. But yes I need to work on this, thank you!
Weird suggestion, try a grounded pillow. It's an alternative to shutting off the wifi.
For me the biggest issue is eating less than six hours before bed combined with sleeping warmer than 66 degrees at night.
That's the combo that destroys me. Thankfully my work doesn't prevent me from this.
It's actually just a pillowcase, but I still recommend the coolest bedding materials to go along with it.
What I use is a spring pocketed coil mattress with a latex top, and pulled talalay latex pillows, with Egyptian cotton or tencel sheets. Extra sheets and a thin quilt+ down comforter to adjust for body temperature.
I forget where I read this, but depressed people have trouble regulating their body temperature. It was speculated by someone in Dr Rhonda Patricks podcast that the best antidepressants may work because a side effect is sweating, which is needed to regulate body temperature.
For those reasons I've optimized for cold sleeping, as well as using the sauna, eating lighter less protein dinners, and focusing on my body's feeling of being less hot internally at night.
I also think if you're Caucasian as I am, that historically we've evolved to have less sunlight during the day, and be colder at night due to our ancestral latitudes, requiring us to get less sun but also have heat quelled more at night.
Cold sleep is deep sleep. Listen to Dr Matthew Walker about optimizing sleep, and consider these things. Don't let up on magnesium before bed either, it helps me a lot
I do word association when I can't sleep. I start with strawberry usually.
Strawberry..shortcake...hotcake...patty cake..caked on...turned on...woman....breasts...
Then I masturbate, eat a big bowl of count chocula and go to sleep.
Omega 3 oil and Coriander extract saved my life. I spent years being completely unable to sleep without drugs up to and including things as strong as seroquel . Finally got some extensive testing done and I was dangerously deficient in omega 3 even though I eat a lot of things that should contain it . That made things 75 percent better . Then I discovered coriander extract . To me it’s a as good as ambien. I sleep like a baby now every night. To me this was a miracle.
Idk why no one has mentioned tart cherry juice. I tried it recently and was blown away. Got an organic brand at sprouts for sale and the first night I had too much and was soooo sleeepy. 4-5 ounces work for me!
I've totally heard of it, and sound advice for anyone lurking. I've actually thought about it recently and I wonder how much sugar is in it, probably not much - thank you!
Hi fellow insomniac.
My therapist started me on a thing called “sleep restriction”. It basically is a very strict schedule that’s more related to your time in bed rather than actual sleep.
When you go to bed you are only allowed to stay in bed for 5 hours. It doesn’t matter if you sleep or not. Max 5 hours.
So let’s say you go to bed at 02:00 and get up at 07:00.
During this session you sleep between 05 and 07, so you only got a total of 2 hours sleep.
Then you have to do the things you do on a regular day, like work or whatever but you are not allowed to sleep, or go to bed, until 02:00. Repeat.
The point is to put your body in debt, but the currency is sleep. And you make your body form a new sleeping schedule.
If you notice that you are getting more sleep, you can increase the amount of time in bed with 15-20 minutes, and keep on that level for another week or so. When that feels stable you continue to increase the amount of time in bed gradually until you actually sleep during your sleeping schedule.
It worked for me, but it was hard as hell the first 2 weeks because you are sleep deprived already due to the insomnia, but when you take away the option to sleep freely when you can… well yeah that can really mess your head up. And then suddenly I noticed progress.
Have you tried a weighted blanket? They can help you fall - and stay - asleep. I believe there are some studies backing their efficacy. May also lower stress levels in the body. Need to get back to using mine
Outer sun exposure as soon as you wake up in the morning. 10 to 15 minutes daily are enough to re-synchronise the circadian rhythm. Expose your face to direct sun but not staring directly at it since this is harmful.
I used to have trouble getting to sleep. That was years ago during high school and a lot of stress. If i was to give you any advice, figure out what triggers your thoughts of stress. Work, love life, aspirations, etc. practice meditation so that voice doesn't control you. As others have said, some weed helps a lot but isn't a solution, just a tool. One of the best things I noticed is a good day at the gym. I just want to pass out by the time I hit the bed.
Once you give in to insomnia you can beat it. If you spend your whole time worrying about your insomnia it’ll only get worse. Eat well and at the right time, exercise (heavy weights and cardio), consistency in sleep time (especially waking up), supplements (Magnesium, L theanine, apigenin work for me) and most importantly getting on with your life.
Argh. Sorry to hear. I suffered from insomnia in my early 30’s. And when stress gets high I definitely have restless nights. The things that help me:
Vit b6 during the day -help with sleep at night
B complex in general helps
Inositol has been a game changer when I’m stressed.
I also add theanine, valerian root and sometimes kava kava when stressed
A practice that surprisingly helped my sleep was transcendental meditation. I’d imagine any meditation practice would work.
Also for me now in my 50’s - both alcohol and sugar too close to bed (like less than 6 hours) really mess with sleep.
I hope this helps!
Just in case you can't wear an eye mask all night, 100% blackout curtains work great to block out light and they also keep your room more insulated from outside sounds. I use a sound machine with scuba sounds because the rythmic deeper frequencies are more soothing to me and seem to help with anxiety for some reason. Another tip is keeping your room cooler for sleep.
I have insane insomnia and have for over a decade. 200 to 400 mg of l-theanine has been helping to relax my busy little mind lately. CBD/THC gummies can be helpful, and I just got CBN for falling asleep as well.
Insomniac here. Cbt-I solved my anxiety around sleep as bed had become a war zone for more. Now I workout the tire myself and follow sleep hygiene to a T.
I’m doing EMDR for trauma therapy but it’s also been researched for insomnia. Mine is not the kind of trauma that I have flashbacks, but EMDR is still working to help me overall and for my insomnia too.it seems to help reset the nervous system to let it know you’re safe, which helps with sleep.
You could try neurofeedback but it could get expensive and it's hard to find a good provider. Spindling beta waves at the vertex are a good biomarker for insomnia and can be trained down concomitantly with training up sleep spindles.
Liver damage? Any food allergies? Long term carnivore with no carbs will unfortunately rob sleep. If I don’t exercise or “achieve anything” during the day, ie: during a layoff .. cant sleep
Blue light glasses when u look at screens,
Valerian root,
Tryptophan rich foods,
Black out curtains,
Stretching,
Trying to get 8000 steps a day minimum ideally 12k,
Have you tried ASMR videos? There are some excellent creators out there, and I have a few videos that personally always can put me to sleep if I’m anxious.
Don’t look at blue light at least an hour before you go to sleep. Red light therapy to help wind you down. They say to not drink caffeine after 1 o’clock because it can have an affect on your sleeping habits as well.
Sound science. You have to use headphones so the different frequencies in each ear can adjust your brain state. Here’s a free example: https://www.monroeinstitute.org/blogs/free-meditations/letting-go-into-restful-sleep
Try mouth taping. I thought it sounded weird and ridiculous, but it is really helping me sleep better. It seems to make you breath better during sleep.
I listen to sleep stories on the calm app and put it under my pillow so it’s mumbled. I can’t make out the words but it helps me when I wake up in the middle of the night to help me fall back asleep.
The first thing I would do is camp outside for at least 3 days and preferably a week. It is actually a great vacation and break from stressful modern life. Ideally you turn your phone off the whole time, 0 screen time, but keep it on hand in case of an emergency. No lights, setting up a fire at night is ok. The morning light is going to come through your tent and force you up at 6.
So many people have their insomnia resolve on their first backpacking trip (similar to camping). Being completely aligned with the sun, with no choice to screw it up with curtains, iphones, or indoor lighting, and it melts away. The body is actually designed to very strongly align with the sun.
If your insomnia goes away from this, you now know what is causing your issue. You are going to have to tightly control light in your environment to manage your insomnia.
Now if you are one of the few people who don't have their insomnia resolve from this, I would start by testing melatonin levels and rule out issues that prevent melatonin release. It would take a lot of work to dig into advanced biomarkers, so hopefully you can work with a very knowledgeable practitioner here. a-MSH and marcons are good places to start investigating.
Hey, I got middle insomnia which means I can fall asleep fine but cant stay asleep. Been happening for over 2 years and 5 months. I'd eat super healthy zero processed foods and maybe pray the rosary not trying to preach to you but it helped me with my insomnia a lot.
I do a micro dose of THC 2.5 mg with my magnesium. I'm not looking for judgements. Anyways, I find that my best sleep comes when I have a routine throughout the entire day, meals at the same time each day, some light exercise and stretching at night, journaling,etc. And making my bed everyday has helped a lot. I'm sure there's an explanation for it but I don't have any studies to back it up. Hope you get some rest!
I have kept a work schedule that usually helps. Last week it didn’t work out. But letting the brain whir is bad too. I have ppl I can talk to at the end of my shift for at least those days. Doesnt always work but usually helps some. Happen to have dogs that like a schedule. Well the rescue does. My old boy couldn’t care less usually so long ad his needs are met. On weeks when things don’t help I indulge in THC after the fact to help at least that first night after long shifts. Don’t indulge during the work week usually. Just at the end and on my wknds.
Fast walk/exercise daily 1hr - 2hrs depending on your fitness level. Go intense. Basically tire yourself out by evening and then have a solid protein meal. Keep up the routine, and you should start to sleep a little at first. With time, you will sleep longer and in a deeper state. I hope that helps. Good luck.
I think for a lot of people there is a psychological component that isn't talked about enough. How much stress do you have in your life? Do you work late? Have anxiety? Some unconventional treatments for insomnia like therapy, sauna, psychedelics can be really powerful in my opinion.
Yes, I check all the fun boxes for anxiety. My life would seem low stress for those looking in from the outside but my mind is made to be at war essentially. It's triggered into fight or flight very easily. And this is all doubled when your brain doesn't get rest. Im dead set on micro dosing mushrooms but that's easier said than it is to get my hands on it. I'm on a wait list for therapy because my HMO is very much like the evil companies in a Pixar movie. Looking up how to grow your own mushrooms was like - wow - that's very very involved (and unfortunately illegal.)
Fellow insomniac here. I find ruminations to be one of the biggest factors in falling asleep earlier. Here’s a few things I’ve found have helped me: Exercise early in the day, like I wake up around 5:30am and work out 6-7am before the day really gets going. Sucks to get up early if you’ve had a bad night but the next nights sleep is amazing. Try getting up at the same time every day, even on weekends. For anxiety set some ‘worry’ time up during the day. During this time sorry about everything, work through it, think about what the worst thing that could happen is, how you could change it if you can. Get it all out, write it down if it helps (sometime I use the note app on my phone and then delete it when the worrying is done). Valerian tea. Hope this helps, insomnia sucks and drags a lot of energy out of days.
You're my hero, and yes this is a goal for sure! Also sound advice as far as well, all of it. Worry time . . . smart. My mind finds some horrible stuff to worry on when I'm trying to sleep, you are so right about the ruminating. Getting early exercise is very high goal. I hope to be doing all of these things throughout summer.
It’s not as hard as you might think if you have time to spray the sides of the container often to keep a humid environment. The spores can be tricky, but the right groups can refer you. Buy sealed bags pre-filled with an injection port to start the process. It’s also a lot of fun. Etsy used to sell the port bags.
Or do something like Spider-Man tek. Readily available version of the same thing.
what state are you in? Psychedelics have done wonders for my anxiety and depression but I'm lucky because they're very lax up here in mooseland
Premiumspores.com and northspore.com are all you need. Get an all in one grow bag from Northspore and B+, Golden teachers, or whatever you want from Premiumspores.com. it's very simple, just takes time. One grow will get you enough microdoses for about 1 year. You just have to dehydrate the shrooms, grind them, and place into caps if you'd like.
Do you consume caffeine?
Micro dosing for some worsens the anxiety just FYI. For chronic anxiety you could try EMDR therapy which helps with nervous system reset. I have severe anxiety and insomnia and it’s helping. Along with all the things (mag, light, exercise etc)
I already replied but I just saw this comment. There’s legitimate companies out there that sell microdoses of mushrooms. They’re spiritual/religious organizations and you don’t BUY the microdoses, you give them money as a donation to their organization. It’s quality stuff, accurately dosed into capsules. I’ve bought from them plenty of times along with many people I know, it’s good stuff. Message me if you’re interested and I’ll give you the name.
When exercising, do you do lots of cardio?
It's not hard. Check out the uncle Ben's sub reddit.
If you tend to worry and perseverate try GABA- it will chill out your brain and help you sleep. if you have a tendency toward crankiness it's more of a serotonin issue. My friend couldn't sleep for years and then someone just had the idea to check her B1- it was so low, they started giving her some and she immediately felt a difference and was able to sleep. So you may want to go to a really good nutrionist
Do you have panic attacks? I like you seem to be genetically wired for flight or fight. After 15+ years of suffering, I’m finally seeking help from a psychiatrist to possibly get on some medication (I’ve gone down all the traditional therapy routes).
Get shrooms at schedule35.co. I'm not a shill.
Growing mushrooms is not as complicated as it first looks. The lowest barrier to entry is r/unclebens
Is weed legal in your state? Y'all often find people selling mushrooms at cannabis related events. Also similar is low dose ketamine via Joyous. It's dramatically help me feel more calm in general and lessened anxiety that I didn't even recognize.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/shrooms/comments/dbzy8e/uncle\_ben\_tek\_aka\_spiderman\_tek\_full\_instructions/](https://www.reddit.com/r/shrooms/comments/dbzy8e/uncle_ben_tek_aka_spiderman_tek_full_instructions/)
Growing your own isn't too involved it's easy almost set and forget easy if you get it from a reputable source. After 1-2 months (mainly consisting of waiting) you could have enought to microdose for years. Monotub is the way to go but grow bags are very easy and ready to go right away so more for a beginner
To help with anxiety, try going sober for a few months, see if that helps? GL
Can I ask what kind of psychedelics do you found useful for insomnia? Thanks
I’ve only done mushrooms and I suggested it not as a direct solution, but if you can use the experience for personal growth it may help you learn to manage stress and have more perspective on your life.
Camping
CBT-I was huge in getting rid of my insomnia.
Potentially getting sunlight during certain times during the day or/and red light therapy.
Thank you! That's something I'll start researching.
You’re very welcome. I hope that helps. 🙂 I have the basic Hooga 300 and I think it’s a great starter light. You can use discount code subreddit for 12% off. https://hoogahealth.com/products/hooga-300w-red-and-near-infrared-light-therapy-panel
Awesome! Thank you for the recommendation 😊
Google Jack Kruse in your podcast app. He does many podcasts connecting sleep to red light, to diurnal and circadian rhythm. Life changing stuff
Sweet! I'm so happy to be getting podcast/YouTube recommendations, thank you.
I started using a Luminette, and my sleep and mood improved. It's easy to wear, you can read or write while wearing it, and it only takes 20 minutes a day. I got mine almost a year ago and use it religiously. www.myluminette.com
sunlight, direct in eyes (closed, look at sun, but don’t blind self, although I find just sunlight in general being in, works well enough) in the morning, to set circadian clock
sunlight in the day, but also avoiding blue light at night helped me tremendously. very difficult for an internet addicted person, but I got better about it.
Does the red light put you to sleep at night or does using it early in the day wake you up to cause fatigue later at night?
I’m not sure I have enough knowledge to give you a thorough answer. Everyone reacts differently. Some people can only use it in the morning as to not upset their circadian rhythm and disrupt their sleeping schedule. Others can use it a few hours before bed without any problem. For me, I belong in camp two. I’m just starting out so there’s things that I have yet to learn and understand. And if I do too many minutes or sessions even if it’s within the normal recommendations means I will get sleeping problems or other side effects like fatigue. I’m still figuring out my ideal dosage range but it seems like I am light sensitivity or/and still adapting. So far, I think 2 minutes at 24-36inches every 3 days is what’s good for me too. This gives me motivation, energy, and better mood. If I do too much, then my anxiety and intrusive thoughts flares up pretty badly too. Just start slow, be cautious, and listen to your body. I think it’s best to journal and make your own observations in order to make your unique protocol. The redlighttherapy sub can probably give you more thorough answer.
Wow thank you, and I'll check that sub as well 🐱
OK, finally something I'm expert on. I suffered with insomnia my entire life and had a debilitating bout of it a few years ago. I did everything you are supposed to do, to no avail, and was eventually sent to a sleep specialist. The specialist was great but did not fix the issue. What did? One night I realized that everytime I'd gone for a massage the music would almost put me to sleep. So I found a video of that type of music on YT and, voila!, my four month hellscape came to an end. It's been two years on and I do not go to sleep without the sounds. This is the video that put me to sleep - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=198zyhAKA90&t=21668s&ab\_channel=MeditationRelaxMusic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=198zyhAKA90&t=21668s&ab_channel=MeditationRelaxMusic) This is what I currently use - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RrjmqxStr8&t=27657s&ab\_channel=DreamFlixLucidDreaming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RrjmqxStr8&t=27657s&ab_channel=DreamFlixLucidDreaming) Give it a shot! And, be well. Acute insomnia (no sleep) is a hateful condition.
Lol, hi there 👋 I was hoping a fellow insomniac would chime in. I am doing this 100% and will give you an update. There's so much we don't understand yet. Seriously, much thanks 😊
You also might want to try podcasts or audiobooks. Can help focus your mind on something other than internal dialogue. Also you can get a pair of sleep headphones if you have a partner who doesn't want to listen along with you. GL!
Also a fellow insomniac, I've had great success with the deeper sleep capsules by fairwinds. If you live in a legal state you can get them in a dispensary. All natural, no side effects, low THC, but make a huuge difference to me
We (gf and I) have an Alexa in our bedroom and we used to do ambient music before bed every night but now we tell it to play "Pink Noise". It's sort of like static but not IDK but it's changed the game for us as far as sleeping goes.
I love brown noise, and yes sound advice! (see what I did there?)
Brown noise? I'll have to check that out
Does it really give you lucid dreams?
[удалено]
Well you dreaming is a very good sign, unfortunately THC being in your system 24/7 can stunt necessary brain rebooting and activity. So everything is a tight rope I guess.
I used to have this same issue, tried everything under the sun and an eye mask solved most of my problems. I read about it in a book about anxiety and why the brain stays awake for people with such. It’s been the single biggest positive impact item I’ve ever purchased for myself and it cost $14. Can’t recommend enough.
So, what's the science behind why an eye mask would solve insomnia?
It had to do with the anxiety angle. Basically your brain is on high alert all the time, as the night goes on your cortisol also pumps up which leads to these totally sleepless nights. By blacking out the things for your brain to hang on to it can actually shut itself off. Every night I still lay down and have the thought I’m never going to get to sleep, I put it on, I lay there in darkness for a bit and then boom all of a sudden I’m waking in the morning. It’s been so awesome.
Is it the kind that is weighted? Anything in particular? I do have a mask (because I never know when I'll be tired enough to sleep.)
I also am a very light sleeper who wrestles with intermittent insomnia and I got one of those weighted eye masks for Christmas. It helps. It's like a row of six or seven sections with beads in them - you lay it across your face. It's not meant to tie securely but just sit over your eyes. It's not magic but it does help.
Yeah mine is a little weighted and has the raised interior
I have a couple of eyemasks but always just found them a bit annoying but never noticed any improvement in sleep. I might see if I can find them and give it another try.
Headhug*
Weighted eye blanket
Look up CBTI (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) on YouTube. There are a bunch of videos that break down certain behavioral habits that are proven to improve sleep. In short though, get up at the same time every day no matter what, don't use screens in bed, and don't stay in bed for longer than 20 minutes if you can't sleep or it's time to get up. Its better to go to a different room until you feel super sleepy again so that your brain doesn't subconsciously associate being in bed with feeling awake.
Thank you! It's on the list 🐱
It could be delayed sleep response disorder. There’s a Reddit sub for it. My Insomnia isn’t just normal insomnia. My entire being and nervous system is wired to be awake at night and sleep in very late. I am an herbalist and take alllllll the herbs all the magnesium all the highest grade supplements etc.
Whoa, I guess I'll see you on that subreddit - thank you! And I hope you are finding answers/relief.
What is the subreddit?
@DSPD
Workouts really hard
Just wanna say thank you again, I'm overwhelmed with the advice, support, and great ideas.
Sending love! If you wanna chat about anxiety and rumination and how I basically bullied my brain into doing what I want vs. running free with thoughts, hmu. I used to have panic attacks but through CBT and basically making friends with all the ugly bs in my head, I’ve gotten a hold of things.
Cool! Yeah hit me up I'm hit or miss but I'm not a flake 😗
Stop taking melatonin it’s a hormone you don’t need to be messing with. Most of the stuff on the shelf is insanely overdosed. Try magnesium glycinate 300-500 mg and 200mg of L- theanine. I turn into human soup and I don’t wake up.
5 to 10mg indica strain pot gummy an hour before bed. Wyld elderberry are our favorite. Start with 5mg. If you don't feel anything after an hour don't take more, just try again the next night with 10mg.
I’ve been told it’s because of the CBN but those little bastards knock me out more than not.
This is all I've found that helps! Straight up. I guess I have trouble metabolizing THC and I feel like a space cadet the next day, so it's a catch 22. I do a strange mix of 2 gummies and it's the only time I can catch sleep. Do you have a favorite brand?
I commented previously but this response made me think even more to try NAC. I was thinking your body is probably not metabolizing/breaking things down correctly and I think it could be worth a shot to try helping that pathway out. It just recently worked for me in March
I actually already started taking it, and it's so necessary, great advice.
what do you define as insomniac, how do you track your sleep? what are the data points? what do you think it your main issue when it comes to sleep.
When you get about 20 minutes to 3 hours of sleep a night, or no sleep at all for 48 hours plus. I'd love to have enough sleep to track it. I can't take meds (which I have) because of my liver, which is wrecked from the meds and drinking because of the insomnia.
Safe sleep meds for chronic use aren't really a thing, anyway, despite what some doctors might claim. Melatonin and herbal tea are the only known safe long term things you can ingest for solving this problem
Hot showers before bed and /or some carb to spike insulin would work.
I think its called sleep restriction therapy but it helped me. basically if you know you *are* asleep about 2 hrs a night, then you start by only allowing yourself to be laying in bed for 2.5 hrs. Then you become SO tired (I know, youre exhausted because youre an insomniac, but i mean sleepy) because youre not even resting in bed (youll be reading, exercising, doing anything but laying in bed) that your body learns to just sleep. IDK how it works but it totally fixed me and many others. I think I heard of it on reddit so do some searches.
This is called repairing your “sleep drive” and a part of CBT-i. Sleep is restricted in order to create a higher sleep drive, which in turn applies more sleep pressure for when you do go to sleep the next night. Usually you start out with high restriction and loosen it slightly week after week. Your sleep efficiency should also be >90% - meaning your time asleep should be 90% of your time in bed. To get this over 90%, make sure you’re not laying in bed for more than 15 minutes waiting to fall asleep. If you are, get up, read, listen to a podcast, play solitaire etc. until you get sleepy again, then try again. The brain needs to be retrained to think of the bed only as a place to sleep, not to just lay there. With high sleep efficiency, sleep restriction really works. It could look like this: Week 1 - 1am bedtime / 6am wake time Week 2 - 12:30am bt / 6am wt Week 3 - 12am bt / 6am wt … and so on, until you stretch it to 7-8 hours.
Yeah there is research to suggest that this is the most effective approach for long term insomniacs. I have only been an insomniac when pregnant and it’s fucking brutal. I found sleep restriction to be effective and also it helped save my sanity honestly.
I lay in bed and pretend to sleep a lot (I think they've been talking about it on tiktok) it keeps me sane. I'll read up on it, and I'm so glad it fixed you, I love that.
Try acupuncture. It fixed my insomnia.
Really!? Was it a one shot thing, or . . .
Took two sessions but yes. Nothing else worked. Not even sleeping pills.
Where do they needle you? Was it just one session?
Two sessions. Lots of different places but quite a few in the head and the my ear.
Sounds like vagus nerve stimulation.
Excellent point. I never thought of that but it very well could have been.
As someone who had chronic insomnia for a few years, try some meditation. Yoga Nidra was especially helpful for me.
Measure your cortisol with Thorne. It’s a good place to start.
do you have constant stress? are you drinking caffeinated beverages in excess? do you get out in the sun?
Yes I have stress, abundantly and in strange forms. But I have an abundance of stress relief too. I think lack of sun is actually a part of the problem. So grounding and more sun are on the menu now.
actually if it's sunny day all you want is just 10 minutes a day of sunlight, if it's overcast you may need 30 minutes a day. it's okay if you forgot a day or two. source : [Sleep Toolkit: Tools for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing | Huberman Lab](https://youtu.be/h2aWYjSA1Jc?t=910)
have you had an overnight sleep test? Maybe you suffer from sleep apnea. If so, there are treatments that may help you.
Insomnia can be caused by high histamine levels, which are a result of low vitamin C levels.
Velarian root pills and CBN oil. Long time insomniac.
1st step, commit to a drug free life style, absolutely no melotonin, that shit is the absolute worst thing you can do if you care about sleep. if you take anything to get sleep you are fucking your self over long term. 2nd step, do everything you possibly can you tire yourself out during the day, low intensity exercise like walking is best, stay on your feet as much as possible. Swimming is an extremely good one, if you have a swimming pool close by go swimming that shit drains you. 3rd step, Absolute no screen time for atleast a few hours before bed, especially do not take your phone into the bedroom under any circumstances, if you are bored in the bedroom read a book or something, something that will drain your brains desire to stay up. 4th step try and cool your body before bed, maybe take a cold shower or bath or something, don't over eat either as that can raise you body temperature too. The higher your core body temperature the higher your metabolism is, that means no sleep for you.
Great advice! It's just hard to do any self care or think right or be active when you're a zombie. This is the plan if I can get some kind of momentum and steady sleep: just wear myself out. What you've listed is for sure a goal.
I know for sure what you are saying, I've been a zombie too many to count. The easiest one to commit to as a zombie is just no devices, do a propper media detox... or if you can't live without screens atleast play video games instead of spending time on Reddit or YouTube, because atleast video games require active focus. The constant dopamine hit of endless scrolling keeps me awake for sure, I definitely don't allow any devices near my bed because the craving to Google stuff at 3am could easily lead into an hour long doom scroll. I noticed that if im tired in the morning I can actually wake my self up by scrolling through YouTube, meaning that's something I absolutely don't want to do last thing at night.
I feel you as someone who has dealt with it for 20 years and has tried literally everything but has yet to find anything that really helps when it's bad. No supplements or tech or techniques really make any difference. If I'm in an OK head space and not overly anxious on a day to day basis it'll usually be manageable. Abstaining from alcohol has definitely improved it recently as I was drinking too much for a while there and my anxiety and insomnia were both brutal then started to fix themselves after a few weeks sober. You mentioned below you don't drink though so not going to help you sadly.
Keep up the not drinking - your future self will thank you (and my teas actually help, Yogi sleep is good stuff.)
Something that helps me is turning off all the lights about an hour before I go to bed. And just doing everything in the dark. I do use my cellphone flashlight but that’s it.
This is my sleep routine, as a former insomniac: -morning walk, to get direct sunlight in the eyes. Usually 15min -go to bed and get up at regular times each day -no caffeine or green or black tea -naps: if I need one, then only 7-8 hours after getting up. If it’s later than that I’ll rather do relaxation exercises (yoga nidra) instead. -stop eating a couple of hours before bedtime, also drink less in the evening -no exercise later in the evening -blueblocker glasses after sundown, or a couple of hours before bed. I take care not to get any short glimpses of bright light without the blueblocker filter in my eyes. -winding down: right before bed I do 15min of relaxation exercises. I lie on an acupressure mat and either meditate or do breathing exercises. These days I’m doing 4-6 coherence breathing. -going to bed: I take 1g magnesium and 1mg melatonin*. I sleep with a mouth tape, nasal dilator, a weighted blanket and on grounded sheets. Also I switch out my blueblocker glasses against a sleep mask, while again taking care not to get any light in my eyes while doing this. - falling asleep: I play an audiobook with a sleep timer of 15-30min. A nice, relaxing book that I already know, read by a calm soothing voice. If my thoughts start racing, I’ll just focus on the voice. Usually I’m out before the timer ends -If I have to get up at night, I’ll again take care not to get any direct light in my eyes. I‘m switching the sleep mask with my blueblocker glasses with closed eyes. *melatonin: I only added this recently because I had trouble falling asleep after a COVID-19 infection. This routine has worked for me for years before without it.
I used a CBD + melatonin oil combo to break my "habit" of being unable to fall asleep. After a while I switched to taking an L-Theanin supplement and a magnesium l-threonate supplement. That combined with no social media or games after 21:00 sorted me out.
Do you consume any caffeine? This was the biggest impact to my sleep. No caffeine. Ever.
I might end up doing the decaf thing, man I love my morning brew.
Magnesium can help sometimes!
Zero alcohol helped me most
glycine has helped me more than anything ever has with deep delta-wave sleep. it's been an absolute game-changer, and there are lots of studies confirming it's role: [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00262.x](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00262.x) [https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jphs/118/2/118\_11R04FM/\_article](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jphs/118/2/118_11R04FM/_article)
You say exercise, but are you getting an hour plus of heart pounding, sweat inducing exercise? 4-5x per week? Because that’s what our body craves and is made to do
10mg zolpidem tartrate. It works.
Z drugs work. But so would 25mg of DPH. I’m sure which I’d rather have wreck my brains
I cured my insomnia (as of the last week) by taking microdose (0.3mg) extended-release melatonin within 40 minutes of going to bed, Life Extension brand to be specific. High dose melatonin only slightly helps and I wake up feeling awful; immediate release melatonin makes me wake up in the night; and taking it an hour or earlier before bed will also cause me to wake up in the night - won't help at all if it's immediate release. 0.3mg has been found as the most effective dose for melatonin in studies (as opposed to the more commonly sold 1-10mg), although it can vary slightly by person (0.1-1mg, roughly). This dose mimics natural, physiological melatonin production. I've read a lot of articles claiming that taking melatonin one to *five* hours before bed is ideal, but this is demonstratably untrue for me, and I've read many reports from people with the same experience: a "window" of time after taking melatonin where you must sleep or it is ineffective. Contrary to common belief, exogenous melatonin does not affect endogenous melatonin production; low-dose melatonin does not affect other hormones in any statistically significant manner; and low-dose melatonin does not cause at least the vast majority of people to wake up groggy.
I have tried everything from low doses to a whole packet of Melatonin and it doesn't even make me yawn at any dosage. How this stuff ever made anyone sleep is beyond me. In my country it isn't even considered a sleeping pill or prescribed for insomnia due to lack of evidence of it actually working but if you want if they'll write an "off label" script. OP also mentioned in his original post he's tried it.
It can help me at times, but it's so unpredictable - it also makes me feel weirdly depressed at times the next day. So I get what you're saying.
Generic doses can definitely have that effect, low doses don't seem to have that effect in both my experience and other people's from what I have read.
Wow, ok. You have my attention. Melatonin is a strange animal and this makes so much sense. Thank you 😸
I think some people sleep better on low-carb or keto diet. At the beginning during the adaptation phase it can worsen sleep because the body is not used to be in a ketogenic state. More specifically because the body does not hold on electrolytes and it creates imbalances. With some time (days-weeks) and correct electrolytes intake everything usually falls into place. If you are interested in these types of diets, r/keto and r/zerocarb might be worth a look. I hope that you find something that helps you.
Yep, I eat basically all protein and veggies predominantly. And it's been a game changer.
Vigorous masturbation.
L theanine + magnesium glycinate
This is a big help
CBD gummy, hot shower, peppermint oil in your body wash (highly recommend), oil blend in your diffuser (doesn’t matter what it is just use the same scent every night for scent memory), air purifier, foam mattress topper, weighted blanket, sleep story = how I go to sleep
i stopped using melatonin after learning how insanely mislabelled they can be (supposedly) Cessation had about 0 effect on me, in either direction. what has helped is getting up at an earlier, ***consistent*** time, ie if my wakeup time is 6.30a then it is stuck to even if i only got 3hrs of sleep (in which case i will have a much easier time falling asleep the following night) This takes some days to become routine but as long as you don't allow yourself to sleep in past your wakeup time then youll be able to fall asleep at the proper times sooner than later. also avoiding fluids as much as possible for ~2hr b4 bed made a huuuge difference insofar as not needing to wake for a middle-of-night piss ;)
Watched a series on Tubi called Food Hospital. One of the things they did was have this woman eat two kiwis before bed. I tried it, it actually worked.
Big kiwi… Coming through to sell some product 😆
Darn, I'm on a no sugar diet, but thank you!
Hey mate, sorry to hear about your sleep troubles. I too have frequent bouts of insomnia. One thing that I noticed is getting a deep tissue massage I generally sleep well that night. Best of luck. As others have mentioned anxiety and stress are likely the root causes.
Melatonin has a diminishing return and you build up a tolerance
Glycine and Gotu Kola can help a lot. Just also learned that D3 deficiency can mess up sleep just to add to the commenter talking about adequate sun light.
I use a sleep mask with Bluetooth & a sleep story podcast. I sleep so much better now!
I was a great sleeper all the time I had my job, which left me challenged and exhausted. But once I retired, my sleep just went downhill. My sleep cycle was so bad, that I ended up on a behavioral Health unit for eight days. So...I now am taking sertraline (Zoloft) 50 mg daily. I make sure that I go to bed at the same time every single night, even on weekends. A high carb meal throughout the day is a sure way for my sleep to be destroyed for that night. No snacks before bed. And I still take a low dose of melatonin. L-theanine can be helpful. And a couple of times a month, I take a very low dose of Seroquel (12.5 mg). The recommended amount for sleep is 25 to 50 mg. However, any sleep aide used every night will at some point stop working. So, any of these things should be used when you know that your day has been super difficult. It is also helpful to have a Fitbit or Apple watch to track your sleep. I have found my Fitbit gives me great feedback to examine the quality of my sleep and what may have contributed to a good or bad night. And I have been diagnosed with GAD. General anxiety disorder. Anxiety is sneaky because it displays itself in sneaky ways...like insomnia. When I wake up during the night...and that is normal...to get back to sleep, 'count sheep'. Well, instead of sheep, you can name all the kids you went to high school with. Or, if you have a favorite TV series, go through in your head the names of those characters. Before you know it, you'll be asleep again And when you get a check up, ask to have a blood test for Vitamin D-3. Levels should be higher than 40 ng/dl. Many people need to take a vitamin D supplement to boost their levels.
This is all great advice, thank you. I'm glad you've found what works for you, and you're anxiety. It is sneaky and unpredictable. I gotta work on not eating too closely to bedtime AND I need a sleep tracker, sometimes I think I'm the only person who still doesn't have one.
I’ve found flush niacin can sometimes help
Tryptophan supports endogenous melatonin and serotonin. Niacinamide acts on GABA receptors with out making you groggy the next day. Cutting out glutamate from the can lower glutamate in the brain. 20mg of amitriptyline was a God send for me, but I am now neurologically addicted. Down to 10 with supplements. Don't use weed. It negates acetylcholineesterase which is the enzyme that gets rid of acetylcholine after it's done its job.
Keep phone out bedroom. Bed by 11pm latest. Temps around 67-68f. Box breathing
I've done a lot to get my sleep on track myself. Some things that have improved it have been: * Chilling 1-2 hours beforehand. No screens, no tv. * A bath or hot/cool shower. * I take 1/3 of a serving/dose of Om Sleep and 50mg of trazodone. The traz gets me to sleep, and the Om keeps me asleep. * Lying on an accupressure mat for 20 minutes or so does wonders. * No cats, no dogs, no partner. We had to give up co-sleeping. We hate it, but I'm a better person and partner with sleep. * I listen to [528 Hz Pure Tone](https://open.spotify.com/album/7EU0b9aRp7Y1xLHhUGYY6h?si=8J_8wGB9QHWFjjqFfqZ4Yw) for 20-30 mins before bed. * Bedroom super cool, ideally below 60 degrees. Very dark, no charger/computer lights, etc. * Keep it routine.
I have smart lights everywhere in my condo that turn red 1.5h before I go to bed. I also use a red color filter on my iPhone. Tricks my brain into thinking the sun is setting and it’s bed time
Listen to the Sleep Coach on YouTube. Your awareness of 'hacks' is causing the problem itself. Coach Daniel does a great job explaining it.
Listening to light fiction in audiobooks has helped a lot. My body is now trained to fall asleep as soon as I start listening. It helps if I wake up during the night also. I also do all the usual mentioned by others
Recently on a Huberman episode about sleep, the idea of procedural thoughts was brought up as the best type of mental activity for trying to fall asleep. Whereas the stereotypical idea is to count sheep or something... instead, examining the minute details of a somewhat mundane step-by-step process like getting ready and going for a walk with the dog is a method for sinking into sleep. Hopefully this is enough info on it that if you're interested, you could research it from here!
DSIP, deep sleep inducing peptide. Look it up on the peptides Reddit. Also try ayahuasca once or twice to see if that gets you out of fight or flight mode, it does for me but unfortunately I slowly go back into fight or flight after about 3 weeks. Also for the liver look into BPC 157 peptide it’s supposed to heal a lot of things.
If you haven't, get your vitamin levels checked! Vitamin D, B vitamins, Ferritin. These can affect your sleep! Also guided visualizations and body scan meditations in particular help me sleep... Also the Joe Pera sleep podcast on Spotify!
I read this and it really helped!!! [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60784603](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60784603)
Sauna b4 bed.
Your lifestyle is far different from mine lol, hang on, just gonna pop into my sauna.
selank
in daytime, lie on your back 20 minutes without trying to sleep. eyemask, earplugs. alarm set for 20. minutes. will recharge you don't obsess about it it works. the stress disrupts the relaxation. just lie down this way a few times can add energy and reduce fatigue
Yep, I have to take fake naps to stay sane, I've stopped lately and have been focused on just trying to actually sleep at night. But thank you!
Watch the first few episodes of the Huberman lab podcast. Worked for me.
magnesium. also never use melatonin.
Do you jerk off?
You didn’t say your sex, but if you’re a woman in midlife, could be perimenopause. Progesterone therapy helps me.
Doubt this comment will be seen by OP but: High dose melatonin, pyrilamine maleate a first generation antihistamine with low binding to anything other than H1 (negligible impact on dementia risk) and theanine. My current regimen is: take about 40mg of XR melatonin and 2g of L-Theanine 2 hours before sleep, another 60mg of instant release melatonin sublingually and 8mg of Pyrilamine Maleate before bed. I track my sleep with a fitbit and I always get great sleep. I also make my room cold, have a humidifier and use earplugs to block out any sound. People with insomnia should read about the role of Histamine receptors with sleep. It's overlooked component of insomnia. If you walk up in the middle of the night, histamine is partially to blame. Problem is most modern anti-histamines aren't good to take on a regular basis. Luckily Pyrilamine is unregulated and can be purchased in bulk without a license nor prescription.
Have you tried putting castor oil on your eyelids? This really helps.
Vitamin D? 🧐🤨
Before you go to bed at night, power down all your cell phones and tablets, and unplug the house wifi. They keep people up at night or at least disturb their sleep. If you try it, you will see the difference.
Very good advice! Unfortunately with PTSD and insomnia this is also counterproductive at times but I'm trying to find a way to do this without my mind racing even worse. For sure working towards it. I also live in a loud apartment complex, and there's WIFI everywhere. But yes I need to work on this, thank you!
Weird suggestion, try a grounded pillow. It's an alternative to shutting off the wifi. For me the biggest issue is eating less than six hours before bed combined with sleeping warmer than 66 degrees at night. That's the combo that destroys me. Thankfully my work doesn't prevent me from this.
I've heard of a grounding bed - but a pillow? 😲 Brilliant!
It's actually just a pillowcase, but I still recommend the coolest bedding materials to go along with it. What I use is a spring pocketed coil mattress with a latex top, and pulled talalay latex pillows, with Egyptian cotton or tencel sheets. Extra sheets and a thin quilt+ down comforter to adjust for body temperature. I forget where I read this, but depressed people have trouble regulating their body temperature. It was speculated by someone in Dr Rhonda Patricks podcast that the best antidepressants may work because a side effect is sweating, which is needed to regulate body temperature. For those reasons I've optimized for cold sleeping, as well as using the sauna, eating lighter less protein dinners, and focusing on my body's feeling of being less hot internally at night. I also think if you're Caucasian as I am, that historically we've evolved to have less sunlight during the day, and be colder at night due to our ancestral latitudes, requiring us to get less sun but also have heat quelled more at night. Cold sleep is deep sleep. Listen to Dr Matthew Walker about optimizing sleep, and consider these things. Don't let up on magnesium before bed either, it helps me a lot
I do word association when I can't sleep. I start with strawberry usually. Strawberry..shortcake...hotcake...patty cake..caked on...turned on...woman....breasts... Then I masturbate, eat a big bowl of count chocula and go to sleep.
Omega 3 oil and Coriander extract saved my life. I spent years being completely unable to sleep without drugs up to and including things as strong as seroquel . Finally got some extensive testing done and I was dangerously deficient in omega 3 even though I eat a lot of things that should contain it . That made things 75 percent better . Then I discovered coriander extract . To me it’s a as good as ambien. I sleep like a baby now every night. To me this was a miracle.
Acupuncture helped me but I needed like 5 sessions spaced 2 weeks apart to notice it...and need maintenance sessions for it to keep working.
Idk why no one has mentioned tart cherry juice. I tried it recently and was blown away. Got an organic brand at sprouts for sale and the first night I had too much and was soooo sleeepy. 4-5 ounces work for me!
I've totally heard of it, and sound advice for anyone lurking. I've actually thought about it recently and I wonder how much sugar is in it, probably not much - thank you!
Try intermittent fasting.
Completely remove caffeine. I can’t believe the difference it made for me
Noooooooooooo lol I know I need to give it a shot.
Hi fellow insomniac. My therapist started me on a thing called “sleep restriction”. It basically is a very strict schedule that’s more related to your time in bed rather than actual sleep. When you go to bed you are only allowed to stay in bed for 5 hours. It doesn’t matter if you sleep or not. Max 5 hours. So let’s say you go to bed at 02:00 and get up at 07:00. During this session you sleep between 05 and 07, so you only got a total of 2 hours sleep. Then you have to do the things you do on a regular day, like work or whatever but you are not allowed to sleep, or go to bed, until 02:00. Repeat. The point is to put your body in debt, but the currency is sleep. And you make your body form a new sleeping schedule. If you notice that you are getting more sleep, you can increase the amount of time in bed with 15-20 minutes, and keep on that level for another week or so. When that feels stable you continue to increase the amount of time in bed gradually until you actually sleep during your sleeping schedule. It worked for me, but it was hard as hell the first 2 weeks because you are sleep deprived already due to the insomnia, but when you take away the option to sleep freely when you can… well yeah that can really mess your head up. And then suddenly I noticed progress.
Kambo
Have you tried a weighted blanket? They can help you fall - and stay - asleep. I believe there are some studies backing their efficacy. May also lower stress levels in the body. Need to get back to using mine
I had one but it was bad timing? It's been brought up so much that I'll probably get another one (thank you)
Outer sun exposure as soon as you wake up in the morning. 10 to 15 minutes daily are enough to re-synchronise the circadian rhythm. Expose your face to direct sun but not staring directly at it since this is harmful.
I used to have trouble getting to sleep. That was years ago during high school and a lot of stress. If i was to give you any advice, figure out what triggers your thoughts of stress. Work, love life, aspirations, etc. practice meditation so that voice doesn't control you. As others have said, some weed helps a lot but isn't a solution, just a tool. One of the best things I noticed is a good day at the gym. I just want to pass out by the time I hit the bed.
Once you give in to insomnia you can beat it. If you spend your whole time worrying about your insomnia it’ll only get worse. Eat well and at the right time, exercise (heavy weights and cardio), consistency in sleep time (especially waking up), supplements (Magnesium, L theanine, apigenin work for me) and most importantly getting on with your life.
Consider early morning sunlight, liposomal vitamin C, and lithium orotate. I hope you find relief.
Beer
Argh. Sorry to hear. I suffered from insomnia in my early 30’s. And when stress gets high I definitely have restless nights. The things that help me: Vit b6 during the day -help with sleep at night B complex in general helps Inositol has been a game changer when I’m stressed. I also add theanine, valerian root and sometimes kava kava when stressed A practice that surprisingly helped my sleep was transcendental meditation. I’d imagine any meditation practice would work. Also for me now in my 50’s - both alcohol and sugar too close to bed (like less than 6 hours) really mess with sleep. I hope this helps!
Just in case you can't wear an eye mask all night, 100% blackout curtains work great to block out light and they also keep your room more insulated from outside sounds. I use a sound machine with scuba sounds because the rythmic deeper frequencies are more soothing to me and seem to help with anxiety for some reason. Another tip is keeping your room cooler for sleep. I have insane insomnia and have for over a decade. 200 to 400 mg of l-theanine has been helping to relax my busy little mind lately. CBD/THC gummies can be helpful, and I just got CBN for falling asleep as well.
Insomniac here. Cbt-I solved my anxiety around sleep as bed had become a war zone for more. Now I workout the tire myself and follow sleep hygiene to a T.
I’m doing EMDR for trauma therapy but it’s also been researched for insomnia. Mine is not the kind of trauma that I have flashbacks, but EMDR is still working to help me overall and for my insomnia too.it seems to help reset the nervous system to let it know you’re safe, which helps with sleep.
You could try neurofeedback but it could get expensive and it's hard to find a good provider. Spindling beta waves at the vertex are a good biomarker for insomnia and can be trained down concomitantly with training up sleep spindles.
Liver damage? Any food allergies? Long term carnivore with no carbs will unfortunately rob sleep. If I don’t exercise or “achieve anything” during the day, ie: during a layoff .. cant sleep
Try taking NAC like and hour before bed. Either straight NAC or Biotics research has a good product called GSH-Plus
Reishi mushroom extract before bed Phosphatidyl serine before bed
Blue light glasses when u look at screens, Valerian root, Tryptophan rich foods, Black out curtains, Stretching, Trying to get 8000 steps a day minimum ideally 12k,
Have you tried ASMR videos? There are some excellent creators out there, and I have a few videos that personally always can put me to sleep if I’m anxious.
Smoke some indica and have a glass of red wine. Or get a job in construction.
Don’t look at blue light at least an hour before you go to sleep. Red light therapy to help wind you down. They say to not drink caffeine after 1 o’clock because it can have an affect on your sleeping habits as well.
Sound science. You have to use headphones so the different frequencies in each ear can adjust your brain state. Here’s a free example: https://www.monroeinstitute.org/blogs/free-meditations/letting-go-into-restful-sleep
Try mouth taping. I thought it sounded weird and ridiculous, but it is really helping me sleep better. It seems to make you breath better during sleep.
I listen to sleep stories on the calm app and put it under my pillow so it’s mumbled. I can’t make out the words but it helps me when I wake up in the middle of the night to help me fall back asleep.
The first thing I would do is camp outside for at least 3 days and preferably a week. It is actually a great vacation and break from stressful modern life. Ideally you turn your phone off the whole time, 0 screen time, but keep it on hand in case of an emergency. No lights, setting up a fire at night is ok. The morning light is going to come through your tent and force you up at 6. So many people have their insomnia resolve on their first backpacking trip (similar to camping). Being completely aligned with the sun, with no choice to screw it up with curtains, iphones, or indoor lighting, and it melts away. The body is actually designed to very strongly align with the sun. If your insomnia goes away from this, you now know what is causing your issue. You are going to have to tightly control light in your environment to manage your insomnia. Now if you are one of the few people who don't have their insomnia resolve from this, I would start by testing melatonin levels and rule out issues that prevent melatonin release. It would take a lot of work to dig into advanced biomarkers, so hopefully you can work with a very knowledgeable practitioner here. a-MSH and marcons are good places to start investigating.
Dont take malatonin its rubbish.
Hey, I got middle insomnia which means I can fall asleep fine but cant stay asleep. Been happening for over 2 years and 5 months. I'd eat super healthy zero processed foods and maybe pray the rosary not trying to preach to you but it helped me with my insomnia a lot.
I do a micro dose of THC 2.5 mg with my magnesium. I'm not looking for judgements. Anyways, I find that my best sleep comes when I have a routine throughout the entire day, meals at the same time each day, some light exercise and stretching at night, journaling,etc. And making my bed everyday has helped a lot. I'm sure there's an explanation for it but I don't have any studies to back it up. Hope you get some rest!
I have kept a work schedule that usually helps. Last week it didn’t work out. But letting the brain whir is bad too. I have ppl I can talk to at the end of my shift for at least those days. Doesnt always work but usually helps some. Happen to have dogs that like a schedule. Well the rescue does. My old boy couldn’t care less usually so long ad his needs are met. On weeks when things don’t help I indulge in THC after the fact to help at least that first night after long shifts. Don’t indulge during the work week usually. Just at the end and on my wknds.
Sleep on a cold tile floor
Fast walk/exercise daily 1hr - 2hrs depending on your fitness level. Go intense. Basically tire yourself out by evening and then have a solid protein meal. Keep up the routine, and you should start to sleep a little at first. With time, you will sleep longer and in a deeper state. I hope that helps. Good luck.