Anyone struggle with sleep?

[Baitball Blogger]

Once I make it past the first hurdle I can usually fall asleep easily no matter how many times I wake up through the night. And that can be often because I picked up a "First Watch" sleep pattern from the child rearing years, and, recently, when I was nursing my sick dog.

So, what sleep relaxation exercises do you use to help you fall to sleep naturally?

[OriginalGeek]

1. it drives my wife crazy

but I can't go to sleep without the tv on. If I try to just go to sleep in silence i stay awake all night worrying about shit or reliving embarrassing moments in my head. TV blocks all tat noise out and I fall asleep. Just set the sleep timer and turn to cartoon network (or Archer if it's a 3~4 show bloc) and watch tv. It works every time.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. White noise of a fan running works great for me.

Of course, having a watchdog in the house means I don't need to be tuned into every little sound.

And reading...reading in bed always helps me sleep, habit of decades.
Esp. a boring book.

[OriginalGeek]

33. i used to like reading too but then I fall asleep with book on me

and it gets messed up as I toss and turn. Ruined a few paperbacks that way and poked myself in the side more than a few times with hard cover books.

We do use a fan too and that works plenty for her but isn't enough for me. But does help keep cool. Our watchdog is 9 pounds of scaredy-cat Papillon that sleeps in our daughter's room and only barks if there's no good reason lol. (MAINLY only if she's closed up in the bedroom and thinks she heard one of us open up cheese.)

[trof]

15. 'Law and Order' best to go to sleep to.

Or any of the permutations.
It's mostly dialogue. No action scenes you have to raise up and put an eyeball on.
You can follow as much of the story as you can stay awake for.

Yep, I do TV sleepies too.

[OriginalGeek]

31. THe best thing about that is

I am pretty sure there is never a time, day or night, when there isn't one of L&O's on.

My daughter and I play a game called "Was this actor on Law and Order?" We never lose because everyone has been on L&O.

You're right about the not keeping an eyeball on the screen. That's the best kind of shows for going to sleep.

[kath]

60. Funniest line/phrase about all the different varieties of "Law and Order" - years ago, in an episode

Of the Simpsons, they referred to "Law and Order: Elevator Inspector Unit"

We use that name fairly often in our house

[Art_from_Ark]

84. I turn on the cartoons, too

Only cartoons from the '60s will work, though, especially Hannah-Barbera cartoons that have the theme music that I remember, and original voices.

[OriginalGeek]

90. that was one of my favorite parts about Adult Swim on cartoon network

they re-use old familiar cartoons in new adult ways - Space Ghost, Harvey Birdman - Attorney At Law, Sealab 2021, and various spin-offs and guest appearances. It's all pretty great. I've seen them all so many times I don't have to watch. Just drift into blissful hilarious sleep.

nowadays they have more original programming but it's still cracking me up. and letting me sleep.

[Cal33]

2. Begin with one foot, think and feel it relax. In a little while you will feel a tingling

sensation there. That's when you move on to the ankle, calf, knee, thigh, hip.
Then do the same thing with your other leg and the arms, one by one. Then
do the same thing to the lower and upper abdomens, the chest cavity, neck
and head.

After this you relax the whole body, feel the tingling sensation and not think of
anything at all. Just rest in the tingling sensation. It's quite pleasant. You'll be
asleep before long.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. I gotta ask, friend.....do you happen to be entering the senior years?

The things I have learned about insomnia since getting older.....
happens a lot, I find out.

Falling asleep only to wake up a few hours later and being unable to go back to sleep is classic one of the sleep patterns of getting older.

I read this interesting article on "2 nap" cycles ( sorry, can't seem to find a link, Google, maybe?" )
where it is common thru out the world for people to sleep soundly for a few hours, wake up feeling pretty alert, getting up and reading
or doing non-strenuous activity for a couple hours, then going back to sleep for several hours more.

As for the natural way to fall asleep, I did just read of a this breathing exercise...

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00521/three-breathing-exercises.html

[d_r]

4. just an opinion, my belief

I have sleep apnea. That means that I stop breathing at times while asleep (and snore a lot). What happens when you stop breathing is that your body releases a big shot of adrenaline to make you breathe and you wake up wide awake. Even with a CPAP, I usually sleep a couple of hours and wake up wide awake.

I think that is what is happening in the "2 nap" cycle. I think that people are waking up because of the burst of adrenaline, that is why people wake up wide awake.

The thing is, it really takes a toll on your body to get that nightly adrenaline shot.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

5. You should talk to your Dr about that

Maybe you need to adjust or change your mask. Or go back in for another sleep test.
I sleep great since I got my CPAP, 11+ years.

The closest to a snoring problem I have is when my wife starts. It's kind of like the sound effects from a "Godzilla vs. Sasquatch" movie.

[d_r]

14. I guess you are right

I've kind of just accepted that the waking up is a part of life

[avebury]

6. If I didn't have to work, the "2 nap" cycles

would work really well for me.

When I go to bed, once I am asleep I do good if I can sleep for 4-5 hours (if I am lucky) and then I am awake. On the weekends I can go back to sleep and I do just fine.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Nyquil works for me.

That stuff might as well be Thorazine. The only problem is that I'm kind of a zombie for most of the following morning.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. I DO take a small dose of Elavil at night

it has an off label use for post neuralgic nerve pain, but has added advantage of being a mild relaxer, about the same as 50 mg. of Benadryl to me.

[Glassunion]

21. I've been battling a cold for the just over a week now. NyQuil has been

My best of friends. I hate the hangover, however I love the mild coma it puts me into. You wake up in exactly the same position you passed out in. My only complaint is that it has a sort of Viagra type effect on me, but on the Quil I'm too dopey to do anything with it. It's like giving a caveman a motorcycle. Sure it looks cool, but it's completely worthless.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. LOL!

I can't say it has THAT effect on me, except for the mild coma.

[Thor_MN]

69. The aching, sneezing, why did I wake up on the kitchen floor medicine can raise your blood pressure.

I was just started on a raft of meds for BP, Blood Sugar, Low Thyroid, Cholesterol...

Yeah, I've been avoiding the docs too long. I'm sleeping like crap according to my FitBit, have a sleep study scheduled in Jan. Been a lot of things falling apart around here, including me, over the last 4 months.

If I'm having trouble falling asleep (not often because I'm not getting good sleep) I use ear plugs to lose the normal background noises. Cop shop and Fire house 6 blocks away make for sirens at all hours.

Having a dark room helps too, when my idiot neighbors don't leave their backyard light on all night. At times it makes me think of the pellet gun in the garage...

[Baitball Blogger]

38. I go through cycles.

Always have had a touch of insomnia. When I was younger, if I was able to fall asleep before eleven, then I was good for the night. But I abandoned that pattern once I had children.

This is particularly challenging because I'm trying to get back to that rhythm after twenty something years of being on First Watch duty.

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. When Mr. dixie was working in SF, and dealing with hours of traffic and nosie, etc

he had a hell of a time getting to sleep. Simply was too jangled..as was I.
He said poor sleep had been a long long long time problem.

Me, I am a night owl, and worked from 1 pm to 9 pm for years, which suited me fine.

When we retired and moved here to this quiet lil Southern town, and had no alarm clocks, within 6 months he was falling asleep at 9:30 pm!
I still stay up till 11 pm at the earliest.

[A Simple Game]

78. The 2 nap cycle worked great for me for years. The 2 hours of non-strenuous work was a pain though.

Then the boss caught me and I got fired.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Maybe you need a Sleep Cat?

[NJCher]

9. Read

and read. And read and read and read. Then read some more.

I have my Nook or my iPad Mini in bed and when I wake up, I read a page. Zonk. Next time I wake up, same thing.


Cher

[hobbit709]

10. I can fall asleep anywhere. I can also wake immediately.

Sometimes some noise in the night will wake me, I identify the cause, turn over and I'm back asleep in a couple of minutes.

[Cal33]

29. You are one of the fortunate people. My brother could do it, too, and still can. But, in old age

he wakes up frequently.

[DebJ]

62. You must be related to my husband or my sister's husbands

I hate you.

(Sarcasm).

[Marthe48]

11. I take Ambien but also

I try casting books I've read for a movie. Any book, any actor, any actress, living or dead. I usually don't get past the hero and heroine. (I'm of an age where I can't always remember the actor's name and trying to think of it just knocks me right out

[bigwillq]

16. Every day

I get my best sleep in the 20-40 nap I try to take every day before work (I work second shift).

At night, I never stay asleep for very long. I'll sleep for an hour then wake up and so on and so on.

I listen to ASMR videos on you tube to help fall asleep. They make me fall asleep but, again, I still don't stay asleep for very long.

[Skittles]

17. huge ASMR fan but alas, they've never done anything for my insomnia

no indeed

[bigwillq]

18. I do like how they make me very relaxed

I just enjoy watching them.

[NJCher]

26. what is ASMR?

Cher

[Skittles]

28. Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_sensory_meridian_response

a tingly (but non-sexual) feeling induced by ordinary things

forget the "non-verified" part - I can assure you it is very real indeed.

[Baitball Blogger]

39. I would have to see that to believe it.

The best I can do is falling asleep to a football game. No tingling feeling, but just the right combination of boring and soothing to put me to sleep.

[rurallib]

19. lots of exercise and an internet radio with old time radio shows

had a radio on all night since I was @7 so if that noise isn't there I don't sleep.
If I don't exercise, I can't sleep really well either.

Edit to add - no caffeine before bed time. We generally go to bed close to the same time each night.

[hibbing]

43. I swtiched from radio to podcasts

I always had a radio on when I was younger and going to bed. Used to listen to Larry King for years when he had his radio show. Now I fire up my phone and listen to podcasts, I'm usually out after a few minutes, but I put them on late when I'm already pretty tired.

What messes me up is that I am such a light sleeper, any other sounds wake me up.

Peace

[malthaussen]

20. Yes, sheep can be savage.

-- Mal

[Avalux]

22. Breathing, body awareness.

I guess it's like a form of self-hypnosis, another post in this thread talks about it. Focusing on each part of the body and relaxing it. I also give myself little pep talks. I tell myself that I'll sleep well, I imagine what I'll dream about - and that I'll wake refreshed at a certain time (I don't use an alarm) and be excited to start the day. It may sound a little odd but it works.

[Generic Brad]

23. I blast a fan on me

It makes white noise which drowns out the ambient city noise. It circulates the air, keeps me cool. Helps me go out like a light and stay out for a refreshing 5 1/2 hours every night.

[NJCher]

27. I do that, too

Year-round! People think it's so nutz to have a fan on in the winter, but I love the moving air. So many times I wake up throughout the night and think, oh man, I love this!

I actually do not sleep well at all, but regardless, I still like bed time. I like the reading, the quiet, and even if the RG is home, he's pretty tolerant of my craziness throughout the night: getting up at least once an hour, reading, tossing, turning, cats jumping on and off the bed, cats craving attention and snuggling up next to an arm or leg, me changing a hot pillow for a cool pillow, re-forming a pillow--oh yeah, I'll bet you never knew anyone could be so busy trying to sleep, right?

I'm sure this isn't most people's cup of tea, but really, I only sleep very well between 4 and 8 a.m. On about 4 hours of sleep, I'll then go out and work a 12-hour day and donot ever feel tired.


Cher

[Baitball Blogger]

40. This sounds like my sleep patterns.

Then, every third week I would sleep almost till noon to catch up.

But, I'm trying to get myself back to a normal pattern.

[Aerows]

25. If insomnia were an Olympic event

right now, I'd be a medalist.

I have no idea why, either.

[Cal33]

30. There are many causes, of course. A most common one is because we are thinking. This helps

to prevent sleep. Most of the relaxation exercises for sleep are based on causing us not to think.
They try to replace thinking with having pleasant feelings. The exercises I mentioned in the post
near the top of this thread does just that.

Some people will need sleeping meds. See your doc. I used to know someone who was using
4 different sleeping meds. He would take one of them for two nights in a row, then switch to
another for 2 nights...etc.... He repeated the cycle once every 8 nights. That way, he never got
addicted to any of them. This was a long time ago.

[Tipperary]

32. Me too.

Sigh.

[Aerows]

34. I quit caffeine, don't exercise too much past 8pm

and really try to keep my workouts to 7:30 pm, don't eat past 5:00pm.

What am I doing wrong?

[Tipperary]

35. That sounds exactly like me.

I just do not seem able to turn my brain off. I sleep better when I am in a happy time of life. I seem to have lost my happy time lately, so maybe that's most of the problem.

[Aerows]

36. Maybe we should start watching horrible movies?

I read a lot, and that is a meditation for me.

I don't watch TV, so perhaps we can come up with an absolutely terrible movie schedule after the workout.

[Tipperary]

37. Sounds like a plan lol.

I read also, but sometimes nothing works.

[PADemD]

98. Try C-Span at nght.

Puts me right to sleep.

[Aerows]

99. I am looking for sleep

not reason to wish to damage my eardrums and similarly damage my corneas!

[Baitball Blogger]

41. If you're not eating after 5, you may be having trouble falling asleep because your

blood sugar is off. Try taking 2 tsp of almond butter before going to bed.

[Aerows]

42. That could be!

Thank you for the suggestion, my friend!

[Baitball Blogger]

44. Let us know if it works for you.

[Aerows]

50. Is that teaspoons

or tablespoons?

[Baitball Blogger]

51. teaspoons.

Almond butter is not great on calories. Stick to the teaspoons.

[Baitball Blogger]

53. I just check my jar of Justin's Almond butter.

Two Tablespoons are listed as 80 Cals. That's not too bad.

[fleur-de-lisa]

46. I have been struggling with Ideopathic Hypersomnia for decades.

I can usually fall asleep pretty easily, but awaken after a couple hours, then wake continuously throughout the night, even with medication. With Hypersomnia, I am on the edge of sleep/wake cycles all night long. Any disturbance can wake me.

White noise helps, particularly a fan. My ceiling fan is actually too quiet, so I have a desk top fan on my dresser. It's louder than the ceiling fan.

I found a great tool on youtube called 'celestial white noise'. When it's playing, it sounds like you're inside a plane on a long flight. The quality of the white noise is very consistent. Even slight variations in sound will wake me, but this doesn't vary. Another thing I love about it is that it runs without interruption for about 8 hours (even though it says it runs for 10 hours, but 8 is enough for me!).

[fleur-de-lisa]

47. And it's free!

[Baitball Blogger]

57. It almost sounds like riding in a car.

[dixiegrrrrl]

81. This web site, if you have speakers, is perfect

https://rain.today/

They play continuous rain, with varying types of rain, and/or you can choose to combine types
plus
they also offer different kinds of nature noise ( waves, rivers, etc)
plus
white noise options.
Really worth checking out. I listen during the day with headphones when I am on the computer because sometimes it is TOO quiet outside. a sound cocoon, makes me so mellow.

Rain sound will lower my BP to my toes in very little time. Totally relaxing for me.

[mainer]

48. Avoid electronics near bedtime. Don't drink too much alcohol.

If you're peri-menopausal, estrogen replacement therapy can help.

[olddots]

49. sex works for me

sometimes my hand falls asleep first . Sorry .............

[Baitball Blogger]

55. .

[BlueJazz]

52. Clonazpam. (.5MG) From my doctor.

[Baitball Blogger]

54. Is it addictive?

[BlueJazz]

58. I've been taking it for 7-8 years...every night and have had zero problems with it. Having said ..

...that, I (of course) can't recommend it, via DU rules, but it's been wonderful to put my head on the pillow and not have my brain in "high gear" It's a nice relaxing drug.

[No Vested Interest]

64. Ditto .5 clonazepam. Addictive - Maybe, but I'm willing to stay with the .5

dosage for a lifetime.
Very little is better than a solid night's sleep.
Occasionally I have a bad night, for no explainable reason.
I've also used a CPap for ca 11 + years.
Being warm enough is important to me as well. I layer when necessary

[Kali]

56. lately I have been struggling with turning the damn computer off and going to bed!

I don't have much trouble going to sleep once there, though I do like to read something kind of boring, that helps. rarely, I take a benedryl if I have had a long nap during the day or have something worrisome on my mind or just need to konk out quickly to get up early the next day.

[Baitball Blogger]

67. Someone once told me that benedryl has similar properties

to lorazepam.

[valerief]

59. Pint of bourbon. No, that keeps me awake.

I like the soft white noise from a fan.

[DebJ]

61. I just started using a sound machine and set it to white noise. Works wonders.

My daughter has used them for years, and did so with both of her children.

After I realized that sports on TV puts me to sleep because of the white noise created by the crowds, I tried it and it really helps if your
mind is running and running. (I have fallen asleep at Super Bowl parties where the home was so crowded I didn't fall over but slept upright because there was no room to fall over LOL.)

On Edit: the other five sound choices on my machine are all water: ocean, rain, babbling brook...how people can sleep through that without having to wake up and use the bathroom is beyond me, LOL.

[Baitball Blogger]

66. Football games make the perfect noise to fall asleep.

I have just enough interest to open one eye to see a play or two, and then just turn over and listen until I fall asleep.

Unfortunately, there aren't very many live football games going on at eleven o'clock at night.

I have tried the youtube games but noise coming from earphones are too intrusive for me.

[mithnanthy]

73. I've used sound machines for years.

I like the rain (no thunder) and the ocean sounds. They knock me out and keep me sleeping through the night. Now I get the sounds from sites on my husband's Iphone. Works for me.

[prouddemfromaustin44]

63. I've been having insomnia for some time now

It's probably due to working a lot more these days.

[Tobin S.]

65. Welcome to DU!

I hope you are able to get some good rest soon.

[TexasBushwhacker]

68. A couple of things have helped me

One is an app called Twilight that let's ne tone down the bright bluish light from my phone. I have mine set on a timer that turns it on after sunset and turns it off during daylight hours.

Another app is called Sleep As Android. It tracks your sleep phases and then wakes you up when you are in a light sleep. It has different white noises too. I've found that since I started using it, I'm getting more deep sleep. You just lay your phone beside you and it differentiates your light sleep, when you move a bit, and your deep sleep when you are motionless.

[mackerel]

70. A woman was telling me yesterday that cedarwood oil really helps her bi-polar husband

sleep when he is in one of his insomnia cycles. She says she puts it in a diffuser because it's really strong.

[a la izquierda]

71. I fall asleep fine, but have awful anxiety that wakes me up after about 4 hours..

and then I'm up for awhile.

[GoCubsGo]

75. Same here.

I think menopause also messed me up to a point where it was more a habit than anything. I found that "Midnite" helped break me of it, to some extent, as does time-released melatonin. I also found that installing "f.lux" software on my laptop helps, too. It filters out the blue light from the computer screen that messes up one's circadian rhythm, according to time of day.

https://justgetflux.com/

[a la izquierda]

76. Hmm I'll try that.

I usually put on a boring video to fall back to sleep, but the light is a killer.

I'm having marital problems and two of my three dogs sleep with me, so my sleep hygiene is just bad.

[dixiegrrrrl]

82. I use Screen Shader on my puter for evening browsing.

Does a great job of taking strain out of the eyes..very relaxing.

[AngryOldDem]

72. I wish I knew.

It's been literally years since I've had a decent night's sleep where I've woken up feeling good.

It doesn't matter when I go to bed. I tend to wake up in the middle of the night. I usually go back to sleep just before it's time to get up. Lather, rinse, repeat...every night. I've gotten used to it.

Stress, anxiety, bad job...a lot of things are feeding into it. I was given a sleep medication a few years back that worked for maybe one night. Medicines like that typically don't work on me anyway.

I've learned to live with it, but as I get older, it's definitely getting harder.

[ailsagirl]

74. This may be helpful

My doctor recommended this book for insomnia:

http://www.amazon.com/Say-Good-Night-Insomnia-Drug-Free/dp/0805089586

It explores the subject in depth and it really helped me.

Good luck!!

[Baitball Blogger]

85. thanks for the book recommendation.

Sounds promising.

[ailsagirl]

100. You betcha'!!

[Jamaal510]

77. I have sleep apnea and am an insomniac.

I've been having to listen to nature sounds on my iPod and take Unisom so I can fall asleep. I also always fall asleep no earlier than midnight. I plan on going to the doctor over the winter to get it checked out.

[Baitball Blogger]

86. My pharmacist gave me a few tips.

He said that I have to listen to my sleep cues. Generally, they come around 7:45 pm. Yawn, and general symptoms of the body wanting to slow down. Unfortunately, people like me are very task oriented and we won't even consider sleeping until we're done with whatever we're doing. And that just sabotages you, because the body starts to stimulate itself to try to keep up with whatever you're doing. Alas, insominia.

[MosheFeingold]

95. I have a CPAP and love it.

Used to snore so bad I would bother neighbors.

Being blessed with a proper Semitic nose, I can use the pads that just go in your nose and not the full fighter pilot outfit.

It's fantastic.

[womanofthehills]

79. I just listen to "in Search of Lost Time"

downloaded to my iphone. Very calming. Of course, when I wake up it's still playing and I have no idea where I left off.

[nadine_mn]

80. sleep with me podcast

http://www.sleepwithmepodcast.com/


love it! Gets me to sleep within minutes

[mopinko]

83. i sleep w dogs.

when i am tossing and turning, i try to match my big dog's breathing. i think it is really that i am concentrating on that sound, and everything else has to take a back seat.
but it works every time.

[Baitball Blogger]

87. I do the same thing, but with my hubby.

I match my breathing, and even if I don't sleep, I feel rested.

[mopinko]

88. if i had a hubby, i would do that.

it just help to make your mind quiet down, i think.

[Contrary1]

89. I struggle with a sleep disorder...

I have no trouble getting a good eight hours in. My problem is that my wake/sleep cycle is turned around.

It's a rare night (morning) when I get to bed before 4 am. I have been like this for decades. Even when I worked, I didn't usually get to bed before 2 in the morning, and then I was up around 7.

I have tried pretty much everything...melatonin, over-the counter meds, ambien, alcohol, staying up 36 hours straight, going to bed when I'm not tired. The doctor has me on Trazodone now. Doesn't seem to be doing much.

I believe my case is genetic. My mother was the same way. Would aggravate my dad that she wanted to "sleep all day", getting up around 11. But then, he would have been in bed for hours by the time she packed it in, an hour or so before his alarm went off. Funny thing, Pop could fall asleep anywhere, anytime, in any position. He could actually nod off playing poker.

My brother and son have problems also. They are up and down all night long.

I'm in my 60's now...I doubt that anything is going to change for me.

[Baitball Blogger]

92. I'm sure there has to be a reason for this anomaly.

You would think someone would be interested in studying your family's sleep cycles. Might find the switch that controls sleep patterns in everyone.

[Fix The Stupid]

91. Two Words - Restless Legs

Friggin nightmare. So tired, all your mind wants is sleep, but your legs have this unreal sensation that they need to be moved all the time.

It's really hard to explain to someone who does not suffer from it...

Picture a huge spring, like one for your cars suspension, that is compressed to it's smallest - that is the feeling we have everynight in our legs...it's awful.

Getting rid of ALL caffeine helped quite a bit, but there are still nights you just want to put a gun in your mouth...

[Baitball Blogger]

93. Have you tried acupuncture and professional massage techniques?

If nothing else, they should help to relax you.

[ProfessorGAC]

94. I Get That From MS

Twitching in the arches of the feet, the calves and the tops of the thighs.

Not severe spasms but for a light sleeper, it doesn't take much to wake me up. I seldom sleep more than a half hour at a time. Then i'm up for 45 minutes, and so on.

Been that way for a couple decades.

[bikebloke]

96. White noise machine

I'd wake in the middle of the night and start wondering about the time by the traffic noise outside. Especially when I was stressed over the ouster rom my job. The white noise cloaked the outside sounds. I also use it to muffle the TV addicted neighbour upstairs who thinks it's his on private building. I still lose a night's sleep now and then due to stress.

[OxQQme]

97. The granny method:

Small glass of warm milk with a generous spoonful of honey stirred in.
Sleep like a well fed baby.




Or 'woo' yourself to sleep with binaural beats from the ancient solfeggio scale:
-->

-->

there are other frequencies that affect us also ---> https://attunedvibrations.com/solfeggio/

If you believe it's woo then it will be