Getting to sleep

[Luke1993]

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post in because this isn't really SA medication, so feel free to move this if I got it wrong!

What I wanted to talk about was getting to sleep! I can't ever seem to do it when I want to, it takes several hours and sometimes I don't even go to sleep!

I've always had sleep trouble for as long as I can remember but only recently did a doctor give me medication, it was 3mg of something called melatonin! I'm supposed to take two every night but it didn't make a difference to me, so recently I've been taking four of them a night, even then though it's still a bit hit and miss, some nights I go to sleep when I want to, but most of the time it has no effect.

I guess a lot of the problem is because when I'm lying in bed I think way too much about stuff, and usually it's really negative stuff too :: I can'thelp it a lot of the time. People say I should just "Clear my mind" but it seems I'm not able to. Like if someone were to say, "Do not think about the colour red!" I'd start thinking about it!

What I've been trying to do in order to "distract" my thinking is to turn my tv on and listen to it with my eyes closed (I put it on a sleep timer, the tv turns itself off after a certain time) but I'm still having a bit of trouble. Does anyone have any ideas to help me get to sleep?

Thank you for reading and I'm sorry for the long post!

 

[Scars]

I guess a lot of the problem is because when I'm lying in bed I think way too much about stuff, and usually it's really negative stuff too :: I can't help it a lot of the time. People say I should just "Clear my mind" but it seems I'm not able to. Like if someone were to say, "Do not think about the colour red!" I'd start thinking about it!

What I've been trying to do in order to "distract" my thinking is to turn my tv on and listen to it with my eyes closed (I put it on a sleep timer, the tv turns itself off after a certain time) but I'm still having a bit of trouble. Does anyone have any ideas to help me get to sleep?

Thank you for reading and I'm sorry for the long post!

I have the same problem... it's hard to block out my thoughts. TV and music etc only makes things worse for me. So I honestly recommend not doing that. One thing you could try to do is regulate your body temperature. Like if you have a fan that sometimes brings a big cold breeze under the covers every now and then, or as you lay there longer you start to get warm or hot... do something about that. Moving my feet around sometimes helps me, like if I'm a little warm but if I move the covers I'd get cold, I just stick my feet out from the covers and it helps. Also, don't be afraid of making long posts!! It really helps for people with SA to get their thoughts out and for a lot of us this forum is the only way we can do it comfortably. So say everything on your mind and hold nothing back!

 

[Eam]

I know I sleep a lot better when the room is cool, if you think you're the same then you could try opening your windows for a while before you go to sleep. Then there's meditation. Another one I heard once was to do some muscles tenses before you get into bed (I don't mean exercise, just small tenses) though I haven't tried that one.

 

[BlueDays]

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[vanfuggle]

Yes, go to bed only when you're tired. Keep the window open, weather permitting, and concentrate on the sounds of the outside, crickets, dogs barking, cars, whatever. Try to imagine you are really heavy, sinking into the mattress.

Good luck!

and get up early in the morning, don't lay there once you're awake.

 

[mrb]

just start up jogging mate , or weight training , or both , if you really tire your body out before you go to bed it will need sleep , sometimes i cant sleep so ill hit the running machine or weights for an hour or so. then go back to bed and crash .... works for me lol

 

[Ritta]

I've been having trouble sleeping for a very long time. The first sleeping pills my dr. prescribed didn't help at all. They actually made me nauseous. Later on I discovered I have something called "Restless Leg Syndrome". It explains why my feet start to burn at night and my legs start kicking. My dr. gave a new prescription for RLS called "Ropinirole" So far these pills have been working great. Not sure how it's going to be when it gets really warm though. Last summer I was only able to sleep for just an hour or 2 a night. I hope it doesn't happen again this summer.

 

[Luke1993]

Well you might be able to buy it over a counter here I don't actually know, but it is what he gave me. I think I'll be seeing him in the next couple of months, he makes the appointments you see. I will definitely try to tell him about it!

And to mrb, I do go to the gym as often as I can and I do feel very tired once I get back, trouble is my membership only lets me go between 9am and 5pm (It was a student offer) so I usually go in the afternoons, I do have some weights at home though so I'll try it sometime in the evening

 

[Luke1993]

Okay this is a little update! Mrb your idea worked wonders! In combination with the medication as well I was able to get to sleep every night since then flawlessly! Thank you! Althouugh, since I've taken double of the given dosage I had to wait a while. But then my doctor, who has been replaced with someone else, has reduced the number of pills in the packet I was given to 28 (So if I was to take my usual four a night it would only last me a week!)

But then I remembered what Enialis said about it being available over the counter! So lo and behold, I found you could buy it on Amazon! I just ordered some now and once they arriveI'm sure I'll be sleeping much better from now on! Thank you both!