Problems Sleeping

[Ruffian]

For the last few weeks Ive had some really big problems getting to sleep, and once I get to sleep I am up and down for the entire night. I have been holding off on caffeine intake (dropped it by over 50%) and dont have any within 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I thought it was just post-exam stress but its been a couple weeks now and it still is not getting any better!!! Im exhausted, have a constant headache and this seems to be causing problems in the healing of my knee (every night I get an especially bad sleep my knee hurts more the next morning).

Does anybody have any unprescribed suppliments (my doc is not big on prescribing this stuff- not that I blame him) that may help me with this? I just want to get a good nights sleep, I searched on this and found some stuff but I was wondering if anyone thinks this has anything to do with my surgery? The problems started right after I had it, I dunno if that is just coincidence or if it actually has something to do with it.

Ideas??

[barstow]

I would get up really early for a week. Your body should reset and I bet you will start getting tired earlier.

[stepto180]

you are probably stressing about the surgury and not sleeping and that is causeing you not to sleep well in my opnion

I have never slept well my best fixes come from getting on a regular schedualed time to go to bed/not using you bed for anything other then sleeping/and complete darkness when sleeping
good luck I have also drank sleepy time tea before bed and ZMA will help me with a restful sleep and to stay asleep but not help me get to sleep

[KevinStarke]

Marijuana

[ectx]

if getting to sleep is the problem perhaps you need to try melatonin or it's prescription much more potent analog, roserem. It basically convinces your body that it's night time and exploits your natural sleep cycles. Roserem's actually one of the safest sleep drugs out there with no addiction-forming sides, etc.

[galileo]

ETS seems to help me.

[MrWebb78]

if you have time to take a nap during the day, do it. you need to get sleep/rest somwhere.

Valerian Root is the stinkiest supplement known to mankind, but is decent for a sleep aid. I have had problems my entire life with sleep(falling asleep and staying), this stuff seems to help.

I also refuse prescription meds like Ambien although my doc wants me to try it.

Other methods are to not go to bed until you are sure you will fall asleep. Over time your brain with associate your bed with sleep and it will help get to sleep easier.

[WillKuenzel]

If it persists I'd recommend a sleep study. I'm just about to the point where I'm going to go get one, because I have the same issues. I take melatonin like ectx recommended and valerian root like MrWebb said. Either one by itself doesn't seem to help much but the combination works well for me.

Also like Webb mentioned, I don't go in the bedroom at all until I'm sleepy and ready to go bed. This way when I do get in bed, its associated with sleep and my body and mind starts to shut down.

[Ruffian]

barstow- If I try to regulate my sleep hours I will only get 4 or 5 hours a night...
stepto180- the thing is I have already HAD the surgery and this sleep problem started AFTER the surgery... Thats what worries me. Im wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem post-surgery.

Ill check into some of those suppliments!!!

Thanks for the advice you guys, but if any of you have any experience wiht surgeries.. .Did you ever experience anything like this after surgery?

[razorcut]

Are you taking any new prescription/non-prescription meds since the surgery? I can't think of any other way it would be related to the surgery itself. BTW, I 2nd the melatonin suggestion.

[anelka]

I have problems sleeping a lot. Sometimes I'll go to sleep, wake up at 1-2am, and not be able to get back to sleep. Then I'm tired the rest of the day.

[whiteman90909]

Marijuana

This comes up every time....









...because it works.
And im not trying to sound sarcastic, but why not wake up earlier?

[teaturtle]

I agree with KevinStarke and whiteman....marijuana works.

[Ruffian]

sorry guys, not a marijuana person.

I havnt started any medications since then so it must just be unrelated...

Thanks guys!

[must_eat]

Ruff, i heard that if you spend alot of time on the computer, it can also help you not sleep. My mom thinks i have internet addiction and sometimes i stay on all night...just a thought.

[PhilsterT]

How much caffiene are you actually taking? Maybe try going cold turkey for a little while?

[Clifford Gillmore]

sorry guys, not a marijuana person.

GHB will do it too.

[GroundControl]

I too have serious problems when it comes time to sleep. A easy and effective way is to smoke alot of blunts then munch out, you'll be passed out before you know it. But this doesn't really work too well if your on a cut. Try some warm milk or turkey before bed, they both have some chemical that makes you sleepy.

Anyone know of some non prescription, all natural stuff that will just make you sleep like 15 min after you take it ? Something strong...

[Don Birnam]

I have had sleep problems for about 5 years now, sometimes worse than other times. It can be very depressing, and at times I know I have felt very depressed, even overwhelmed by the fear that this will never get better. I feel like a good night's sleep is about the same difficulty as juggling seven balls at once... if not everything's perfect it will all fall apart for me. A typical night I wake up 3-5 times; a bad night much more. Even when conditions are PERFECT I wake up 1 time typically. During the daytime the effect on me ranges from fuzzy thinking and vision, low energy, sometimes hyper/nervousness, and sometimes severe irritability and depression. I basically had to become an entrepreneur last year because I am completely unable to function on a 9-5 type-job.

That's the downside of it haha... actually I've come to manage it a fair bit. I have accepted that being tired is not the worst thing in the world and that takes a lot of the pressure off. I find that for myself, hunger is frequently one of the things that triggers a wakeup. If I am hungry and I wake up, I will have a lot of trouble going back to sleep. But the thing is, you often don't realize you are hungry in the middle of the night. You haven't eaten in so long that your body went past the feeling of hunger. I'm still working on the best nighttime foods; I typically eat cheese, tuna, olive oil etc. before bed and I'll leave some cheese and olive oil next to my bed for when I wake up- they are slow-burning foods and it's very easy to down a few hundred calories in under 60 seconds with these foods. But I wonder if a small amount of carbs might help as well, they definitely boost mood and apparently cause serotonin release which helps you sleep.

An entirely-dark room is a big help, as well as quiet. For me I'll wake up if it's even a smidge too hot or too cold, and I use a humidifier all the time to make sure the air is moist enough. Dry air clogs up my nose and gives me a sore throat which can lead to waking up. What else... I find it handy to have a few prescription sleep pills around, only for like crucial nights where you MUST get a decent night's sleep. Because of anxiety I may wake up after 3 hours and not be able to get back to sleep; the pill can be useful here to help me get back to sleep for another few hours. Be careful not to use too much too close to the morning because sometimes the sleepiness effect lingers. If it's already 4 or 5 just use half a pill.

People often say "set an alarm", and I feel the same as you... um, the problem isn't sleeping too long or getting to sleep, it's multiple wake-ups during the night. But if you can get the stuff above taken care of and you're having decent sleeps, 80-90% quality... then an alarm in the morning can help. Like if you wake up once, go back to sleep, then get up with an alarm set for 8am every day. Then open the windows, take a shower, eat some breakfast etc. This will help you get going and be fresh all day and it will lock in your nighttime sleeping. As an entrepreneur I'm free to wake up whenever I want most days, and I find if I let the sleep period drift forward, gradually to 2am-11am, 4am-1pm type of thing, you really end up feeling like garbage all day, and you definitely wake up more. If you are going to bed at 11 and getting up around 8, sure, maybe you're still having the wake-ups but for whatever reason you feel a lot better during the day, which is the main goal in all this anyhow. And it's my belief you'll have less wake-ups this way as well.

Hopefully it won't turn into a lifetime project like it has for me! Right alongside getting big, I work on it week after week But look at it this way, so many people have some condition, like diabetes, severe allergy, mood disorders, psych. disorders etc. that they must 'tend' to day in and day out, so if this is mine it's not such a big deal. Best of luck.

[Relentless]

I have had great success managing sleep issues with an OTC supplement you can get at most health food stores here in Ontario called 5-HTP.

5-HTP is a serotonin precursor and is also an intermediate in tryptophan metabolism (tryptophan being that stuff in turkey that makes you sleepy). It also reportedly has mild antidepressant qualities.

As with any self-medicating, do your research and ideally run it by a health professional that you trust. Just because I like this stuff doesn't mean it's right for you. But I'd look into it were I you.

[Sensei]

Surgery screwed up my sleep patterns too, but jet lag is the worst for me.

Here are things that help me if I can't sleep:

*UNPLUG yourself a few hours before bed. That means NO television, cell phone, text messaging, phone, web-surfing, video games, etc.
*No caffeine (at the very least 6 hours before sleeping)
*No naps
*ETS, Valerian Root, Melatonin, etc. have all worked for me, but check on these things yourself before blindly jumping into them
*Don't plan training sessions, etc. before bed

[Stumprrp]

i think everyone gave you some good advice, however i almost always go for a nightly coffee and it doesnt spike me up at ALL, maybe because im like 80 lbs bigger then you though.

i find some deep thought and relaxation helps with sleep too

[Anthony]

Another vote for ETS.

[Talking_God]

I have sleep problems too, not so much falling asleep necessarily, but the waking up multiple times part. The only thing i've ever taken that put me out are some muscle relaxers i got when i hurt my neck..but i've heard a lot of feedback on ETS and how it helps fall asleep. I'm going to place my first order with ALN at the end of the month, and i'll be getting some ETS.

As far as the deep thought and relaxation, that has helped me on occassion..maybe try that for a couple nights before looking into doing anything else.

[Ruffian]

Thank you sensei! Im glad Im not the only one! My problem is the multiple wakeups as well, no matter what I do I am up 3 or 4 times at night for different reasons, either Im too hot, too cold, my knee hurts, headache... yadda yadda yadda. Ill look into ETS though!

Thanks you guys!