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 😩

Snap the 10mg in half.

Have you tried walking and tiring yourself out. And give up caffeine.
And also a weird one that worked for me. I used to look at my bed and dread it. Then I made myself look at it and think of it as a place of peace and rest and not a place to fight sleep but to embrace rest....even if that just meant lying down relaxing because I couldn't actually drop off. And then, after a while, I found myself looking at my bed as something enjoyable that i wanted to get in and that was there to snuggle me and give me sleep. It worked. I actually started to enjoy my bed !!!

Audible book to detach from the day (usually whilst washing up)
Lego so as to focus purely on that and think about nothing else
Yin yoga (usually half an hour. Restorative yoga should work just the same)
Sleep meditation (in bed - these always send me off).

This all begins about 2 hours before bed. I was prescribed mirtazipine 5 years ago but it didn't really work. I've only found this method in the last year and it really works for me. After much trial and error I should add! I hope that it's given you some ideas 😊

On my way home last night from work I decided I would have an alcoholic drink, as the last time I did I slept through. I went to bed after 11pm after one drink and slept until 6.10am. Would have preferred another hour and half but 8 while nights sleep helps psychologically. I won't be doing it all the time but maybe once a fortnight.

Self-medicating with alcohol is really not a good idea.

I found this extremely helpful when I was struggling with insomnia

HRT!

HRT was the only thing that solved sleep issues for me. How old are you? It’s the progesterone tablet that helps with sleep and anxiety.

Other than that - going to bed and getting up at exactly the same time.
Getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning.
I take- magnesium glycinate and tart cherry powder before bed.

Sleep restriction therapy is also effective.

Sominex blue box

I take one Kalms One A Night when I need it, within 1/2 an hour, I'm away! And it doesn't leave you groggy in the morning either.
I've tried all sorts and these seem to have reset my system!
I can't listen to anything on my Musicozy headphones/mask to get to sleep, as any talking or music keeps me awake! If it's music, I have a personal disco going on in my head! They're great for an hours meditation though!

I use progesterone, x3 of a 4 in one magnesium tablet and after an awful 2025 sleep wise I’ve turned a corner. Good luck it’s horrible

It's one night. I'm not stupid. I thought I'd give it a go and have a small delicious drink. But feel free to offer some solutions now you've made yourself feel better by trying, and failing, to make me feel worse.

Just try to drink plenty during the day & make your last drink 1.5 - 2hrs before bed

I know, I sometimes out of desperation have Night Nurse. Not ideal but does the job

I haven't got rid of my sleep problems completely but Atarax (old school antihistamine) works really well for making fall asleep and keeping me asleep but I only use it when I know I can sleep long enough, which is only at the weekend as during the week I have to get up at 4:30. Though getting up at 4:30 has made it easier to fall asleep much earlier in the evening!

Also using earplugs and an sleep mask is a game changer for me, sleep so much better when light is cut off and snoring noises are diminished.

That's my problem. I go to work and can't risk needing the loo while there and so I am not drinking as much as I used to. Then I'm desperate for a drink when I get home.

HRT and mounjaro has worked wonders for me. My sleep did improve a fair bit with just HRT but even on high doses my oestrogen and testosterone was stubbornly low. On mounjaro my sleep is much much better, my absorption/utilisation of hrt is much better (currently titrating down on doses) and of course I've also lost weight.

You need a routine, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (even if you have had no sleep).

do not take your phone into the bedroom at night. Charge it downstairs. Instead of watching TV, read before you go to sleep.

keep lights dim in the evening.

dont eat after 7pm

3mg of melatonin & a herbal sleepeeze (probably placebo)

the non herbal sleepeeze works better but I try not to rely on this often.

Oh dear that's a shame that you can't use the toilet at work?

I've been having a cup of warm milk with cinnamon before bed in an attempt to soothe gastric pain and a secondary very positive impact appears to be better sleep (and I'm a lifelong bad sleeper). Also eating a couple of kiwi fruit about an hour before bed seems to help and I believe there are scientific studies to back this.
Mentioning if the hrt or pill route is not for you/not for right now.

Magnesium glycinate

Magnesium citrate gummies from Holland and Barratt the novomins I started on the normal ones then the 2nd lot I discovered sugar free version absolutely game changer !!! I take 3, 2 hours before bed !! Recommend is 2 but 3 works for me !
I don't have social.media platforms either only Mumsnet but don't scroll before bed Iike to read instead . I wake up feeling more motivated and refreshed now x

I am doing a mindfulness course at the moment. I have gone to sleep in the exercises several times; and always sleep better that night.

I used Headspace sleep pack to get relaxed for bed and would drift off listening. Prior to that when I had insomnia for 18 months I did Sleepio. Depending where you live it can be accessed via the NHS. It's a CBT course and really helped but I had to do sleep restriction therapy which was tough but it reinforced the bed-sleep connection.

Kirkland Sleep Aid.