If you are having trouble sleeping at night or getting to sleep, don't fight it. Get up and do the cleaning job around the house you hate the most to completion.
By Debra Jean from Rio Rancho, NM
This page contains the following solutions.
I am no sleep expert, but I have had insomnia for years. I have discovered if I get out of bed (usually around midnight for me) and organize my desk, or a closet or a room, I can get back to sleep easily.
I think not many adults will be having before bedtime snacks of peanut butter. You might want to keep it in mind though if you have children, who like me, sometimes don't easily associate cause and effect.
Can't sleep? Instead of taking a sleeping pill, try counting fifty ways you've saved money this year. It's great mental exercise, and it challenges you to come up with more money saving ideas.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I am 73 years old and have had problems with sleep most of my life. My doctor has put me on sleeping pills as he says my health depends on getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night. I have tried every remedy given for sleep prep and also tried many herbs but none of this has ever helped me.
I do not have problems on my mind as my life is pretty good and I have a wonderful church and close family. So worry is not the problem. I just cannot sleep. Sometimes I may only sleep 1 or 2 hours a night. Medication has helped but I only sleep about 4 hours and then cannot go back to sleep. Has anyone ever tried the meditation tapes? Or the "hypnotic" tapes? Are there any religious sleep tapes? I am ready to try anything to get away from pills.
By cybergrannie from FL
The 3 things that I would suggest is warm milk before bed, a cool or warm cloth over your eyes, and a fan or some kind of "white noise" going in the room. These are some of the things that help me the most when I cannot sleep. Hope it helps.
Hi: You are not alone, guess we got our clocks set when going to work or getting up with babies & etc. have done like you, tried lot of things. I find that going for long walks (I walk at least a mile every day, sometimes 2 miles) during the day.
Louise Hay has tapes that have helped me at times, but I also find her irritating, so don't buy unless you can preview (try library or ask at your health food store. They are meditation tapes that take you back to your childhood, not my favorite place, but they have helped sometimes. That's the thing. Nothing works for long. I have a couple of prescription, sometimes works. Benedryl and ibuprofin, sometimes works. Cereal with milk and herbal tea (skullcap) sometimes works. Sometimes I just don't sleep. Exercise during the day sometimes helps but when you have a history of insomnia, I wish you well. I don't have an answer.
Hi - and thanks to all. I will try these things and see if any will help. I had hip surgery so I am just getting back to walking. I hope this will help too. Thanks again
I also have trouble sleeping most nights. What I do is accept the interruption and focus on not letting it bother me and just remain in bed with eyes closed and simply relax. At times I'll turn the radio on really low to a soft music station as distraction to shut my mind down from thoughts.
Hi!
If you are not working and don't feel tired the next day why not just sleep when you can? It's okay to not sleep all night!
I have used hypnotic tapes for years and find them very workable, especially if you can find one which helps deal with a problem area, such as public speaking, etc. I now use books on tape (CDs) at night.
It helped me to cut back on caffeine, and only have my coffee early in the morning. Also, I don't drink fluids towards evening so I don't wake up to use the bathroom, and if you eat some carbohydrates in the evening it also helps you sleep.
I was trying various things for RLS and discovered a really soothing thing is to use a heating pad at the foot of the bed, on top of the covers. This creates a gentle warmth that is conducive to sleep. I don't know if this actually helped my RLS but I haven't had it since I started using the heating pad. Using a fan to mask any outside sounds also helps some people.
Check into your stomach acid, remedy that. Then try some tryptophan & or 5HTP with P5P, niacin, chelated magnesium, vitamin C & B2. Digestion is always the 1st place to look to find out if you are completely digesting proteins, without the properly digested protein, you don't have the precursors for the hormones & neurotransmitters to get to sleep & for many other things.
I have a little plaque in my bedroom that says If you can't sleep don't count sheep talk to the Shepherd It works for me I pray that you will find restful sleep in Jesus name.
I have a series of things to try, one of which usually gets the job done.
1) A simple routine for all things, but all must be healthy, beneficial, and work for me. Pray first, thanking God for being with me all through the day, for guiding and instructing me according to His purposes and will; remembering to pray for others, especially for those in need, weak, ill, suffering around the world.
2) Read the Bible, or other book, listen to soft timed Christian radio music, watch a gentle wholesome family or love story video or DVD after making my bed out to sleep first. No TV at all after 6PM. Watch as little as possible during day.
3) Eat nothing after 10 pm, do not lie down within one hour after eating ever. Try to keep kitchen clean.
4) No phone calls or conversations after 8 PM since I am an elder and take longer to wind down from the day's thoughts/ chores of taking care of myself
5) Think of absolutely nothing past, present or future for hours before a normal bedtime for me, unless it is about a long view of snow-covered rolling hills in the evening moonlight, or a field of wheat and daisies to run through when I awaken.
6) Forgive anyone who has offended me, offer an apology to anyone I have offended. Both prior to sundown, no matter the circumstances.
7) Sleep comfortably: clean linens, straight bedding, clean body and mind, comfy clean clothing.
8) Lights very low, house temp. 76 degrees year round.
9) Only light foods for evening meals/snacks
10) Very little caffeine, if any, including nuts,chocolate,caffeine and/or soft drinks/tea
11) Close all curtains, lock all doors, set clock only if appt. next morning, keep phone by bed.
12) Never try to do more than I want to do each day, even if the house is a mess, or someone's not happy. Never start a project on Friday after noon.
13) Sleep on a very flatt pillow that I can fold if necessary, and sleep on a firmer mattress, not soft
one, beneath a single sheet, not heavy cover.
14) Get still as a mouse for as long as possible, flat on my back if possible, until I fall to sleep. Do not nap during the day. Walk around house/yard for exercise all through day, chores.
15) Think only of pure, good, honest, true, and happy thoughts throughout the day. If angry, I sit down and analyze why: Sleep deprivation? forgot meds/ vitamins? Worrying unnecessarily about things of others I can do nothing about? Not trusting God to be God? Not exercising faith and body during the day? Eating a lot of wrong and unhealthy foods, too many carbs or fast foods? Don't want to sleep, but need to? Not following my own routine that works? Not obeying God's instructions?
16) Letting go of the past, letting the future and God take care of tomorrow, and focusing on enjoying today the best I can with what I have.
17) Helping others wherever possible, trusting God to take care of my needs and a few of my desires!
Bless you. : )
I think you need to figure out what makes you relax. I love to watch comedies on TV. Watching tv helps me relax. In fact I sleep with my tv on. I can't imagine sitting at home alone from 8:00 on and no tv. That would be lonely. Read go to library get some books. Take a walk in afternoon. Also are you napping during the day if so you need to stop and see if that helps.
When I can't sleep at night due to too much on my mind or just a rough night, I normally take a gravol pill. It is to stop upset stomach, yet works very well on those odd nights when I really need my sleep.
Also works great with my beagle when we have to go on a car ride with her. She get very excited in the car and the gravol really calms her down.
One, I question, do you snore when you sleep during those times? I question that cause if you do, the snoring maybe the major problem. If you snore, tell your dr you need to see a polmonologist. Ask them about Sleep Apnea.
Now, if you have a severe problem like anxiety or something of that nature emdr.org or emdr.com those are counselors that help with life threatening cases. I have gone to one myself for panic disorders. I highly recommend them they clear all your thoughts/ anxiety without medications. It's like hypnosis, but better. Hope this helps.
I have heard that eating a handful of almonds or hazelnuts will help with sleep. You may want to check out the book Supermarket Remedies by Dr Cass Ingram from the library it has a lot of suggestions for all kinds of health related things. Also a hot water bottle may help, something about the warmth just calms me to sleep. Good luck
If you are 73 years old and still kicking, then you are probably one of the lucky few who don't need much sleep to get by. I say just nap when your body tells you to, and unless your health takes a nosedive, don't worry about the quantity of sleep you get, just the quality. Perhaps you could check the local health food store and get some recommendations for natural remedies. I would suggest sleeping in a quiet and dark room, and turning the phone ringer off while you are trying to sleep. Good luck to you!
Hello to all and I am just over whelmed that I would receive so much sincere information. I have tried some of the things suggested but it never hurts to try again. I am so lucky to not have too many worrying problems and I do prayer a lot but maybe not enough!
Health is not a big issue with me and I do sometimes get tried during the day but do not take naps as a general rule.
A friend has been trying to get me to order one of those "hypnotic" sleep tapes and I guess I am old fashioned and really wonder if they would work for this. Thanks again to all who responded - I do know there are a lot of people who need help with sleeping more than a few hours a night so maybe some of this will help them also.
Follow better "sleep hygiene" as they call it - by making sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark, comfortable place - perhaps reserve it just for sleeping. Read in bed or just get up if you cannot sleep - Or try using the new agey music tapes for relaxation - I got some at the Dollar Tree - I also have a sleep mask which I use sometimes to block out any light & I have used ear plugs, too. Try to learn relaxation body part by body part - & learning meditation or just repetitive prayer will clear your mind. Do you have enough calcium & magnesium in your diet? They are good for the nerves. If all else fails, try taking valerian, melatonin or herbal mixtures thereof to relax you to get to sleep. They are very mild and not habit-forming. Again, I found some at the Dollar Tree! And nap during the day if you get tired!
I too, am a senior citizen that was only sleeping three or four hours a night. I happened to read an article about being low on Iodine as the cause. Also that low Iodine causes fibrocystic breasts and breast cancer. My younger sister had fibrocystic breasts for many years and was always having to get them aspirated. She died of breast cancer four years ago. I now buy Dulse wild Atlaantic Sea Vegetable (kelp) from my local health food store. Dulse seemed to be the one with the highest amount of Iodine. I soak it in half hot water/half maple syrup to make it easier to eat. According to the article I read about kelp was that Japanese women seldom get breast cancer and it is thought that it is due to their high consumption of sea food and sea kelp. I slept for seven hours the very first night which I don't think I've done in more than five years!
I am only 14 years old, but I have really bad insomnia. I can never fall asleep at night and usually find myself lying awake for hours. I am only getting around 2 hours of sleep a night. I am usually ok because I am used to not sleeping. It's easy to stay awake during the day, but I tend to get sick after 5 or more nights of no sleep.
I don't want to take any drugs or prescriptions because I don't even like taking aspirin when I'm sore. I can't even think about taking medicine every night just to sleep. Any suggestions?
By Triss
You may want to talk to a doctor about this as it can be the sign of all kinds of issues. That being saidn there dozens of "good sleep hygiene" lists online that teach you ways to program yourself to sleep.
Cutting out caffeine after 2pm
Always going to bed and waking up at same time
Not having any lights on or sounds..including phones and movies or music
Simple ear plugs can help as you cut out all sounds but your own heart and beathing.
Making sure to do only relaxing things two to three hours before bed
Meditation
There are natural non habit forming pills to help you sleep. Melatonin is the main natural chemical your brain releases for sleep it doesn't drug you or keep you from waking up in the morning its available in an over the counter pill but isnt a drug (no prescription ... you can find it anywhere you find herbs at stores) .
Also there is "calms forte" another natural sleep aid also non habit forming just lets you natually relax and sleep both have no side effects what so ever. It has several things like melatonin and chamomile
Also write or keep a journal by your bed with bed times, wake times and write down anything that may be stressing you out into insomnia.
There are many "bed time" teas that have natural herbs to help you sleep like chamomile and many other things like that.
I have had sleep issues most of my life starting at twelve. I am now much much older and found out I have suffered from a condition called sleep apnea. You actually stop breathing for one reason or another when sleeping which causes you to wake up often. I don't have to have drugs but a machine hooked to my face, that keeps me breathing at night. I am not saying you have this but sleep issues start to ruin your whole life. You remain tired confused, bad memory, loss of interest, depression, and get sick a lot.
Sometimes it can be as easy as an adrenal gland issue. A naturalpathic doc could help you if nothing else above does. There are many alternatives to having to take pills or see what is called a "western meds doctor". Which is what we are all used too in the USA. Eastern medicine like accupuncture and herbal meds work more with your body instead of against it. They dont use harmful addictiing medicine to treat patients.
Good luck!
Hello,
I wondered if anyone had any ideas for Insomnia? I cannot seem to get any sleep at all and I wondered if there was something that I could do to help this? I don't drink coffee or have caffeine any time near bed time and sometimes not all day.
I was just listening to a sleep expert on this subject.
He said that the most important thing to do was to
1. GET UP at the SAME TIME EVERYDAY!
2. Give yourself a couple of hours of downtime before bed. Do not do work or even work on the computer.
3. Go to bed when tired, not necessarily the same time every night. If you go to bed wide awake, your mind will start thinking about things and stay in an alert state.
When I wake and can't get back to sleep, I go do something mindless, like watch a really boring TV show/movie. When I start to doze, I go straight back to bed.
I have also heard that warm milk actually does help to make you tired!
Hope it helps!
Read a book that has a topic you find boring.
I use Melatonin 3MG, 1 tab to 3 tabs 1 hr. before bedtime, I've used this for years now and family as well as friends are WOWED by the calm effect and your refreshed in the morning with a clear mind. You get it at walmart by the vitamins. Let me know how it works.PS you can never take too much- the only thing is you'll be relaxed and refreshed.
Here are some things that I do.
1. Establish a nightime routine (lock up, lights out, warm bath, read) that prepares you every night to know that its time to sleep and try to go to bed every night, even weekends, at the same time.
2. Get out of the habit of watching television in bed in order to fall asleep. It's usually too stimulating.
3. Use a sound machine (white noise) to tune outside noises out.
4. Keep your bedroom dark and cool.
5. Sprinkle lavender essential oil on your pillow. You can buy this at a health food store or order online if there isn't one nearby. You can also add a couple of drops to your bath.
6. Take valerian root. It has an awful smell, but it sure works for me!
7. Don't exercise before bedtime and be careful about what you eat later in the evening. Exercise too close to bedtime is too stimulating and your digestive system needs a rest too! If its working on digesting food, this activity could interfere with sleep.
8. Wear loose comfortable sleep clothes. Nothing too tight or restricting. I pretty much have to wear 100% cotton gowns these days to keep cool during the night.
That's about all I can think of now ... hope some of it helps!
Here's a website that might help you - www.sleepnet.com/ . My problem was falling asleep. It would take up to 2 hours every night. I now have a nightly routine which works very well. One hour before bedtime I get completely ready for bed - turn down bed covers, wash up, teeth brushed, in PJ's. I turn off the lights in the living room & watch TV (favorite program)-not the news!. Because the room is dark I start getting sleepy while watching TV. I often miss some parts of the program. When the program is done, I go DIRECTLY to bed. I fall asleep within 15 - 30 min. I do not suggest watching TV in the bedroom. Also, no phone calls or conversations during that last hour - this just stimulates the mind.
I take 50 mg of Trazodone at bedtime for sleep. You may want to try time-released melatonin first to see if that helps you as its over the counter hormone.
Dont forget good sleep hygiene. That means go to bed and awake at the same time each day. Also, no tv in the bedroom..
Best of luck.
I too suffer from insomnia. I read a remedy in a health magazine and have been using it ever since. I take 1 tbl. of honey in 1 cup of milk. I pop it into the microwave for about 40 seconds, warm but not boiling, and drink that. Within minutes you can then get to sleep. I had to use that remedy just last night as a matter of fact.
I can't use the honey, but a cup of warm milk usually does the trick, if not, I have a prescription for Ambien. I don't take a whole pill, as I don't get to sleep a full straight 8 hours, except on weekends. Weeknights I usually break one of the pills into thirds or in half. I just take one of the portions. It's enough to make me sleepy in just about 10 minutes. It's not habit forming.
Sitting in front of your computer screen for more than 2 hours without a break is supposed to cause insomnia. Hope this helps.
I count my blessing starting with the letter A
Also, I am a worrier so I imagine me placing the task in a big beautiful gift box. I hand to over to God and tell him I'll pick-it up in the morning if I need to! It REALLY works for me!
I also use Valerian, a homeopathic remedy called CALMS FORTE, another one called RESCUE REMEDY, melatonin and kava kave - alternating them off so I don't get too acustomed to any one. (sometimes I will take one & add Rescue Remedy.)Also have a sleep routine. Seems to help if I have soaked in a hot tub/taken a hot bath/exercised. No caffeine after dinner. I have a prescription for Ambien, but I use it rarely, only when I have a drastic change in sleep routine and have to get up much earlier than usual (I have a tendency to be a night owl left to my own devices unless my schedule dictates otherwise.)
I have a pile of easy-going mysteries by the bed to read before I go to sleep, nothing too disturbing. My husband like to sleep with the classical radio on and sometimes I just lie there and listen to the music. Also, I can mediate to calm my thought when I am agitated by reciting a "mantra" (you can choose any word meaningful to you) over and over and over. I suppose that's the point behind the classical ploy of counting sheep.
I've been using this technique for years, almost 10, and it works well. Listen to books on CD using a portable CD player or clock radio with CD player in it. I put the portable player on the lowest possible volume and use little earbuds in my ear. It takes about 3 tracks to put me to sleep. Then the next night I listen to the next 3 tracks. Check these out from the library but it does take forever to get through a 10 disk book. If I wake up in the middle of the night, in go the earplugs, now somewhere under me in bed, and a few tracks later I'm back to sleep. It works because it's now become a Pavlov's response - hear narration on CD, fall asleep. I've gone through hundreds of books this way (slowly), all checked out from the library. Right now I'm listening to the History of the Supreme Court. :)
Here are some things I do to combat insomnia:
This is an old fashioned remedy that really works: drink 1 TBS honey + 1 TBS apple cider vinegar in a coffee mug of hot water just before bedtime. It relaxes & promotes sleep & works great for me!
Also, try to remove or completely unplug all electronics from your sleeping area at night. If you need an alarm clock, move it as far from your bed as you can.
Take a warm bath before bedtime. Use lavender bath salts, potpurri, candles or some other relaxing aroma therapy that you enjoy.
Hope some of these ideas help you.
Hello! I just wanted to thank everyone very much for the sleeping ideas you all took the time to post! I went to Walmart and did buy the Melatonin and I only have to take one of them at night (I think they are 300 mcg). They started working the very first night! I couldn't believe it!!! Thank you! I am feeling great in the morning and feel refreshed because I am finally sleeping at night!
The other ideas work very well to relax me too! So, now that I am on a routine, things are working very well!
Thank you again for taking the time to post such wonderful ideas!!!!!
I have had insomnia for over ten years using medication. Has anyone received hypotism for this ailment? Did it work?
Nilsson
I have depression and one of the things that helps me sleep is Melatonin. It is an over the counter drug that our body makes naturally.
If your body does not produce enough melatonin, then you have insomnia.
You can buy this at most any store. I get mine from Wal-Mart. Buy the 1 mg and cut in half. You try .3-.5 mg first to see how you respond. You may have to take the whole tablet. However, more is not necessarily better. If you take more than your body needs, it actually works against you! Start small then get gradually bigger.
Read some info here:
www.wellfx.com/
