Trouble falling asleep

[Wishingfordream]

I find it very difficult to fall asleep at night. My mind tends to wander and I tend to ruminate over things. My dil suggested trying sleeping pills but I’m just too scared to take that step. Aibu for refusing his suggestion?

I read a book until I feel my eyes start to close. Put the book down, switch off the light and I'm asleep! It's good at stopping your thoughts go all over the place.

Don't know age etc but HRT has revolutionised my sleep. 👏

No stopped hrt

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for insomnia

Also, a daily breath meditation practice over a period of months that you can then use during the night. This takes months though. It is like building a physical muscle.

I also recommend a sleep meditation! There's loads on YouTube and you can set your phone on a sleep timer for the length of the video so it doesn't roll on playing random videos all night 😊

Magnisium glycinate. Cheap as chips and works a dream. It's changed my life, with the exception of tonight as I'm working!

Sleep meditation solutions, no need for drugs of any type.

Weighted blanket. Absolute game changer for me. It helps fall asleep, keeps mind calmer and if your brain is like mine, I assume you toss and turn? It stops it. I have had the most blissful nights since getting mine

Another vote for HRT - i thought my insomnia was the result of a busy mind. Nope - HRT has resolved it completely. i'm asleep in minutes

Was about to ask about HRT too. Helped my sleep enormously but I also take Magnesium at night.

If you are going to take Magnesium make sure it's the right one, really good quality.

The other thing is piriton. It's an allergy tablet but definitely helps, although you might feel a bit cloudy in the morning.

There's a great podcast called Nothing Much Happens on Spotify, where a woman with the most soothing voice in the world reads a short story where, you've guessed it, nothing much happens. She reads it at normal speed once and then again, more slowly. Really relaxing and helps me to drift off.

@Needhelp101 hmm

I hope you let us know what you tried & how well it worked, OP.

Not sure what tonsyartbwith

I’m veering toward trying pills but worried about addiction or accidental od

I suffer from dreadful insomnia for long periods of time - could never get to the bottom of what triggers or perpetuates it.

The best thing I did for stopping it though was running. I took up C25K and it's like my body was finally properly exhausted and my mind was clear. Haven't had any sleep problems since.

Magnesium glycinate works really well for me. You can get over the counter herbal sleep tablets such as Nytol if you don't want to take a medicinal tablet. The over the counter ones don't knock you out or anything though, they just make it easier to get to sleep and stay asleep. Melatonin might appeal as it's a natural hormone that promotes sleep and is commonly prescribed for children.

Read a book - a chapter a night from a novel you love will do the trick every time guaranteed!

I sleep with continuous white noise (rain) playing all night. I started using it with my newborn almost 7 years ago to settle her and realised how much it actually helped quieten my mind!

I'm the opposite @cigarettesNalcohol I used to read quite dry non-fiction books. They definitely got me straight to sleep!

I'm now a month off Zopiclone (sleeping tablets) and still not back to normal. It was good for that period but I think you possibly pay the price thereafter.

I have another month's supply but I'm scared to use them for that reason. The natural medication is quite effective.

Well OP what have you tried?

Would be good to know... and what happened. And what you are tempted to try next

I'm in the camp of listening to an engaging but not too engaging audiobook... I listen to Alexander McCall Smiths 44 Scotland Street at 0.8 speed so it is slow and gentle.

It has the perfect blend of recurring characters and a lot of brief recaps of what's happened before so it doesnt matter if I listen to some of it six times and sleep through other bits, I'm almost always up to speed enough to look forward to listening to it. It can take me a while when I first go to sleep but seems to work within 5-10 mins if I wake in the night....

And I've also used Nightnurse and Lavender baths/pillow spray - lovely but not sure how much impact either had

@EllBellWell where do you get cheap magnesium glycinate. The ones I've seen seem quite expensive compared to other magnesium.

I began to have problems getting to sleep after I retired, I guess because I no longer work 12 hour days as a senior teacher! I settled into a pattern of sleeping reasonably well between 2 am and 10 am, which was fine unless I needed to get up earlier for some reason. Then Covid cut all my activities and I just did nothing all day every day! I have mobility problems, hence retiring early, so could not even go out for daily exercise!

So now, I find myself still awake reading or messing around on my iPad ( set on night time light settings) until 4 am or later then sleeping until 11 am ish. Sometimes I settle down at about midnight and to stop my mind from racing through my worries, I play alphabet games in my head - think of boys names, countries, food items for every letter. I come up with the most random categories like medical related items, tourist attractions in Europe, holiday destinations or things found in a hardware store!

It can work if I’m very strict to keep on track but not always, sometimes nothing I do helps me relax enough to sleep and I have been known to get up and make a very stiff gin and tonic! Tomorrow I have a mammogram appointment at 10.30 so I’ve just set my alarm for 8. 30 to give me time to take my painkillers and have a cup of coffee before heading out. I suspect I won’t sleep very well, I don’t feel tired at all, so might only get four hours sleep - nothing unusual!