Sleep, Elusive Sleep, Where did you go?

[Susannah]

As someone who usually sleeps well the occasional disruption hits me hard, especially when it lasts longer than a night or two.

I need hints, solutions, help, etc.

Do you have trouble sleeping? What do you do about it when you do?

 

[Yvonne Smith]

I usually go right to sleep, and what Bobby and I do is take melatonin about a half hour before bedtime at night. I also have those blue-blocker glasses that are supposed to help with reading on a computer or tablet , and I wear those when I am reading on my iPad.
Exercise always makes me tired at night, so on swimming days, I sometimes go to bed extra early. I think it depends on what is keeping you from sleep, to know what might help it not happen.

 

[Krystal]

I have never slept well! I have tried everything under the sun and it is always a temporary fix for me. It might work a couple of days to a week then I am back to not sleeping. A lot of people have good luck taking melatonin or antihistamines before bed. I hope you find something that works for you.

 

[Susannah]

Like you said, Yvonne, I've always slept well too with the exception of a period of time about 10 years ago after an injury. I got through that with Valerian root tea so that's what I tried again but I don't react to that tea the same way I did before. I've tried melatonin and Sleepy Time tea. I also have another chamomile tea but nothing works. Maybe I need to make the last ones stronger.

Krystal, I really feel for you having a chronic sleep problem. I haven't tried antihistamines. I will see what info I can find about antihistamines and sleep.

I'm staying out of the recliner today. I can't seem to sleep when I'm supposed to but a few minutes sitting in the recliner and I'm snoozing away.

 

[Don Alaska]

Susannah, you can try the melatonin again. I have found sometimes it takes a body a few days or weeks to get attuned to it. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) helps most people but some folks react to it with hyperactivity. Chamomile and valerian work for many as well, but you have already tried those. Two more things you could try are "Happy Lights"--phototherapy lights in the morning, and heat. The phototherapy lights reset your own naturally-produced melatonin; 30-60 minutes in the morning when you get up ironically often helps you get to sleep at night. I used to read for 30-60 minutes every morning with breakfast to help me sleep. An electric blanket or simple heating pad helps many to sleep. Even if you are not cold the heat seems to make people drowsy. My wife uses that method.

Some other things to consider are lack of exercise and activity, and chronic sub-clinical pain. You can test for the pain by taking aspirin or acetaminophen/paracetamol before retiring at night. Just try it for a couple nights, and if you sleep better, it is likely that you are suffering from some low-level of pain that you don't consciously notice but is enough to keep you awake.

Also, sometimes the extended-release form of melatonin works better than standard. Eliminate any unnecessary stress form your life if you can. Some people also have used pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) for sleep as well, although I haven't tried that.

 

[Susannah]

Last night was better although I did nothing different.

I appreciate all the suggestions and will gather some new supplies to try one at a time. One thing I had done was switch from my winter sheets back to percale so I shall go back to the warm and fuzzies first. That might do it.