OT - Sleep

[greenbean.sixpack]

Sorry it this has been a recent topic (I searched and didn't find anything). What are my fellow non sleepers taking to get to and stay asleep? I've tried everything OTC/natural and nothing works. I've tried all the sleep hack/rituals also, none work for me.

The only two things that work for me are Delta 9 and Benadryl, but would rather not take either every night.

I've tried Doxepin, but no luck, what other prescription meds should I try? I understand Ambient has a lot of side effects, what are some meds that work, but have less side effects?

 

[grinningmule]

Sorry it this has been a recent topic (I searched and didn't find anything). What are my fellow non sleepers taking to get to and stay asleep? I've tried everything OTC/natural and nothing works. I've tried all the sleep hack/rituals also, none work for me.

The only two things that work for me are Delta 9 and Benadryl, but would rather not take either every night.

I've tried Doxepin, but no luck, what other prescription meds should I try? I understand Ambient has a lot of side effects, what are some meds that work, but have less side effects?

I've been trying Apigenin, L-Theanine, Magnesium lately along with using a 670nm red light lamp at bedtime. Seems to work to help me relax and drift off but no matter what I take if something clicks in my lizard brain then I'm screwed for the night or most of the night. First time I tried Ambien I woke up 2 hrs later. Thursday night I was almost out and something clicked in my brain and then was wide awake all night restoring cars from the frame up in my head.

 

[skip dog]

Olly time release gummy and magnesium, no scrolling 90 minutes prior to bed, limited TV in that 90 minutes. Daily exercise has helped greatly.......cleaner diet and always try to eat by 6:00 pm...... Alcohol only on weekends. being mindful to be grateful and realizing at the end of my work day, I have to be present for my family..........I'm over 50, so I have finally determined that the good Lord above wants me in bed by 9:00, b/c he will be waking me up to start my day around 4:30!!

***edited to add: 1. did ambian one time, and never again......crazy wild dreams and horrible hangover, 2. used to use benadryl, and just could not continue to use a allergy drug for sleep, and the quality of my sleep was getting worse.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Olly time release gummy and magnesium, no scrolling 90 minutes prior to bed, limited TV in that 90 minutes. Daily exercise has helped greatly.......cleaner diet and always try to eat by 6:00 pm...... Alcohol only on weekends. being mindful to be grateful and realizing at the end of my work day, I have to be present for my family..........I'm over 50, so I have finally determined that the good Lord above wants me in bed by 9:00, b/c he will be waking me up to start my day around 4:30!!

Do all this (except the Olly), nothing works. Gonna need a script.

When I say I've tried everything, I mean it.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Do all this (except the Olly), nothing works. Gonna need a script.

When I say I've tried everything, I mean it.

My wife is where you are. She has Ambien but obviously doesn’t want to be on that long term.

 

[RivaDawg]

I have trouble going back to sleep after waking up. A couple of non-drug options; first, with eyes closed look up, down, right, left, rotate clockwise, rotate counter clockwise. Repeat until you fall asleep. Should take two or three times. (This has had limited success for me.). Second, think of a word (I use “table”) and then think of all the words you can think of that start with “t”. When you run out of those, move to “a” and do the same. Keep going until you fall asleep or start with another word. This has been VERY effective for me.

 

[patdog]

Don’t take Benadryl long term. Or really even short term unless you have a runny nose & sneezing that just won’t stop any other way. I take a 3 mg Melatonin pill & break it in half each night. Works pretty good for me.

one other thing. Waking up in middle of night & not being able to sleep is much better for you than 99% of the sleep aids you could take. If that’s an every night problem, better to go to a sleep clinic then self medicate.

 

[HailStout]

If you aren’t married then try getting laid

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Have you tried strenuous physical activity?

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Have you tried strenuous physical activity?

When I hit hard for workouts I sleep way better. No caffeine after noon, no/little alcohol within a couple of hours of bed.

 

[CEO2044]

I have a long history of insomnia. Doctors put me on Valium when I was like 2-3 because I wouldn’t sleep. For many years growing up I could go multiple nights without sleeping and function just fine.

I had a terrible time sleeping in grad school and a doctor put me on Seroquel and it worked great.

I took it for about 12 years and then decided I really needed to figure out how to sleep on my own. I read a book called The Sleep Fix and it helped a lot- I didn’t even finish it. I think a lot of mine is anxiety that I just didn’t realize I had— or thought I was “handling” by just trying to push it down and ignore it.

I still have the occasional tough night or even go through little spurts of not being able to sleep, but usually a melatonin helps those nights.

 

[patdog]

When I hit hard for workouts I sleep way better. No caffeine after noon, no/little alcohol within a couple of hours of bed.

Really didn’t even have to be that hard a workout for me. Moderate helps me sleep much better. But not if it’s too late. If I have a 7:30 tennis match I’m going to sleep like sh*t no matter what I do. But mid afternoon to early evening, usually sleep good.

 

[Dawgbite]

I read in bed, the more uninteresting the better. A good novel and I may read for hours but give me a boring history book and I may not make two pages. It gets all the crap out of my mind so I can relax. Sex always helps but if you’re married then that’s not likely an option!

 

[skip dog]

Do all this (except the Olly), nothing works. Gonna need a script.

When I say I've tried everything, I mean it.

Dude....stress and anxiety (due to self employment and family dynamics) caused me a lot of issues with sleep), I was able to overcome, but that came with alot of prayer, and learning to let go, and just alot of other things in order to lead a better life......and that's me.

Reading helped me alot before bedtime.....

If you are having that much trouble, you need to get to your doctor ASAP, and if you think the mental part is a big contributing factor, then please go sit down with a therapist, which I did as well, and I am happy to admit that talk therapy really helped me learn to better manage my stresses, and keep work life during work hours, and home life when it was time to be present and home......

Good luck and please go see the people that can help you

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Folks, I appreciate it, but when I say I've tried everything non prescription, I mean it. I lift heavy 3 x 4s a week for 90 minutes each. I walk 2 miles with a 35 lb vest. I'm not under stress, nor do I have a family issues, don't have sleep apnea either. I'm in excellent health with a clean diet. 6ft 2in, 200 lbs of twisted steel and sex appeal.

 

[FactCheckerBot]

Fact:

Google “sleep glycine gaba”

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Folks, I appreciate it, but when I say I've tried everything non prescription, I mean it. I lift heavy 3 x 4s a week for 90 minutes each. I walk 2 miles with a 35 lb vest. I'm not under stress, nor do I have a family issues, don't have sleep apnea either. I'm in excellent health with a clean diet.

Have you tried watching golf?

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Fact:

Google “sleep glycine gaba”

Tried magnesium, glycine, valerian root, L-Theanine, melatonin, etc., does nothing. Will look into GABA.

I have issues with both getting to sleep and staying asleep.

 

[WranglerofDawgs]

Soma Chems - Dream Catcher spray
L-Theanine and some magnesium supplements

I don't take anything, but I've gone through the gamut trying to find something that works for my wife outside of sleep meds that cause a bunch of altimeters / dementia (she's terrified of that for some reason)

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Have you tried strenuous physical activity?

I cut treetops up all day yesterday from the Ice Storm…best sleep I had in awhile last night

 

[bulldoghair]

Recently I have quit drinking alcohol (4 months now) which I did every evening/night. Plus I take one capsule of magnesium glycinate, and lately one capsule of magnesium Threonate as well. Sometimes I’ll add a zinc capsule if I hadn’t already taken a multivitamin that day. I am in really great shape for my age for sure, as I have always exercised and ate pretty well no matter what. Since quitting drinking though, I have seemed to sleep so much better, falling asleep, the quality overall, and consistently. I contribute quitting alcohol to be the biggest positive factor by far here. I feel consistently better in the mornings and throughout the day. So much so that I do not plan to drink ever again. I do think the little magnesiums have some benefits as well. Also, I try to limit to one good cup of coffee in the morning followed by a cup of green tea- as my only caffeine

 

[Chile]

Sorry it this has been a recent topic (I searched and didn't find anything). What are my fellow non sleepers taking to get to and stay asleep? I've tried everything OTC/natural and nothing works. I've tried all the sleep hack/rituals also, none work for me.

The only two things that work for me are Delta 9 and Benadryl, but would rather not take either every night.

I've tried Doxepin, but no luck, what other prescription meds should I try? I understand Ambient has a lot of side effects, what are some meds that work, but have less side effects?

getting some vitamin D in the daytime outside(office job), and doing a minimum of 15 minutes even on off days, of core body workout. That can be air squats (try 150- it is not easy), walking lunges, pushups, situps , bench dips off a chair. Do all that in rotation for 15 minutes at least. Sleep will happen, but try to do it several hours before bedtime, and preferably in the am.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Melatonin and Magnesium. Someone else mentioned vitamin D. Get your levels checked by your doctor. You'll be surprised how easy it is to have a deficiency, and how easy it is to fix.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

 

[mcdawg22]

Have you tried strenuous physical activity?

Not to hijack. But I quit smoking, caffeine, and alcohol beginning of the year. I walk at least 5 miles a day typically between 7-10 and workout upper body and core every other day. I sleep worse than when I was drinking coke zeros like they were going out of style, ripping cigs, drinking 3 times a week heavily, and not working out. I do still feel more energetic though. And no, I am not giving up alcohol all together, just a little reset for the gut and liver.

 

[mcdawg22]

Have you tried watching golf?

Or The English Patient

 

[BioChemDawg]

Ramelteon is worth asking about imo

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Melatonin and Magnesium. Someone else mentioned vitamin D. Get your levels checked by your doctor. You'll be surprised how easy it is to have a deficiency, and how easy it is to fix.

I've tried everything, including all listed in this thread, although almost 60, I have the bloodwork of a 18 year old.

 

[Anon2444666666]

I eventually had to start sleeping in another bedroom. Not because my wife was snoring like a warthog but because I was worried I'd be distrubing getting up to pee 3 times a night. I also flip like a kabob trying to get comfortable. Excercising and vitamin D helps too. Get some sun.

 

[JY1947]

I had a lot of anxiety in my early 20s which led to me basically giving myself insomnia. Tried ambien and wont ever do that again. The only thing that worked for me was Lunesta and a small dose of Seroquel. Worked so well my doctor had to give me something to stay awake during the day. I didn’t have any side effects but I tried to make sure I had 7-8 hours of sleep to get before taking my medicine.

 

[OopsICroomedmypants]

I have a long history of insomnia. Doctors put me on Valium when I was like 2-3 because I wouldn’t sleep. For many years growing up I could go multiple nights without sleeping and function just fine.

I had a terrible time sleeping in grad school and a doctor put me on Seroquel and it worked great.

I took it for about 12 years and then decided I really needed to figure out how to sleep on my own. I read a book called The Sleep Fix and it helped a lot- I didn’t even finish it. I think a lot of mine is anxiety that I just didn’t realize I had— or thought I was “handling” by just trying to push it down and ignore it.

I still have the occasional tough night or even go through little spurts of not being able to sleep, but usually a melatonin helps those nights.

Sounds like you would have been a good special forces guy able to function on no sleep like that.

 

[CEO2044]

Sounds like you would have been a good special forces guy able to function on no sleep like that.

That was just as a child. I lost that superpower when I actually could have used it.

 

[Pre-Sh.tter]

My doc put me on Trazadone. I would take 2, to little effect. I tried 4,and tye next morning, my equilibrium was SCREWED for hours. Turns out 3 was just right.

It's mentioned in Attia's Outlive book.

Especially in the summer, I have real trouble staying asleep. I use sleep aids when I'm way behind, but I quit seeing it as a curse and started making the most of the extra time in the morning. Usual wake-up time is between 230-330am.

 

[aTotal360]

Call me old-fashioned...but exercise.

 

[Curby]

The sleep aid at Costco in the blue and orange-colored label works pretty good for me. I used to not be able to turn my mind off when I went to bed, and if I got up to pee around 3am, my heart sped up and I couldn't get BACK to sleep.

 

[DerHntr]

Do you wear a watch that tracks and analyzes your sleep? My Garmin has given me a lot of additional information that has been very useful. I normally don’t get enough sleep or very high quality sleep, but I don’t have trouble going to sleep. The 4am alarm to go running for an hour or longer goes off usually 5 days a week. I am itching to be in bed by 9pm on those days.

 

[Boosh]

A friend of mine has taken ambien for maybe 15 yrs now, every night. Doesn't seem to have a side effect for him. If he doesn't take it, he will not sleep at all. .... The biggest reason I can't sleep is because my lower back or hips hurt and it wakes me up and im constantly changing positions. An advil and an aleeve will get me about 6 hours. Doc says it's Rheumatoid Athritis. Not sure what I can do for it.

Edit to add: I wear a Samsung Ring to track my sleep. I couldn't sleep wearing the watch.

Edit to add again: CBD helps me sleep. Its an edible, I think it's10mg. I had a friend with a card buy them so I could try it. It works.

 

[Villagedawg]

Sorry it this has been a recent topic (I searched and didn't find anything). What are my fellow non sleepers taking to get to and stay asleep? I've tried everything OTC/natural and nothing works. I've tried all the sleep hack/rituals also, none work for me.

The only two things that work for me are Delta 9 and Benadryl, but would rather not take either every night.

I've tried Doxepin, but no luck, what other prescription meds should I try? I understand Ambient has a lot of side effects, what are some meds that work, but have less side effects?

Delta 8 and 9 worked pretty well for me. Melatonin made me dream like a bad acid trip. Now I’m off all of once I got used to my cpap. Still face bouts of insomnia, but not nearly as much.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Delta 8 and 9 worked pretty well for me. Melatonin made me dream like a bad acid trip. Now I’m off all of once I got used to my cpap. Still face bouts of insomnia, but not nearly as much.

Delta 9 works, but don't want to take it every night, plus I've built up a tolerance....

 

[grinningmule]