Insomnia is ruining my life. Is there anything else I can do?

[z0mbiethread]

I’m 47 and absolutely knackered all the time. It’s effecting my relationships and making me depressed and anxious.
I’ve been on HRT for 6 months, and now on an oestrogen patch of 75 (for 6 weeks). I’ve cut out caffeine, I don’t drink alcohol, I go to bed and get up at the same time each day, I don’t eat after 6pm, I exercise regularly and am not overweight. I get outside in the morning daylight, I don’t go on my phone in the evening, I take multivitamins, vitamin d omega 3 and evening primrose, I’ve tried mindfulness. I tried CBD and Nytol 50 mg which made absolutely no difference.
I’m desperate for a good nights sleep. I can generally get to sleep, no problem but wake after a few hours. Is there anything I’ve not tried? Help!

I found 5 HTP great, that and trying to list all the American states or European countries in alphabetical order, for some reason that works for me 99% of the time

I use a podcast app called Podbean and listen to Michelle's sanctuary - sleep meditation stories and it's only very rarely they fail to work. I also drink either a Pukka night time tea (chamomile and lavender) or their Cleanse one before bed (caffeine free).
Going to look at melatonin though after reading this thread, as I still think I could feel better after sleeping (still feel tired/lack of energy).

@TeaAndStrumpets

I sometimes jolt awake in the early hours..Active brain I think. Worse if I've had a busy day.

I find lying there trying to nod off does not work for me, so I get up, make a herb tea, and do some low level browsing, eg search ebay for a new teacosy or something boring and nonessential. I find fiction is too exciting, as I keep on reading! After an hour or less I make myself a hotwater bottle and go back to bed. I find being slightly cool, then getting warm again, sends me off.

Are you me!

I throw the covers off to get really cold, then put them back on.

I haven't rtft but you haven't tried going to your GP and asking for a short course of sleep meds like Zopiclone or Temazepam. I have had to do this a few times in my life and these meds help enormously.

I’ll send my DH over and ask him to tell you all about his latest interest. Works a treat for me.

But more seriously, acupuncture can help. Not always but I know a couple of people it’s helped. Traditional Chinese acupuncture rather than medical acupuncture- go to a properly trained one rather than a physio or similar who have only done a very short course (which is fine for things that fit certain western medical diagnoses and musculoskeletal issues but not so good for more systemic issues of mind and body).

Valerian tea also is vote for.

Doctors I work with say melatonin doesn’t give you quality sleep, just helps you to drop off but might be worth a try.

I sometimes put on a lecture on youtube that I am semi interested in. I fall asleep listening to it. Eventually.

Weighted blanket. I am evangelical about it - I now sleep badly maybe one night a month, rather than every single bloody night. Some nights I'm asleep in minutes - I'd never had that experience before. I know it doesn't work for everyone but it's worth a go...

Sounds like you're open to suggestions so try an Ayurvedic practitioner 😊 I don't know where you are but the Ayurvedic Clinic in Croydon do online appointments and then they post you the protocol/herbs.

Did a really good job on my hormones. Insomnia, insane hot flashes and heart palpitations were some of my symptoms.

Also agree with those who suggest a cold room and a weighted blanket or heavy duvet

Trazadone - absolutely brilliant stuff. 100mg an hour before bed and I sleep like a log. After months of peri menopausal insomnia this has given me my life back. Add foam earplugs and a sleep mask and you will have the best night’s sleep.

It’s not a popular solution- but I can’t sleep unless I have a bowl of milky cereal right before bed. Just how my blood sugar works 🤷‍♀️ Might be worth a try.

I stopped sleeping with my phone charging next to me and I went from 5-6 interrupted hours to 7-8 hours of proper sleep. Literally from the first night. Phone in a different room. I was so surprised and obviously am continuing.

Good luck, sleep deprivation is bloody awful.

Thank you for that article @legalalien - really interesting. I am a middle of the night insomniac. Often waking at 3 or 4 am and not getting back to sleep. It's a killer.

I have recently started taking melatonin and it's having some effect at the moment.

I’m going to really lower the tone here, so apologies now, but I find a wank helps if I can’t get off to sleep.

Waking after a few hours sleep unable to get back over is very often a sign of magnesium deficiency, which is very easily rectified with a supplement. I'm a nutritionist and usually recommend 900- 1200mg a day in cases of severe insomnia and people usually respond very rapidly to it. (Come down to 300-600mg a day when symptoms resolve.) Check for interactions and double check with GP /a nutritional therapist if you are on any medication (esp blood thinners!! Be wary of supplementing anything if on those), but it is a very safe supplement. Don't choose Mg oxide as it isn't as well absorbed and has more of a laxative effect. There are lots of good brands... Lamberts is very reasonable for example. Epsom Salts Baths are also a good way of getting Mg into you.

If you have any other signs of low Mg a supplement may help those too... restless legs, cramps, headaches, fatigue, feeling stressed...

Good luck!

There's an audiobook on Audible called 'This Audiobook Will Send You to Sleep' - it's a compilation of extremely boring readings done by a man with a wonderfully soporific voice. You may get the giggles on first listen-through (I did), but it now works every time for me, and I'd recommend it.

@z0mbiethread

Wow this is brilliant thanks so much. I thought I’d exhausted everything but there’s loads of excellent suggestions I haven’t tried yet. I’ve definitely got an over active mind which I really struggle to switch off in the middle of the night, so I’m interested to find out about sleep CBT. You’ve all given me hope I really appreciate it.

I suffer from an overactive mind keeping me awake at night. The one thing I have found that helped was listening to audiobooks - my preference is for history books, and I find the ones read by people with lower voices to be more soporific.

It doesn’t always work, and I am going though a bad patch at the moment, and am not getting to sleep much before 2.30am - but that is better than it used to be.

You have all my sympathy, @z0mbiethread - sleep deprivation is hell.

@Greattimestroubledtimes

Also over-the-counter hypnosis. I know Paul McKenna is a charmless sod, but his sleep hypnosis works a treat when I have a run of insomnia. Get the book from the library, get the recording onto your phone, listen as you go to sleep. Works a treat when I am going through a phase of insomnia.

But also votes for magnesium - the oil is also good straight into your skin after a bath - and melatonin (try Biovea online, theirs is good). Also the sleep stories on Headspace. As you can tell, mine has been going on for a while, but it is mostly controllable

Paul McKenna's sleep hypnosis is also on YouTube :

Worth a punt given there's no charge.

I also like the headspace sleep "racing mind" one as it's a busy mind that usually causes me issues, but not sure if you have tried that within your mindfulness stuff.

Sominex is also phenergan - I only need half one a night and after a couple of nights, once I'm out the habit of waking up, I don't need them at all. If I have a whole one I'm like a zombie the next day.

I've never slept well since a child. Racing brain, thinking, thinking. I've learned to live with it. I probably mange 3 or 4 hours sleep a night and that's being going on a long time. My dog sleeps with me now and that is a great help actually although it won't work for everyone.

I did try Nightol and all that but all it did was make me dream I'd never wake up so it didn't help.

Phenergan is something I would not take again, ever.

I've found that some Magnesium gel rubbed onto my thigh about half an hour before lights out really helps. I started to take it due to an eye twitch that wouldn't go away and wondered why I was then getting so drowsy during the day - and realised it could have been the magnesium! So I take it at night now.

I also take melatonin but I'm not sure how effective it is for me.

Focussing on my breathing was life changing for me. Try the book ‘Breath’ by James Nestor.

I'm a lifelong insomniac but have better sleep phases until I get used to whatever miracle cure I'm using and the insomnia come back. What I've found most successful is:

Sominex - you can buy it over the counter or online (shouldn't take it for longer than a week or so and then have a break)

Melatonin 10mg (less than 10mg does nothing for me) - there is a bit of a hangover the next day but it's worth it for a decent rest. I buy times release 10mg whenever I'm in the US

Magnesium ONLY when combined with L-Trytophan and it takes a few nights of a hefty dose for it to make any difference. Magnesium alone does nothing and topical magnesium is pointless for me.

Valerian Root - takes a while to build up but it does help. You can only take it for a month or two though before you need to take a break.

American Benadryl - which is actually 50mg diphenhydramine so you can buy it in the UK too. LOVE this stuff! But you can only take it a few times before you get used to it so use it sparingly. Those first few nights though...bliss!

I basically rotate through all of the above so I don't get too used to anything and maximise my benefits from them.

In all honesty, a new dp helped a lot. I still get the odd night but I've gone from barely sleeping 6 nights out of 7 to struggling one in seven since meeting dp. I did ask my gp if she could explain it (was there for another reason and she asked because insomnia was on my notes) and she thinks that being more active in the bedroom dept might have at least temporarily increased my hormones

Magnesium, melatonin (Biovea gummies 5mg are available online), try and do some exercise during the day, no screens after 9pm if you can and try an audiobook. Glenn Harolds relaxation sleep app. Foam eye mask and ear plugs. Sacha Stevens book the effortless sleep method is honestly amazing.
I'm a big believer that our bodies need different amount of sleep at different times in our lives and if your body needs to sleep it will. I have plenty of nights where I get 2- 4 hours sleep and I try not to worry too much about them now as I know can cope the next day and will sleep better soon. Also some people need less sleep than others. I think the pressure to get 8 hours sleep is rubbish to be honest. Many people live perfectly well on less, sometimes a lot less.

Hope it improves for you

Some other tips from the book: in past times we all did biphasic sleep, Victorians would get up in the night and do housework and other chores. It’s actually quite natural to have two sleep phases. It’s society that has deemed it normal to sleep on one go at a specific time. Knowing that stresses me out less. And not getting stressed is the key.

Sometimes I think, fine I’m awake and may be for an hour but I’ll lie here and focus on my breathing, I’m still resting etc.

Otherwise if you do wake and feel stressed, get up and do something else until you’re sleepy. (I can’t do this one as I’d wake the dog).