Can't Sleep

First off, I'm not gloating when I say I rarely have trouble falling asleep. And perhaps you may roll your eyes at the suggestion (as I did the first time it was offered to me) of trying the old-fashioned remedy of slowly sipping a glass of warm (not hot) plain milk before going to bed, but it *does* work. I've tried it from time to time and, at least for me, it really does work. You might also want to sip that warm milk while sitting in a quiet room (with the TV, radio, video game, etc. turned off to give your mind a chance to wind down from all the stimulus) before you go to bed.

As I've mentioned earlier, on the few occasions when I've tried it, it has worked every time. On the other hand, if can't stand milk, or if you're lactose intolerant, no way would this help.:lol But, again, it's just a helpfully offered suggestion. :)

Eleiece
 
I have heard that warm milk can do that to I fell asleep last night again and manage to get more than 10 hours sleep I dont know how I did it maybe it could have been the coffee sometimes that dose make me sleepy as well. I hope you got some sleep last night Crow ((Hugs))
 
I have tried nearly everything over the years--except warm milk, actually. I've used camomile tea, valerian, melatonin, and one prescription sleep aid (which knocked me out cold the first night, then never worked again). None of those things continued to work for very long. I've listened to all the advice about cutting down on caffeine and keeping the bed only for sleeping--no reading in bed, no TV in the bedroom, etc.

For me, the thing that works best is doing yoga stretches before bedtime. Getting vigorous exercise during the day helps too. It takes time to learn yoga, but I think it's well worth the investment. If you're really stressed about something it may not help, but generally, being physically relaxed is the best preparation for sleep, at least for me.
 
I'm with snish, I have tried so many things but they don't seem to work for long. Its such a hard one isn't it, there was an article I read in the readers digest at the dentist that gave some magic advice but I can't remember what it said. Maybe its about time I made another appointment.
 
For a few years I have been practicing a dreaming technique..and when you practice dreaming..you practice sleeping :p Also, i myself have had tons of stress lately and if i don't do these techniques..i don't sleep at all. They help me, i hope they help you somehow.

What helps me is:

Lay in a comfortable position and visualize climbing stairs. count 1- I'm going to sleep 2- I'm going to sleep etc.. etc.. in your head for every step you take. -----It usually can take as long as 20minutes to fall asleep though. Oh, and occasionally if you REALLY can't sleep, this method convinces your body that you mind is asleep and it will go into sleep paralysis. You will feel a tingling feeling all through your body when in this state..and it can be scary for some people.

Concentrate on your breathing. Breath in for a count of 1 second, hold it, and let it out for one second. then move to 2, and three and four, and so on. I normally stop at eight or so and either go back to three or go to the method mentioned above.---This is more of a relaxation technique..to help your mind and body relax.

Maybe take a warm bath before you sleep, and maybe try some Kava Tea..it works wonders.

Good luck :)
 
Aurora Illusions said:
For a few years I have been practicing a dreaming technique..and when you practice dreaming..you practice sleeping :p Also, i myself have had tons of stress lately and if i don't do these techniques..i don't sleep at all. They help me, i hope they help you somehow.

What helps me is:

Lay in a comfortable position and visualize climbing stairs. count 1- I'm going to sleep 2- I'm going to sleep etc.. etc.. in your head for every step you take. -----It usually can take as long as 20minutes to fall asleep though. Oh, and occasionally if you REALLY can't sleep, this method convinces your body that you mind is asleep and it will go into sleep paralysis. You will feel a tingling feeling all through your body when in this state..and it can be scary for some people.

Concentrate on your breathing. Breath in for a count of 1 second, hold it, and let it out for one second. then move to 2, and three and four, and so on. I normally stop at eight or so and either go back to three or go to the method mentioned above.---This is more of a relaxation technique..to help your mind and body relax.

Maybe take a warm bath before you sleep, and maybe try some Kava Tea..it works wonders.

Good luck :)

I'm going to print this out and try it, I'm reading this at 4.30am because guess what!!!! I can't sleep AGAIN!! Last night i had about 2 hours and tonight 3.5, I just thought I'd get up, get ready for work and then sit in a comfy position on the couch, if I go back to sleep for a while then BONUS!!
 
these have probably been suggested but try getting a nice book, a warm drink of hot chochlate and read until yur eyes cant stand it, then close yur eyes for a bit and maybe that will work

hope it helps

Alllan =]
 
Sometimes when I can't sleep I'll either get up and start working on some story of mine on my computer until I start getting drowsy.

Other times I'll make myself some tea or hot chocolate and read a book until I get sleepy. On average it only takes me an hour or so until I get tired enough to go back to sleep.
 
I wasn't going to mention this, but then I remember that it would apply to you , Crow, since you're in school. If you can't sleep, work on homework. I've done that many times, and usually I nod off after a while doing some thinking. Just a suggestion, but if you can't sleep, you might as well get something done, right?
 
ohboy said:
I wasn't going to mention this, but then I remember that it would apply to you , Crow, since you're in school. If you can't sleep, work on homework. I've done that many times, and usually I nod off after a while doing some thinking. Just a suggestion, but if you can't sleep, you might as well get something done, right?

Yeah, I do my homework when I can't sleep (most of the time).
 
We do what works.

I'm suddenly reminded of the time I almost fell asleep in math class... Though taking care of the little monster kitten I've got usually helps me sleep well through the night.
 
Errowyn said:
Though taking care of the little monster kitten I've got usually helps me sleep well through the night.

We too have a little monster kitten, but he doesn't help with my sleeping problems!

Hurricane Henry came into our lives on 19th July as a six week old ball of half starved bedraggled fluff that my sister in law found wandering down the middle of the road dodging the traffic.
His mission in life seems to be to wreak havoc all over the house and leave distruction in his wake, but he's cute, so he gets forgiven almost everything.
 
leaper1 said:
We too have a little monster kitten, but he doesn't help with my sleeping problems!

Hurricane Henry came into our lives on 19th July as a six week old ball of half starved bedraggled fluff that my sister in law found wandering down the middle of the road dodging the traffic.
His mission in life seems to be to wreak havoc all over the house and leave distruction in his wake, but he's cute, so he gets forgiven almost everything.

Do you think him and Merlin could've been seperated at birth? ;) Merlin is about eight weeks now and is full of energy when it's not too hot.

He's half siamese and half something else, we think tabby. He loves people's toes for reasons only known to him.

Mom got him because a lady she knows couldn't take care of him. He was about ten days old and his eyes had just opened. He was mellow then but once he learned how to walk it was less than a day before he learned how to run.

He's a smart little kitten. Despite his habbit of destroying everything he can get his jaws around we all love him.
 
Errowyn said:
Do you think him and Merlin could've been seperated at birth? ;) Merlin is about eight weeks now and is full of energy when it's not too hot.

He's half siamese and half something else, we think tabby. He loves people's toes for reasons only known to him.

Mom got him because a lady she knows couldn't take care of him. He was about ten days old and his eyes had just opened. He was mellow then but once he learned how to walk it was less than a day before he learned how to run.

He's a smart little kitten. Despite his habbit of destroying everything he can get his jaws around we all love him.

Horrid Henry is a long haired black and white no-breed, so I don't think they are siblings, but definitely kindred spirits.

Add me to msn, or whatever you have - I'm on most of them - and we can swap kitty tales and pics without boring the non-kitty people here.
 
leaper1 said:
Horrid Henry is a long haired black and white no-breed, so I don't think they are siblings, but definitely kindred spirits.

Add me to msn, or whatever you have - I'm on most of them - and we can swap kitty tales and pics without boring the non-kitty people here.

You can always start a thread for kitty tales. I'll be there.

My Wacky Macky is past the destroying stage... mostly... but boy, does he have a lot of energy.
 
If you do start one, I have some strories from a cat named George. I don't have a rhyming adjective to place before his name, but trust me, he's full of personality. Worse still, he's four years old, and he still acts like a kitten. :roflmao:
 
Now I'M the one that can't either get to sleep, or stay asleep, but luckily not both (for the past few nights). Though I think mine has to do with some recent stress that has come about (a bit too complicated to explain). Anyone have any good relaxation advice before going to bed? Even some deep breathing technique?

In the mean time, at 3:50 A.M., I'm going to try and salvage the rest of this night.
 
Another thought. people do have different sleep patterns. Funny I currently have a getting up 4 am pattern, did I synchronize with the forum ? :), I usually doze, daydream/think, or if sleep is not forthcoming get up and do something fun...and then fall asleep :p . My boyfriend for example can't sleep before 2 am.

the 8-9 hours a night rule applies for most people but some people sleep 2 x 4 hours so they have 2 half days or other patterns and have different sleep times.. which is hard if you got a 9-5 job or go to school have you tried afternoon naps? maybe you just have a different natural rythm? And it can change. The main problem is worrying about it because that's sure to keep you up.

Did you try sometimes skipping a full night? That can reset you (and is a good against depression) And it gives you a full night to do fun stuff.

it can be stress too of course. It would be good if everyone , including me, ha, would take at least 15 minutes or even an hour for themselves, do some meditation, yoga, feldenkrais, tai chi or just relax,listen to music like Errowyn said, letting go of the hassles of the day.

Anything useful here? :)

Thought of another one: Regular physical exercise. And an hour of workout does wonders :)
Or even ten minuts of anything that gets your body engaged, but preferably a proper one hour plus gym workout at least twice a week with some aerobic workout and some bits using your body's strength. and the tiniest thing every day. Anything goes anything helps :)

And if there's stress factors in your life see which ones you can remove or decrease.


:D
 
Last edited:
I think what you said about skipping a full night is interesting, and something that I've never thought of. However, the logic makes sense, considering that would most likely reset the sleep cycle.

Actually, the reason I mentioned it was because I normally I end up staying asleep throughout the night. Actually, I can trace my sleep to stress pattern regularly. I attend college, and how well I sleep is usually dependent on how much work or tests there are. For example, next week, all the teachers are getting ready for Easter Vacation (or Spring Break, to be more religiously neutral), and so I'm having at least three tests and accompanying homework, and probably a fourth test that hasn't been confirmed. Of course, I'm one of those people who takes breaks, but in the back of my mind, I know there's still more work to do, even though the assignment's not due in two weeks.

I'll think about your suggestions, though. Thanks Jassian. :)
 
Now I'M the one that can't either get to sleep, or stay asleep, but luckily not both (for the past few nights). Though I think mine has to do with some recent stress that has come about (a bit too complicated to explain). Anyone have any good relaxation advice before going to bed? Even some deep breathing technique?

In the mean time, at 3:50 A.M., I'm going to try and salvage the rest of this night.

Feldenkrais!!
it's guided physical/relaxation exercises made to get the feel of the subtleties in mind/body communication. it's really retraining your mind and body to work together in a natural way.

you can get them for free on the internet (freeware, they were made by people who want you to use it for free), but they aren't as good in my opinion as some sets you can buy. Anyway they are a good start.

PM me if you got questions :)

or Tai Chi, Alexander Technique, Yoga (Hatha or Raja - more physical or more spiritual), chi gong balls, ... loads of stuff ;)