Wrestling Forum banner

I need help with insomnia

2K views 35 replies 30 participants last post by  Gift Of Jericho 
#1 ·
Like the thread title says, I can't sleep anymore. This has never been a problem for me in the past and I don't know how to deal with it. I'm midway into my third week of getting less than three hours sleep a night and often none at all for more than 24 hours at a time.

Having a warm drink doesn't help - I've tried heated milk and chamomile tea. Finding something to do rather than lying still waiting for sleep doesn't work; once I turn the lights back on I'm up for good. I tried over-the-counter sleeping pills and they didn't even make me drowsy. I don't know if it's the sleep deprivation or something else but I feel as if I've had multiple cups of coffee all the time, which is very unpleasant and rather scary. At night, I can't lay still at all. During the day, I'm shaky and feel my heart racing.

The worst part is I desperately need the rest. I expect the reason I can't sleep is stress but the sleeplessness is compounding the problem. I have to work hard and I'm too tired to think straight. In order to stave off homelessness as long as possible I've been cleaning strangers' homes for a few dollars a day (it's not a 'real' job; I'm paid cash so it doesn't have to be minimum wage, just whatever the person is willing to pay me, and they take advantage of that) as well as working my regular job. Sometimes I put in ridiculous hours; I'm supposed to be at an elderly lady's house by 7am today until my retail job starts, which I get home from around 10pm - and right now it's past midnight and I haven't slept since the two hours I managed between 11pm and 1am yesterday.

The lack of money, the inability to find enough work to pay essential bills ... I think it's all become too much. I've lost so much weight that my clothes don't fit and I was small to start with. I look ill. It shocks me sometimes when I look in a mirror. My appetite is gone and I can't really afford food, so put the two together and, yeah, it's taking a toll. And now I can't sleep either. I don't know what to do.

So I need sleep. Even an hour or two. Anything. Suggestions?
 
See less See more
#13 ·
this. turn off all other electronics/distractions and just watch that RAW (including commurcials) beginning to end. Make sure all your other stuff's done (teeth brushed in PJs etc), then when you're feeling so tired that u can barely keep ur eyes open, shut off the TV and go straight to sleep.
 
#23 ·
A lot of suggestions that I would have already made. It sounds like you need to cut down on caffeine because that is contributing to you not being sleepy.

* Alcohol: having a couple of drinks will help you relax and eventually feel sleepy. If not:

* Weed: Basically what people said.

* Masturbation: Generally it will relax you and is a good stress reliever which is what it sounds like you need.

* Exercise: will tire you out and releases endorphin's.

* Reading: That sometimes helps me, eventually I get tired through that and want to hit the sack.

* I find certain ambient music helps me sleep: try these, don't listen too loud though.









Hecker is a fave but can be jarring sometimes :/.






Hope things get better sleep wise soon GB :).
 
#34 ·
I just did. I can't take it. The first link I followed listed three contraindications for me with Melatonin. No wait, make that four (still reading). I did know what it is and how it supposedly works but not that it may interact with specific medications and can worsen certain conditions. Sleep is nice and all but I best stay clear of this sleep-inducing option.


Since I'm here, I want to say thanks to everyone again. I had a better sleep after trying a few of the suggestions.

All the help, and kind words, have been very appreciated.
(though I think the masturbate yourself to sleep thing is more helpful for guys. Just a hunch.)
 
#15 · (Edited)
Here are things that I do to help me sleep:

1. Masturbation gets rid of a lot of anxiety
2. Watch a movie or a documentary. Usually space/sea exploration documentaries will put me to sleep. Soon as I start feeling just a little sleepy, I'll turn it off and go to bed. Sometimes I'll even fall asleep with it blaring in my headphones :lol
3. Have sex and cuddle (not sure if that's an option for you)
4. Put on a very relaxing late night beach scene on my TV. The ambient sounds can be very relaxing. Something like this:







5. Don't eat or drink before going to bed because it interferes with the digestive system and may even contribute to sleeplessness.
6. Leave the headphones on with some new age music
7. Maybe the temperature of your room isn't right. Sometimes if it's too cold or too hot that can interfere with sleep. I've noticed that the most relaxing temperature for me is 74F. Anything more or less and I have trouble sleeping.
8. Read a book.
9. Think about buying more comfortable sheets/pillows if you can afford them. We tend to underestimate how much of a diff these things make.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I know you'd help if you could. Thanks.

Valerian Root, Melatonin... cutting out caffeine, exercising a couple hours before bed time... my favorite is a medication I get called Zanaflex. It's a muscle relaxer and puts me out in no time. Have you tried seeing a doctor about it? Ambien works well too.
I have tried Valerian Root but not Melatonin. I'll take a look at what's available next time I'm in a pharmacy. As far as prescriptions go, I can't afford those. My doctor wouldn't give me one anyway since he doesn't approve of sleep aids, which doesn't bother me much since that is my last resort option.

I'm not trying to be sarcastic or a pervert, but have you tried masturbation? Or even exercise?
I can't afford a gym and it's just a little too cold for me to run outside yet during the hours I can squeeze exercise in. I think I'm too tired to exercise anyway - I feel like I'm going to fall asleep on my feet, I just can't. You're right though, exercise is supposed to help. I used to be active so maybe that's why I never had trouble sleeping in the past.

Masturbation makes you sleepy?


Medical marijuana and an indica strain it's great to help with sleep.
Marijuana is what helps me when I can't sleep, which is pretty often. :draper2
Pot + orgasm = zzzzz....
I did try the non-medical sort and slept a couple of hours one night. This goes on the worth-a-try list with melatonin even if it's not really a long-term solution. I feel as if I could sleep normally again if I could just break this cycle of not sleeping for a couple of nights in a row.


Thanks folks. :)
 
#14 ·
Hi boho!

I'd say the best cure all is pot as was mentioned.

There are medications but they're either too weak or can have some terrible side effects. Like really crazy ones.

Exercise can help a ton, hot baths, aromatherapy and meditation to a degree can help. I'm not sure about masturbation.

Also unplugging electronic devices helps a lot.

Hope this helps!
 
#17 ·
Heard drinking a beer helps the body relax, so a beer before sleep.

What about phone, pc, TV, you watch any of that before sleeping? Because it's better to read a book or something an hour or the like before sleeping as lights from an electronic screen such as phone/tv/pc is more than likely keeping your brain active and not letting it calm down before sleeping.
 
#27 ·
What about phone, pc, TV, you watch any of that before sleeping? Because it's better to read a book or something an hour or the like before sleeping as lights from an electronic screen such as phone/tv/pc is more than likely keeping your brain active and not letting it calm down before sleeping.
I usually take my tablet with me so I can read until I feel sleepy. I have f.lux installed to reduce blue light. The screen colour temp adapts to the time of day and lighting conditions (I have in on my laptop too). I took a bit of getting used to at first but I like the change now.

Are you on any anti-depressants OP? They are not good for sleep in the long-term. A lot of them have drowsy side-effects and don't promote the body to naturally fall asleep. I was on anti-depressants for 6 years and it got to the point where I was only still on them for the drowsy side-effect to help me sleep, my body became very dependant to the drug and when I finally quit them my sleeping was initially awful due to the terrible withdrawal symptoms from being on them for so long, but after a few months by sleeping normalised and now I'm enjoying much better sleeping and I can drift off a lot more naturally.
No, I'm not. I try to avoid medications when non-essential or if a natural alternative exists. That's partly why I'm leery of sedatives; even taken short term, they can lead to dependence for falling asleep. When I was a kid and restless, as ADHD kids tend to be, and my parents needed to get me settled in bed on their schedule they would give me Benadryl since mild sedation is a side effect. I've always thought that was a terrible idea and am kind of surprised I didn't end up with a sleeping pill dependence later on.

**********

Much thanks everyone for all the suggestions (and the music links!). There's quite a bit I can use that I wouldn't have thought of. As I said, I've never dealt with insomnia before. Hopefully, this is not a new pattern for me but only a byproduct of too much stress.

Racing thoughts are keeping me awake but there's also the hyperactivity/inability to lay still and I think that's just how my body reacts to worry. I recall feeling similarly mega-caffeinated right before important exams or events that I felt under-prepared for. Never to this extent or for so long, but the sensation of having downed multiple large coffees without having done so was the same.
 
#19 ·
I feel you. If you read the opening post in this thread I posted ages back, you'd get more of an explanation on my part:

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/anything/2112562-mental-illness-thread.html#post65327306

Aside, I've been trying to sleep better recently, despite the fact I sleep in until 1pm somedays due to not wanting to leave bed etc. All I can recommend is listen to relaxing music (as I'm a music junkie, that helps me sometimes), no caffeine, switching off all electronics to not get distracted, counting sheep (I'm serious), and such. I've been taking my meds are night sometimes as they make me feel super drowsy, and it's better to sleep at night than nap during the day (even though they still make me do that sometimes, which also contributes to not being able to sleep at night). I guess one of my problems too is that I literally come awake at night ha, and try to avoid crying myself to sleep.
 
#21 ·
Have you tried listening to a podcast or something before going to sleep? Its the only way I can fall asleep because if you just lay there your thoughts start going crazy and you get stressed out. But if you focus on the podcast its all good.

Also exercise and no caffeine. Dont use your phone either while trying to fall asleep since the light fools your brain into thinking its daytime
 
#24 ·
Are you on any anti-depressants OP? They are not good for sleep in the long-term. A lot of them have drowsy side-effects and don't promote the body to naturally fall asleep. I was on anti-depressants for 6 years and it got to the point where I was only still on them for the drowsy side-effect to help me sleep, my body became very dependant to the drug and when I finally quit them my sleeping was initially awful due to the terrible withdrawal symptoms from being on them for so long, but after a few months by sleeping normalised and now I'm enjoying much better sleeping and I can drift off a lot more naturally.

Although in general, I'm someone who doesn't sleep that well anyway, I'm a extreme light sleeper and can still sometimes deal with bouts of Insomnia, so I'm used to surviving on very little sleep sometimes so I can really sympathise to your situation, I hope things will improve.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top