Calling out to all ex insomniacs!!

[Kala24]

If anyone used to be a terrible sleeper and has now gotten better with it, PLEASE share what has worked for you!

I have always been a bad sleeper but since having my own home and my own bed it did get better. However for the past month or two it's been really bad. I always wake up once in the night anyway, always have done so I am usually always tired because I never just sleep through. However at the minute I can't get back to sleep once I've woken up at like 2am!

Things I have tried:
Benadryl - this made me sleep until 9:30am which is unlike me but I still woke up once or twice in the night. Can't take it if I'm at work the next morning

Melatonin - I've used this loads in the hopes that one day it will work but it hasn't as of yet.

Magnesium - not sure which type these are. It just says "magnesium" on the box. I've only taken it for the past three nights though and last night was one of the worst sleeps I've ever had. Don't know if I managed more than an hour and even that was broken up.

People's advice is always a hot drink and a bath before bed or listening to a podcast. But a hot bath at 8pm or whatever time isn't going to help me go back to sleep at 2am. I need something that will help me sleep straight through, or at least fall back to sleep very quickly. Doctors won't seem to give me anything stronger than antihistamines.

Please help!

Zopiclone. I use it in short term bursts to regulate my sleeping patterns. I will take it for 2 weeks and it gets me in a routine of sleeping through the night, and I often won't need to use it again for a few months.

What dosage of melatonin are you taking? You can get 10mg pills or gummies on piping rock, I'd be surprised if that doesn't do anything for you. The 2mg are a bit useless though.

Gave up wheat. And listen to podcast/radio 4 comedies when falling asleep. Email myself reminders of stuff in my head if I wake in the night. Nice bed and bed clothes. Dark bedroom and window open. Tablets did not work for me. I also lie in on weekends and like to stay up to early hours a few times a week as that is my natural body clock. If I wake up after 4.30am, I get up but my main problem was falling asleep. On holiday/work trips I take a sleep mask.

Unconventional but works for me. Was a dreadful sleeper through childhood, teens, 20s and young kids.

I don't drink caffeine after 12noon but it doesn't effect my sleep anymore anyway just a way to cut down on coffee.

I was a terrible insomniac for several years and tried so, so many types of different routines, melatonin, herbal preparations etc. Some worked, but none of them for any length of time.

For me, I think the solution has been:

1. Giving up caffeine completely. I tried only having coffee for breakfast and switching to decaf for tea but it didn’t help. I very slowly realised I am very caffeine sensitive. Decaf and chocolate (the sweet and the drink) also affect me. So I went completely cold turkey. No tea (green or black) coffee (including decaf) or chocolate. I was miserable about this for a while but eventually got used to it and now don’t miss it at all. I drink chicory coffee instead, which I now really like! You can get it at Holland and Barrett.Also, sometimes passiflora tea which has a slight calming affect.
2. On a night where it is really imperative that I sleep I take Nytol (the tablet one which is different to the spray herbal one). It really works but I feel slightly dopey the morning after so don’t do it often. You can buy it without prescription.
3. Getting rid of one of the major sources of stress in my life which was constantly flooding me with adrenaline. I know there are lots of stressors in life that that are unavoidable, but if you can then do!
4. Although my main issue was waking at 3 or 4 and not getting back to sleep I found that getting blackout curtains and a sleep mask helped with the issue of morning light preventing me lying in as compensation for night waking.

I really empathise. Good luck!

Yes the late coffees or if Im overtired Im worse. Im bit better lately. Maybe menopause too Im 50. Will try magnesium spray. I used be awful duvets down to sofa and wide awake. Nightmare when you work but Im bit better now

Have a baby 😂 I was so tired I took any sleep I could take.

But other techniques were- go to the gym late at night- 10pm. Knacker myself out basically and No caffeine in the evening.

he’s 3 now so the middle of the night insomnia is creeping back in.

Honestly having children has largely removed this issue. But cut caffiene, regular bedtimes, and CBD helps.

I've tried it all, sleeping tablets, antihistamines, magnesium, no caffeine, white noise etc etc.
The doctors hate prescribing sleeping tablets which for me were the only thing that worked - it got to the point where I hadnt slept properly for 4 weeks and I felt suicidal. It's controversial but I now smoke a tiny bit of bud ( resin or solid ) before bed and I sleep so well! No unwanted side effects and I don't have to keep phoning the doctors, happy days

Walking for at least one hour spread across the day. I recently bought a walking pad because I’m not keen on walking outside when it’s late/dark/icy etc so that helps. I found high intensity exercise can sometimes keep me awake but walking makes me sleep better.

Switching to decaf and even then, not drinking my decaf coffee after 3pm.

Eating dinner late-ish, like after 7:30pm as sometimes if I eat dinner earlier I’ll get hungry later which keeps me up awake.

I was prescribed a weeks worth of sleeping pills on two occasions.

@Changer123 - I don't think it should be controversial really. Weed is very good at sending people to sleep. CBD can work too.

Do you wear cosy socks to bed op? Apparently warming the feet gets the body a better temp to fall into a better sleep. My gosh it is bloody working for me! I am an avid sock hater usually..

Making sure I'm both physically and mentally tired before I go to bed.
Previously I might be mentally exhausted from work, or physically exhausted on a day off, but rarely both.

Sleep meditations/hypnosis - never felt hypnotised, but the voices are soothing & drone-y. Gives something to gently focus on and then just zone out.

Getting up at a regular time even when tired, and not napping in the day - otherwise hard to sleep later.

Making sure room is cool enough - warmer rooms are more likely to cause nightmares or disturbed sleep, so more likely to wake up.

If you tend to be anxious, journalling a bit before bed to get any thoughts out of your head and onto the page helps some people.
Likewise if racing thoughts wake you up, writing them down can calm the mind enough to relax back to sleep.

The thing that really helped me was reframing it:
Reminding myself that I had had enough sleep, otherwise I would go back to sleep. And that took any annoyance and concern about lack of sleep out if it, which conversely allowed me to sleep more.

Best of luck.

I limit what I drink in the evening so I don't need to get up for the loo. I wear an eye mask and often ear plugs. I don't really need the eye mask currently as it's not light in the mornings but it helps psychologically. This way I aim to not fully rouse in the night. I used to regularly wake at 4am ish and now rarely do. I struggle to get back to sleep after 6am but this is much more manageable.

I take a sedating anti depressant at night. So not a sleeping pill (although I sometimes take one too) but one that helps a bit with my sleep.

Thanks for all of the replies!

I currently do sleep with an eye mask and ear plugs because I am a light sleeper. I did try weed once in the first lockdown and it was the worst experience of my life, I think I had too much hahaha but might give CBD a go.

Has anyone used a weighted blanket? Wondering if this might be worth trying. Also a few people have said exercise.. I must admit I used to go for a walk every day after work and I have stopped doing that now for some reason so I'm going to get back into that routine

Weighted blankets are amazing. I love mine.

Many years ago I did a "sleep reset".
I stayed up as late as I could (3-4am) doing something engaging, not dozing on sofa etc, then finally going to bed, but getting up at 6.30 regardless of how sleepy I was still, getting up, getting on with a day including going outside for fresh air and exercise.
Repeat, and the nights drew in shorter and shorter and I got myself to a point I was better at sleeping when I needed too.

I am a dreadful sleeper still though and take a good hour or more still to fall asleep.

I used to be terrible at sleeping til I made changes.
Exercise every day or at least do something active in the day.
No caffeine at all. Decaf drinks taste the same to me.
No food after dinner (usually eat around 6.30 ish) I do eat out later now and then but majority of time nothing after 7pm. definitely no sugary snacks or chocolate.
Try out different pillows - the right (or wrong) pillow for me is a massive deal! Also got a between my knees pillow which helps me get comfortable.
Arthritis pain is a problem for me so ibuprofen before bed helps.
Window open, even in winter.

Good luck OP I hope you find something that works for you.

No eating after 6pm. No caffeine in the evening.
Go to bed at the same time. Tech off at least an hour before bed.
Milky drink can help but only if you like.

Have a going to sleep position. Bed needs to be warm enough, no cold feet.
Listen to radio in bed with light off and try hard to stay awake until a certain show (e.g, when Speaker Lindsay Hoyle says Order, Order, radio switches itself off).

I used to have severe insomnia and zopiclone worked reliably for me short term, it felt life changing as I actually slept. Antidepressants and therapy longer term. Now I do get periods of poor sleep if something stressful is happening and I find a Calms nighttime tablet works. I've never found any of the advice around no devices/exercise/don't watch TV for an hour before bed/etc made any difference to me because it's waking in the night rather than getting off to sleep that was my problem. If I do wake in the night and can't get back off, which still happens occasionally then I do a really brief series of yoga stretches to ease any aches and then get back into bed and do something mindless like reading a very familiar safe book, playing solitaire on my phone, and doing word games or maths in my head, that generally works quite quickly.

Andrew Huberman (Neuroscientist) podcast
Sleep episode, which doesn’t go over the same old advice.
I followed it to the letter and I am cured!

I go through periods of very poor sleep. The most recent was horrific - staying awake the entire night type. The best thing I ever did was take up running (well C25K!) which I religiously did every other day in the morning and it totally got my sleep back on track - I haven't had an episode for over a year now which is unheard of for me. I still do it now on and off and feel much clearer headed and calm at night time.

It's the waking up and not being able to get back to sleep then going to sleep after ages that gets me. I sometimes get bouts of bad nightmares then feel wrecked the next day.

I got 1-2 hours of sleep a night for a few years as a teenager. Felt so bad I dropped out of education. Tried lots of things, what helped was drinking 2-3 litres of water a day. My life path changed because of dehydration 🙄

600mg n-acetyl cysteine before bed cured my four month insomnia

I retired! 2 months ago. I'm still doing some locum GP work in the same practice but honestly as a partner there was so much stress but I didn't realise how much it was affecting me.

Sadly not everyone has this option but I'm quite shocked at the change.