fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2974 ]

[ SECRET POST #2974 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2974 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

__________________________________________________

03.

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

__________________________________________________

06.

__________________________________________________

07.

__________________________________________________

08.

__________________________________________________

09.

__________________________________________________

10.

__________________________________________________

11.

__________________________________________________

12.

__________________________________________________

13.

__________________________________________________

14.

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 044 secrets from Secret Submission Post #425.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've had chronic insomnia the past few years of my life. It was to the point where I cried about it (literally) to my doctor and she prescribed me sleep medication. I try not to take it every night, so I don't rely on it too much, and sometimes I go through good streaks where I don't need it. But lately, I've been taking it every night and whenever I try without, I just can't click off. It usually takes me at least 45 minutes to fall asleep even when I'm dead tired anyway, but when I'm still not there by an hour I take the pill.

Any advice for ways to get sleepy? Anyone else struggle with sleep - what do you do, for better or worse? I really want to get my 8 hours every night!

Only tip I have is to not read or watch TV or anything in bed. You don't want to associate laying in bed with those kinds of activities.

Hmm, I don't have any advice. But, I almost never can fall asleep in less than a half-hour. Usually, it's closer to an hour or so. It doesn't bug me much because I still get good sleep and I like the time to think. I've never considered that I might have insomnia because that's how it's always been for me and I'm fine with it.

If you haven't already, cut out caffeine where you can and don't drink it after a certain time. As for how to get sleepy, I'm not sure other than exhausting yourself.

I went through a period a few years ago when I'd wake up in the night and have a devil of a time getting back to sleep. I had just gotten a copy of Michael Palin's diaries from the Python years, and after a bit I would read a month in the life of Michael Palin. It was friendly and soothing and I would go right to sleep. I swear it worked.

The only side-effect was, I used to have very silly dreams!

Might not be your thing, but white noise has been great in helping me fall sleep. I especially love this white noise program: http://www.tmsoft.com/white-noise/
Finding the right noise to make me sleepy also helps, because not all the sounds work for me.

Exercise. I sleep better if I run a mile and a half or two miles before bed.

IA with the exercise, though I find that I can't sleep right after, so if I work out mid-afternoon/late evening, then let my body come down before dinner and relaxation time, I'm worn out enough that it helps. It might not work right away, but as your body gets used to it you might get more rest.

If you've had chronic insomnia for several years, I imagine you will already tried all the usual methods (exercize, not eating heavy meals during the night, relaxation techniques, etc.) I'm only suggesting this because I don't know how common this method is in America or... wherever you're from.

Valerian and lime blossom can help you sleep. They sell valerian capsules and lime blossom tea is also useful. They're not sleep meds, mind you, which means their effect is milder, but also that they have less side effects.

Have you considered your insomnia might be caused/worsened by anxiety? I'd recommend examining your lifestyle, see if it's stressful or if there is something that is worrying you.

When I had bouts of it in college, I used to do minor stretches before bed and try reading books before bed.

The odd thing that helped me the most? British TV. The British accent somehow lulled me to sleep and I slept better. I've "watched" Red Dwarf and Blackadder, but really just fell asleep through most of it.

With chronic insomnia, watching tv before bed, or any time in the evening is really not recommended.

Jesus Christ, poor you. I go through periods where I don't sleep well but they don't typically last past a week or two. A few weeks back I found myself waking up every 30, 40 minutes (Then taking 15, 20 minutes to go back to sleep) and it fucked me up bad. I was weak, dizzy and miserable most the week. (I'm guessing the lack of sleep caused it, anyway.)

I'm not sure what to suggest, tbh. Going to bed early just doesn't work for some people, and it can be difficult to shut your brain off. Even if you don't eat right before bed, get plenty of exercise, and don't read/game/watch TV in bed that doesn't guarantee you'll get a good night's sleep. I've also heard light can fuck your sleep, but I need a lamp... Absolute darkness freaks me out.

I think trying to clear your mind is supposed to work... But again, that's impossible for me. I think up fanfic, sometimes that seems to help.

I hope you find something that works for you, anon. I know your situation has to be rough, and I assume you've tried about everything already. I wish I had some secret trick to share with you.

I have frustration sobbed also! It's embarrassing and weird.

Anxiety is my biggest insomnia trigger. Also if I'm doing repetitive tasks during the day instead of doing my own thing, my sleep quality is horrible. It's like my brain rebels at night because I shut it off during the day.

The opposite of what any doctor will tell you is what helps me the most. I reduce the light, put on some low volume boring tv and a game of solitaire on my ipad in bed. Eventually the boredom lulls me into relaxation.

My brain can't handle trying to relax itself in the dark with no stimulation. There's too much to think about.

If I'm really bad, I'll try to approach it like a nap. I'll have a big meal and then I'll put on an audiobook for some quiet talking noise and just one lamp on and lie on top of the covers with my nanna quilt over my legs.

:(

I'm not sure what all you have tried? I'm the anon who mentioned exercise above, but there are a couple other things I do to help me feel sleepy (or at least feel like I'm resting even if I can't sleep).

I notice that my lack of sleep ticks up when my anxiety is bad, so taking stock of whatever little stressors you have and trying to either eliminate them or manage them better can help a lot. Weirdly, cleaning my house more often has helped, so it can't nag at my brain at midnight when I'm too physically tired to bother. If you have any little things like this that give you anxiety, just forming better habits to manage them might help somewhat.

I also take a nice 20-minute bath fairly regularly, with dim lighting, usually about half an hour before I want to go to bed, so my body gets nice and relaxed. After that, I try to read something a little mind-numbing; I know a lot of people say avoid screens, etc., but I find that browsing dumb websites (random articles on Wikipedia or TV Tropes or... wherever) helps, because it's just enough to keep me from getting bored and trapped in my head without being enough to stimulate me like a novel would.

If you haven't tried meditation or breathing techniques, I'd suggest looking into them, but that's a pretty common recommendation, so you've probably heard it already.

Whatever works for you, I hope you find it! Good luck, OP.

SA

If you have the kind of insomnia where your mind just wanders and won't shut up, I'd also recommend keeping a journal of what your mind wanders to? It won't help in the short term, but it might help you figure out if there's some underlying stress that's triggering your insomnia.

A while back, I tried to read Henry James' The Wings of the Dove in bed. I never got past the second page. The opening chapter of Swann's Way does this for me too.

Suffer?

*sigh*

My insomnia is due to Hashimoto's disease which makes my thyroid fluctuate; so when I'm hyperthyroid, I can't sleep. This past September, I was sleeping 2-3 hours a night with no nap. I wanted to die. Now, I'm getting anywhere from 3-6. This past week, I slept five whole hours in a row without waking up. It was a revelation.

One thing that keeps me up is the nightsweats/hot flashes when I'm hyperthyroid. I've had some luck with Clary Sage. I bought DoTerra's Clary Calm and it does appear to abate the symptoms to a certain degree.

Supposedly, the kind of light you're exposed to at different times of day can affect your sleep patterns. Avoid blue or cold blue-white light for a while before bed or if you get up at night, and stick to warm, dim yellowish tones. I've even started using a program called f.lux that alters my monitor's color temperature at night. I'm not sure how much it's helping me, but it doesn't seem to have hurt any...

Have you tried ASMR videos on YouTube? I have chronic insomnia too and these provide me with some relief. I download them from YouTube as an mp3 file and listen them in the dark on a mp3 player. Try melatonin too. That helps somewhat.

Seconding melatonin. The best thing in the world (after prescribed meds lol) for helping me get sleep.

Wow, thanks for all the responses, guys!

I do tend to get overly-anxious and mentally obsessive in a bad way, but I don't always feel anxious when I go to bed... but when I don't fall asleep within 45 minutes or so I start getting anxious about the fact that I'm not sleeping. I learned not to look at the clock so I don't worry about the time, and that helps a little. Still, I'm pretty sure I still worry, even subconsciously, about falling asleep within good time and I know that anticipation ironically contributes to keeping me awake.

I have tried melatonin, and I have a bottle now, but I don't think it does much for me. When I first tried it I thought it might, but honestly for me it might've been just placebo effect. I drink chamomile tea before bed (hit or miss), and even have Benadryl for emergencies if I don't have my prescription. I also don't drink caffeine past a certain time in the day, but now that I think about it, I probably should just try cutting back how much caffeine I consume at all (though I can't imagine it can stay in your system for over 8-10 hours? maybe)

I'm going to try some of the things you guys suggested though, thanks! Regular exercise definitely can't hurt, I'll join up my gym again.

WARM MILK

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2974 ]

Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

Re: Sleep, y/n?

OP

Re: Sleep, y/n?