CANT SLEEP
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TimetoGrow
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CANT SLEEP
Im having trouble sleeping at night I need help I just cant sleep, and when I do I get up every hour and stay awake for 20 minutes before going to sleep again, what is causing this?
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Stephen Johnson
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Re: CANT SLEEP
1 - Avoid caffeine and alcohol less than three hours before sleep.TimetoGrow wrote:Im having trouble sleeping at night I need help I just cant sleep, and when I do I get up every hour and stay awake for 20 minutes before going to sleep again, what is causing this?
2 - Avoid heavy meals two hours before sleeping
3 - Avoid drinking a lot of fluids before sleeping.
4 - No heavy exercise less than three hours before sleeping
5 - Try to sleep at a set time, even on weekends
6 - Turn off TVs, radios and other noisy devices in your bedroom..
7 - Stay off your bed except when you are trying to sleep.
8 - If none of those things help, see a doctor.
It could be because of your serotonin levels. When it's bright out, we stop producing serotonin causing us to wake up. Then at night when the sun goes down our bodies produce serotonin causing us to fall asleep.
Are you on your computer late at night or around any kind of bright lights before bed?
You could try supplementing with serotonin for a couple days. Only take one pill once your about to go to bed. with the lights off.
Are you on your computer late at night or around any kind of bright lights before bed?
You could try supplementing with serotonin for a couple days. Only take one pill once your about to go to bed. with the lights off.
One thing I wanna add to Stephen's post...are you really stressed out? Your sleeping problems might be a symptom of a bigger problem if Stephen's suggestions don't work (hence the see a doctor comment at the end).
Oh...and if your not tired, do not try to sleep. You'll just end up stressing yourself to try to sleep and stay up later than if you stay out of the bedroom. Reading always helped me get tired enough to sleep (but not in your bedroom- elsewhere). Only use your bedroom for sleeping and sex. You start doing other things in there and it will disrupt your sleep (that is if your already having problems).
Oh...and if your not tired, do not try to sleep. You'll just end up stressing yourself to try to sleep and stay up later than if you stay out of the bedroom. Reading always helped me get tired enough to sleep (but not in your bedroom- elsewhere). Only use your bedroom for sleeping and sex. You start doing other things in there and it will disrupt your sleep (that is if your already having problems).
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caangelxox
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robertscott
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TimetoGrow
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To piggy back off what Jebus was saying, you don't want to drink alcohol to help you sleep. While it does make you sleepy it inhibits proper sleep cycles so even though you've gone asleep you don't go through the proper rest cycles so you don't feel refreshed when you wake up.
Something else worth noting is that chocolate is pretty high in caffeine so you probably want to avoid eating that before bed. Obvious foods with caffeine in them are soda, coffee and (non herbal) tea.
You might also want to try a sleep mask. Not that the light is bad but I hear it becomes a routine and you start to associate wearing it with going to sleep.
Something else worth noting is that chocolate is pretty high in caffeine so you probably want to avoid eating that before bed. Obvious foods with caffeine in them are soda, coffee and (non herbal) tea.
You might also want to try a sleep mask. Not that the light is bad but I hear it becomes a routine and you start to associate wearing it with going to sleep.
I definitely concur on the comments about stress. If you find yourself thinking about things... maybe the same thing every night, maybe different things, then this will keep you up.
As you go to sleep, what's on your mind? If the answer is something other than "nothing" or "nothing important", then stress may be a contributing factor.
It doesn't have to be that overwhelming, debilitating stress that has some people popping anti-anxiety pills all the time. Any of the normal, every day stress can cause problems with sleep. Even the simple anxiety over one's ability to fall asleep can cause enough stress to keep you awake.
If you find that thoughts of the days problems are on your mind and you just cant seem to get them out of your head, it's likely keeping you up. In order to get to sleep and stay asleep, the BOTH the brain and the body need to be relaxed.
Meditation techniques can help, talking through the stress with a spouse or friend can help, journaling can help. Just make sure if you're going to talk or write about your stressors, you don't do it right before going to bed. That kind of defeats the purpose and probably doesn't help whoever you may be talking to.
Also, doing something... for lack of a better description... brain dead in the hours before sleep might help. Things that help relax the brain without necessarily engaging it in deep thought might help you sleep better.
Of course, dealing with the stress head on is the best approach - though not always possible.
I would also agree that seeing a doctor is a good idea, particularly if this has been going any longer than a few weeks. Insomnia is linked to a number of health issues - both mental and non-mental.
Oh, and another suggestion - hide any clock faces. Until that alarm goes off, do you *really* need to know what god forsaken hour it is? Seriously, seeing that it's 2:47AM when you wake up is not the most relaxing thing.
The only advantage to knowing exactly what time it is in the wee hours of the morning is so that you can yell at your best friend "DO YOU KNOW IT'S 2:47 IN THE F-ING MORNING" when he calls you, drunk, from jail.
As you go to sleep, what's on your mind? If the answer is something other than "nothing" or "nothing important", then stress may be a contributing factor.
It doesn't have to be that overwhelming, debilitating stress that has some people popping anti-anxiety pills all the time. Any of the normal, every day stress can cause problems with sleep. Even the simple anxiety over one's ability to fall asleep can cause enough stress to keep you awake.
If you find that thoughts of the days problems are on your mind and you just cant seem to get them out of your head, it's likely keeping you up. In order to get to sleep and stay asleep, the BOTH the brain and the body need to be relaxed.
Meditation techniques can help, talking through the stress with a spouse or friend can help, journaling can help. Just make sure if you're going to talk or write about your stressors, you don't do it right before going to bed. That kind of defeats the purpose and probably doesn't help whoever you may be talking to.
Also, doing something... for lack of a better description... brain dead in the hours before sleep might help. Things that help relax the brain without necessarily engaging it in deep thought might help you sleep better.
Of course, dealing with the stress head on is the best approach - though not always possible.
I would also agree that seeing a doctor is a good idea, particularly if this has been going any longer than a few weeks. Insomnia is linked to a number of health issues - both mental and non-mental.
Oh, and another suggestion - hide any clock faces. Until that alarm goes off, do you *really* need to know what god forsaken hour it is? Seriously, seeing that it's 2:47AM when you wake up is not the most relaxing thing.
The only advantage to knowing exactly what time it is in the wee hours of the morning is so that you can yell at your best friend "DO YOU KNOW IT'S 2:47 IN THE F-ING MORNING" when he calls you, drunk, from jail.
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xshawnxearthx
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