I have trouble getting to sleep I have lay in bed for 3/4 hours before and not gone to sleep, but now I read and I fall to sleep quite easily, I think it slows me down and tires me out. Only problem is when I get into the book now, don't want to put it down! I don't recommend sleeping pills at all, they are very addictive as you could guess. 'doc
I find the best way to go to sleep is with a dvd on... I pick something that isnt the best out of my dvd collection then i dont have any intention of watching all of it. My TV and dvd turn off after the film has finished so i dont get waken up by the film in the middle of the night. I'm going to try sleeping pills once i got back to school - ive been going to bed at half 4 and waking up at 12/1 in the afternoon Oh and with the window open - it helps
My girlfriend does the same when she's stressed about getting to sleep - turn the lights down low and stick a divx on at a lowish but audible volume, get yourself comfortable in bed and settle down to watch. With luck you'll pass out mid episode and once the divx ends the room is quiet for restful sleeping. you could also google for an auto switch-off program if your pc is noisy..
i used to have that problem but now i tend to pass out pretty fast. i'm not going to promote any sort of drug use to help you sleep....but one substance does work. a shot of bourbon or any kind of alcohol for that matter will help you sleep soundly. normally, i sleep on my couch with the tv on. if i sleep in my bed by myself, it can take me hours to get to sleep.
I find the opposite helps in that if it's something I really want to watch I'll fall asleep quicker! Nothing gets me asleep faster than waiting up to watch something good on TV/listen to something on the radio. I stay awake right up until it starts and then that's it. Land of nod. I can't sleep at all in pitch darkness with no sounds as my brain can't shut off and I ended up analysing everything that's happened over the day and beating myself up about things I should've done differently. So I always leave my TV on the sleep timer and find something like QI that I've seen hundreds of times before but still find funny sends me off to sleep nicely. I used to be really highly sensitive to caffeine (which is funny as both parents have strong black coffee right before bed and it does nothing) but then I started drinking Red Bull every day and while it didn't wake me up, if I didn't have it I was hardly alive let alone awake after the afternoon. Just recently I'd been staying awake until about 04:30/05:00 just because every time I tried to lie down it felt like my head was going to explode. I had to keep getting up and walking about. Stopped caffeine for a few days and it stopped. Had a can of Red Bull and it started again! Now I just have the Red Bull at weekends or when I'm going to be doing a lot that day and it's all but gone away. [EDIT] Damn spammers reviving old posts! Baaaah[/EDIT]
I've always found that regular timings was the best thing. I had insomnia a few years back and I didn't want to go on any form of medication to help me sleep, so I tried several things including some mentioned and found the best way was to sleep at regular times, say bed by 10:30/11 whatever you feel is comfortable and a regular waking time ie 7/8am etc. It's worked a treat for me when I've been getting tired through busy days etc... Helps your body get into a regular rythm so it 'knows' this time to this time is sleep time. Might be worth a shot. I know daylight plays a big factor in sleep to as when I was camping out in S.Africa I went to sleep when it went dark and woke when it got light. Even though it was like 9pm-5/6am I never felt better. Could be worth trying to make your room as dark as possible when you go to sleep. Also drinking some water I find can help, as I usually wake up feeling dry if I don't and groggy behind the eyes.
we all have trouble from time to time falling asleep, I used to stay up for a couple of days at a time before I used to get some sleep. After trying several different things, exercise, reading, watching films, listening to music, i tried sleeping pills, and the first time i tried them i sleep for 16 hours straight, granted i was in college at the time so wasnt that bad i missed a whole day, needless to say I never tried them again. Nowadays i dont have trouble getting to sleep, which is good, but it is the slightest noise that can wake me up......so I use ear protectors, blocks out most of the surrounding noise but I do still hear my alarm clock. (god damn it!)
Holy Thread revival Hex... did someone just get that bored? And I'm gonna stand by mostly what I said FOUR YEARS AGO, however interactions with lady folk has a tendancy to just make me more awake tbh... Complete solution has got to be painkillers and beer...
On topic of the necro thread. I have the opposite problem - I'm an extremely heavy sleeper - will sleep through several alarm clocks, and if my girlfriend wakes me I seem to fall back to sleep before my brain has told me to GTFO of bed. Any ideas? I usually average 6 - 8 hours sleep a night
I have insomnia myself, don't bother with all the turning off stuff and turning out the lights, when you chase sleep it rarely comes, calm down, just stay away and do something you enjoy it'll come eventually If its getting to the stage when its becoming an issue then: 1.) If it's just about bareable then stick it out till weekend then sleep in (I do this) 2.) If its pretty major then contact your Doctor, it could be something as simple as stress, not my place to pry but has anything major happened recently? 3.) Don't lie awake thinking, thought is the enemy of sleep
I have the same problem (although with less girlfriend ). Buzzing alarms clocks and parents trying to waking me up do nothing for me - but if I use a radio alarm clock I do just manage to not go back to sleep normally.
Yeah, I'm the same. I've just come to accept it. I think it's what is clinically referred to as being a lazy arse.
Sleeping pills messed me up, ended up worse than when i wasnt sleeping propely. Got the sleep but i was still realy tired in the morning. Doc said i wasnt getting enough exersise but that was a load of hourse s**t because i cycle a good 7 miles a day to work and back and countless 30km rides at the weekend. Ive found the best thing is either the chilled music through a pillow speeker, has to be music you know i have found. If its a new album i get hung up on listening to the lyrics. I would most definatly not advise pills, use it as a last option!
I had sleep issues for a bit. My problem is that I hate sleep, I see it as a MASSIVE waste of time but it wasn't as if I was forcing myself to stay awake. Would never be able to get to sleep, whether I was tired or not, and when I did it was only for a short period, 3 or so hours. I find it pretty hard to wind down after work for one thing, so I get in at about 10 or 11pm and wont be asleep 'til about 2/3 in the morning just because my mind is still in work mode. I had no solution. I did find, at one point, having a clock in my room would disturb my sleep as I was always worried about sleeping in so I'd wake up every hour to check it. Yet not having a clock in my room drives me mad as I don't know the time. I'm alright now, still have slight issues getting to sleep but I've always been like that.
Exercise is a big help and it doesn't half to be an hour in the gym. A brisk walk home from work of about 20mins would help. As many above have said you need to de-stress before going to bed. No computers or Nintendo Wii. A friend of mine says it helps to keep a note pad beside the bed to write a to do list if you stress you might forget to do something the next day. Don't clench you fists. It sounds funny but I used to do it all the time (I'd lay on my front with my arms under my pillow fists clenched), apparently your brain creates stress hormones if you do. The thing that helps me the most is reading a book or magazine. And opening the window.
I generally just stay awake till I'm tired (making sure I get atleast 6 hours sleep) that way I'm tired the next day and fall straight asleep and so it repeats.
Exercise your brain. In the month between work and uni I've been sleeping like crap. Since I got back to uni, while doing nothing strenuous, I've started sleeping better.
Try meditating, or just clearing you thoughts before you hit the hay.. Incidentally, doing so may just make you fall asleep before hand.
