If you had sleep problems but now you don't please tell me what worked

[Lugol]

I can't do another week like this.
Since December I wake up at 2 am and then barely sleep till 6 am when I get up for work.
I've tried:
Epsom salt baths which are great for dozing off but I still wake up.

Sleep podcasts which were good but I don't use bluetooth headphones so I haven't found a good corded option that won't disturb DH.

Melatonin 3 mg good for getting to sleep, still woke up, 10 mg and felt zonked all the next day.

I just need some sleep and I just want to sleep all night through 😩

Magnesium worked for me. Absolute game changer

Kirkland sleep aid are very good. They’re antihistamines. They have worked for everyone I have recommended them to as well. You can order them online.

Melatonin and musicozy sleep headband. The headband has Bluetooth speakers in it for dull sleep inducing history podcasts and it doubles up as an eye mask.

I’ve struggled with this a lot and have a few things that work for me, sometimes nothing works but sometimes one or other technique will work. Here goes;

Cognitive shuffling which I only learned about recently but actually works 80% of the time for me now. (Google it!)

If that doesn’t work, box breathing (breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for four and hold for four). Or 4/7/8 breathing - this is like a natural sedative and sometimes knocks me straight out. My whole body goes tingly and heavy, then I fall alseep. Very weird!

I have a Bluetooth Musicozy eye mask £20 from Amazon which is great when the room is light in the summer, it links to my phone so I can listen to a sleep meditation (free on Spotify or annual subscription to Calm for £30). Calm also has music and stories for falling asleep to). I usually try this last if nothing else has worked.

I also have to be very strict with myself about thinking about work (my
main stressor) at night as this raises my cortisol and I’d never get back to sleep. If a thought about work comes, I recognise it ‘oh a thought about work, we don’t do that at night time any more’ then send it floating away (every single time!). It gets easier with practice. So maybe decide what you’re absolutely not going to think about at night and try that too?

Good luck! 🤞

I now take HRT. Progesterone tablets taken at night and oestrogen gel.

But obviously not everyone can have that so the only other thing that worked aside from zopiclone is promethazine,( phenergan)I bought phenergan of the internet as I was desperate.
Melatonin didn’t do shit and I can’t take magnesium.

Ive always had issues with sleep, it’s been terrible over the years. I still wake up around two but often go back to sleep until 6 ish

I've slept appallingly my whole life, and have been waking for several hours in the middle of the night a lot in recent years. However, now in my sixties, I recently found something extremely helpful.

Lie down in the dark and get comfortable.

Do all the following with your eyes shut.

Raise your eyes and look up.

Lower your eyes and look down.

Look to the left.

Look to the right.

Circle your eyes round in one direction.

Circle your eyes round in the other direction

Repeat two or three times.

Now I must say, it doesn't always work, but it works far more often than it doesn't, and it works quickly. If it doesn't work, stop trying after a few goes and try again later.

I was very sceptical, but it's been massively helpful. I would never have believed it would work for me. Good luck.

Sleep meditations are good.

@Lugol Humantra electrolytes daily x

Magnesium
lavendar
turn off the WiFi
blue light glasses in the evening

I do my workout just before bed, I’m so knackered I drop off into a deep sleep.

Magnesium glycinate (not a quick fix but helps over a period of time). I have also tried a magnesium foot rub and did think that helped. Progesterone continuously as part of HRT. Yoga nidra on Spotify before going to sleep and if I wake up. Get some wireless headphones - before I had some I was creeping down to the sofa so I didn’t disturb DH but then I wasn’t comfortable.

How old are you? It was hrt that fixed this for me. Within days, tbh.

I’m on Amitriptyline. I’ve tried magnesium, antihistamines, zopiclone and other things over the years. My brain has always gone into micromanaging emotions, what ifs and other things and I now know this is my ADHD.

I need the window open, I need dark and I need quiet. So far I’m a week in to new meds and I am sleeping better.

-Exercise before bed (so you are physically tired)
-do 30-45 minutes of relaxation before bed (guided meditations, lavender or magnesium salts bath, nice skin care routine, moisturising, body brushing, breathing techniques as examples).
-start taking magnesium supplements
-reduce your caffeine intake
-no or low alcohol (alcohol can interrupt your sleep)
-consider anti-depressants e.g. mirtazipine as it has a sedative effect and best taken at night (pls consult with your GP on this)

Magnesium spray & This Works pillow spray have helped me.

https://amzn.eu/d/0b6iwdsD

Phenerghan, they are an antihistamine but work for insomnia and are not as strong as an actual sleeping pill like Zopiclone.
I’ve always had problems with falling staying asleep and it’s got worse as I’ve got older, for me it needs to be pitch black in the room, no noise, no tv or phones and I try to stick to the same routine every night.

Is phenergan easy to get hold of please?

Amitriptyline and magnesium. No booze

Why don't you use Bluetooth headphones? I have the musicosy headband which is amazing and then can easily listen to podcasts

A few years ago I had a lot of improvement by using a Lumie sunset/sunrise clock.

None of the advice/strategies, etc. are currently working for me. But the most useful tip I got a few years ago, that has honestly been so helpful, was to not worry about sleep and just focus on rest. It’s taken away a lot of the stress for me. I try to just keep reminding myself that even if I’m not sleeping, I’m resting my body and that will have to be ‘good enough’. I often have a podcast on as well, as that stops me from over-thinking too much. There are some nights where I only ‘rest’ (don’t sleep) for most of the night, but I am definitely less stressed by reminding myself that I am still resting rather than worrying about the lack of sleep.

Drastically reducing caffeine and cutting out alcohol.

Quetiapine, no food after 6pm and a hot bath or shower each night, no reading or T.V and room temp between 16-18°C.

God I'm a sodding gremlin aren't I!

You can get them over the counter, but a warning - they do send you to sleep but I feel groggy for up to two days afterwards if I take one. It's only worth it in the very specific situation where I can't sleep but don't need to be particularly alert the next day.

I cut back my last caffeinated drink to early afternoon, then lunchtime and now can only have caffeinated tea for breakfast. HRT also helped me, and when I've had a run of bad nights doing a short bedtime yoga video helps.

I use a combination of a magnesium cream - Feather and Down sleep butter - that I put on just before I turn out the lights, and listening to audiobooks, via Bluetooth earbuds, @Lugol. I also currently take 2 paracetamol at bedtime, because I am recovering from rotator cuff injuries to both shoulders and a strained hip muscle, and they stop me getting too uncomfortable to sleep. Superstitiously, I believe they help me sleep better.