Insomnia thread

MarkMas

MarkMas

Chief pedant
Messages
8,944
But:
"Kiwifruit consumption may improve sleep onset, duration, and efficiency in adults with self-reported sleep disturbances.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of kiwifruit consumption on sleep quality in adults with sleep problems - PubMed

Numerous studies have revealed that kiwifruit contains many medicinally useful compounds, among which antioxidants and serotonin may be beneficial in the treatment of the sleep disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of kiwifruit on sleep patterns, including sleep onset...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,796
MarkMas said:
Not much love for Tryptophan here:
en.wikipedia.org

Tryptophan - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Clinical Practice Guideline for the Pharmacologic Treatment of Chronic Insomnia in Adults: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline

The purpose of this guideline is to establish clinical practice recommendations for the pharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia in adults, when such treatment is clinically indicated. Unlike previous meta-analyses, which focused on broad classes of ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Click to expand...

I didn't say the theory was right, I was just trying to say 'that's the theory'

www.grahamsfamilydairy.com

Does drinking a glass of milk before bed help you sleep? - Graham's Family Dairy

www.grahamsfamilydairy.com www.grahamsfamilydairy.com


Hardly a peer reviewed study I accept, just the first link I found

C
 
Scaf

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,586
I tend to go to bed around 10pm and lights out 10.30pm - try to avoid doing anything other than reading last thing, alway manage to get to sleep fine, but often wake around 2am.

I never get out of bed on the basis I won’t get back to sleep drink a cup of tea in front of the TV.

My “work head” switches on as soon as I wake so I either read in bed for 30mins or count in my head.

Counting works for me most of the time, and I count 1-4 and then back down 4-1 in time with my breathing.

I rarely sleep will if I have had a skinfull so try to moderate regular really full on nights on the lash.

Sleep is so important to overall health, @conaero you need to get it sorted.
 
Zep

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,285
Another vote for the yoga / mindfulness thing. Years ago I did a yoga class in a local church hall, really helped train me to put all thoughts out of my mind and I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. So much so it annoyed my girlfriend at the time as I would say goodnight, roll over and be asleep, while she would be awake for 30 mins.

Before that I could would wake up and my brain would be thinking about stresses and problems, keeping me awake. Now, as anyone who has stayed in the same hotel as me will confirm, I’m snoring in minutes.
 
UlstermanAbroad

UlstermanAbroad

Member
Messages
1,687
sionie1 said:
I had it for 18 months during a particularly stressful time at work. What finally helped was a mixture, most of which is above. No screens at least an hour before bed, and not in the bedroom. No caffeine after 1400 - that cheeky afternoon espresso is rattling around your system a good few hours later, and cut out the booze completely. Brisk 20mins walk in the evening and some deep breathing exercises from a friend who does yoga and mindfulness. No one thing made a huge difference, but together they combined and worked well. I also stopped looking at my work phone after 1800 so my mind wasn’t racing trying to preempt issues, probably a bit harder when the business is your own though.
Click to expand...
I'd second all of this.
Also. Have a look on the iPlayer. There's some good stuff on there that I've seen in the last several months about sleep deficits and simple, scientifically proven changes to make, to increase the probability of a good night's sleep. Or, I may be thinking of radio broadcasts. Or both. Definitely the BBC though. I'm sure of that.
Can you recall if anything major changed in your life around the time that you first started having disturbed sleep?
I think you'll find that if you go about this systematically and make the incremental changes necessary, you'll get there.
More quickly than you might think.
Good luck :)
 
Tallman

Tallman

Member
Messages
1,834
Trying to get back to sleep after waking in the middle of the night is difficult - the mind wonders and keeps you awake. Something that helps me is to lie on your back with your arms along your sides and concentrate on relaxing all your muscles. It’s amazing how much tension you have. If all your muscles are relaxed you will fall asleep. The concentrating on relaxing muscles also takes your mind off the run-a-round as well.
 
happydaze

happydaze

Member
Messages
574
Having run my own business for most of my working life, I went through quite a bit of insomnia. It took a while, but I eventually found a way around the problem - sort of.

People say "Switch off", but I found that to be impossible. However, what I did find possible, was to switch to "Another Channel". It takes a bit of finding, but there's bound to be something that will take your mind away from the 'Horror Movie', and is more 'soothing'. Keep trying until you find the right 'channel'...
 
DLax69

DLax69

Member
Messages
4,306
My challenge is that I was institutionalized to wake no later than 05:00...and it worked, from age 19 to the lockdown year. Because all I had to do was switch on a screen, I also no longer had to wake up at 5. So I went feral (see: hair) and my natural sleep cycle...from birth to militarization...reasserted itself. So now I am wired to get sleepy around 01:00 and sleep til 08:00 or 09:00.

But I have to get up at 5 again.

All the "sleep hygiene" stuff I see hammers the idea of a consistent bedtime and wake-up as underpinning everything...
 
happydaze

happydaze

Member
Messages
574
When a bloke reaches a 'certain age', when, and how often you need to get up during the night is controlled by the 'Boys' Valve'. Some of my mates talk of needing to get up 3 or 4 times during the night. Prostate problems seem to vary quite a bit. Fortunately I usually only need to get up once - sometimes twice, depending what and when I drink. Then it's just a matter of quit cursing and swearing about getting old, and find that 'Other Channel' I was on about...;)

Sweet dreams...
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,632
Cheers all, lots to think about/try there and I’m going to try the Nytol first, I will report back but I know deep down the cause of my sleep issues are my brain not switching off. Alcohol, any amount seems to be another trigger.
 
Nibby

Nibby

Member
Messages
2,092
Sometimes to get off to sleep or back off to sleep after waking up I have the mobile phone on lowish volume by the side of the bed on an in-depth discussion of the Second World War on Youtube, something I'm interested in, make sure the piece is 20+ minutes long and the settings are set 'Not to continue playing other videos' after it finishes. Normally I've dropped off before the end and by not using the Youtube app, like watching a Youtube video on here means I don't get the loud adverts you get through the Youtube app.
Having silence when trying to get to sleep I find can be have the adverse affect.
 
S

Simon1963

Member
Messages
819
conaero said:
Cheers all, lots to think about/try there and I’m going to try the Nytol first, I will report back but I know deep down the cause of my sleep issues are my brain not switching off. Alcohol, any amount seems to be another trigger.
Click to expand...
If you have a Boots chemist handy get their Sleepeze it’s the same stuff but cheaper. I tried it and it worked for a while but in the end I think your system gets used to it and isn’t very effective.
 
zagatoes30

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,949
I have strange sleep patterns but not something that worries me, tend to sleep in cycles of about 90 mins then wake up. i find if I just get up walk around for 2-3 mins then get back in bed I drop off almost instantly for the next 90 mins. I'm a grumpy buggerr if I get woke up within a 90 min slot though so tend to plan early mornings around these slots. Also found recently changing the alarm clock colour from blue to Red or Purple makes dropping off mush easier.

Also over the last week found out, something I always expected, but I don't suffer from jet lag. Try to plan sleep to match the time zone I am going to and then quickly fall into the same routine. Friends I stayed with in Australia were baffled that I had no sleep side effects.
 
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