Cant sleep what should i do..

[killster1]

So cant ever sleep and exercise like crazy, any ideas? I usually get 5 hours max of sleep and need to get at least 7 or 8.

 

[nanaki333]

How much caffeine do you drink and how often? And what does your diet look like?

 

[blackdogdeek]

how long before you try to sleep do you work out?

 

[gar655]

Sleeplessness can be caused by exhaustion from over exercising. It's a symptom of excessive fatigue.

Take a few days off from exercising to see if your sleep improves. Taking a sleeping aid if you wake in 4 or 5 hours and then try to get a few more hours in.

Maybe go to a sleep clinic/doctor if you feel the need to.

 

[Powermoloch]

Sleep and wake up a at a fixed time...keep your bed for sleep/baby making only. Don't exercise <3-4 hours before bedtime. If you smoke/drink, it causes sleep disturbances.

 

[killster1]

ok, no matter what my diet and even if i do or dont exercise i cant sleep, im looking for something that wont hurt me and yet will make me fall asleep. Some kind of sleep aid i guess.. My diet well ive listed it off lots of times but ive always had hard time sleeping. (try to sleep when get tired at 11 and wake up at 4-5)

breakfast
Cottage cheese blueberrys banana

Lunch
Cottage cheese with fish and hot sauce (tuna fish and salmon rotating)

Dinner change it up alot but
Chicken tomatto's carrots cottage cheese hot sauce salad

snack mango and almonds and crackers.

If i get woken up in the morning i cant ever get back to sleep and very hard for me to go back to sleep.

I never exercise at night always first thing in the morning, lift one day and run / abs next with no days off.. Not really sore or tired from anything.


Oh and of course i dont smoke or drink, i used to smoke a few years ago, used to drink too but nothing anymore.

 

[shortylickens]

Theres whole books written on developing good sleep habits. Read one of them.
That alone may put you out.

Do NOT get hooked on sleeping pills or melatonin. Eventually that will fuck up your brain permanently.

 

[Saint Nick]

Smoke pot! Natural and effective!

 

[killster1]

Smoke pot! Natural and effective!

def a idea not a good one tho

cost money bad for health make me eat more prob not best if get in accident next day and its still in your blood.. (friend got hit by sheriff and he wasnt high but had smoked day before and still got in trouble)

 

[Woosta]

http://www.amazon.com/Natrol-Melaton.../dp/B00024CKTS

Enjoy.

 

[killster1]

ok thats what i was looking for but it wont be bad for me to take? thats why i asked in health fitness section =P i guess ill google now too

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Do you drink any soft drinks, coffee, tea, or any other kind of caffeinated drinks?
Do you have a routine before bed?
Do you sleep with anyone? If you do, what can they tell you about how you sleep?
How comfortable is your bed, and what relative temperature is your room?
How do you know you need 7 or 8 hours of sleep every night?
What do you feel like during the day?

Do NOT get hooked on sleeping pills or melatonin. Eventually that will fuck up your brain permanently.

Please say that you have some kind of rigorous evidence for this. Because the literature I can find on this tells me that melatonin is a generally well-tolerated treatment for insomnia in both children and adults with no permanent or serious transient side effects or withdrawal, dependency, or tolerance effects.

 

[PrayForDeath]

How do you know you need 7 or 8 hours of sleep every night?

Who doesn't? (under 50)

 

[iluvdeal]

Who doesn't? (under 50)

A small percentage of the population with a genetic mutation. It's rare but there are people who can live on less than the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep. I know my health and mood would be affected if I only got 5 hours of sleep each night for several nights in a row. If the OP feels normal and healthy on 5 hours of a sleep a night and doesn't have to compensate for it (ex. chugging down 10 cups of coffee during the day or taking frequent naps), maybe he's one of those outliers.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Who doesn't? (under 50)

The majority of people perform optimally with 7-8 hours sleep, but many people require less, and many require more. As you age, requirement for sleep decreases, but even within the same age group there is significant variation.

 

[shortylickens]

Do you drink any soft drinks, coffee, tea, or any other kind of caffeinated drinks?
Do you have a routine before bed?
Do you sleep with anyone? If you do, what can they tell you about how you sleep?
How comfortable is your bed, and what relative temperature is your room?
How do you know you need 7 or 8 hours of sleep every night?
What do you feel like during the day?


Please say that you have some kind of rigorous evidence for this. Because the literature I can find on this tells me that melatonin is a generally well-tolerated treatment for insomnia in both children and adults with no permanent or serious transient side effects or withdrawal, dependency, or tolerance effects.

Thats what two real doctors and two naturapath doctors told me.
I was having a real problem when I worked a 12 hour night shift, read many books, magazines, tons of web articles, and consulted with many doctors. Learned way more about sleep than I wanted to know.
Also there was my personal experimentation with OTC and prescription sleeping pills and melatonin supplements. None of it was a long term solution. You need a good pattern that your body can get used to. Thats the only long term solution.
Am glad Hynix went out of business cuz I was gonna quit eventually. Being sleep deprived for months at a time is a shitty way to live.

Ima let you go research for yourself. Am genuinely surprised that all the stuff you read says melatonin supplements are safe for long term cuz my doctors told me the exact opposite. They said eventually my body will stop producing it naturally and then I will need the supplements for the long haul. They gave me plenty of pamphlets to support that. Explained the chemistry and everything. Wish I'd kept those damn things.

 

[blackdogdeek]

how much sodium is in the cottage cheese and the crackers?

what is your average blood pressure?

 

[Whisper]

Thats what two real doctors and two naturapath doctors told me.
I was having a real problem when I worked a 12 hour night shift, read many books, magazines, tons of web articles, and consulted with many doctors. Learned way more about sleep than I wanted to know.
Also there was my personal experimentation with OTC and prescription sleeping pills and melatonin supplements. None of it was a long term solution. You need a good pattern that your body can get used to. Thats the only long term solution.
Am glad Hynix went out of business cuz I was gonna quit eventually. Being sleep deprived for months at a time is a shitty way to live.

Ima let you go research for yourself. Am genuinely surprised that all the stuff you read says melatonin supplements are safe for long term cuz my doctors told me the exact opposite. They said eventually my body will stop producing it naturally and then I will need the supplements for the long haul. They gave me plenty of pamphlets to support that. Explained the chemistry and everything. Wish I'd kept those damn things.

I don't know that your body would irreversibly stop producing melatonin, but I could see how taking it as a supplement would cause your body to begin producing less, at least until you stopped taking it, at which point the "rebound" period would probably be brutal. Sort of like how continuous use of chapstick will cause your body to stop naturally moisturizing your lips until you discontinue use. Then again, neurochemistry is a bit more complicated.

I definitely agree that developing good sleep habits should be a first-line treatment for insomnia. So many people have fairly horrendous sleep schedules and activities and don't realize it. OP, if you haven't already met with a behavioral sleep specialist, doing so may provide you with a multitude of useful techniques.

 

[gar655]

I take trazedone (an anti depressant) for restless leg syndrome. It's not habit forming and works really well for getting me to fall asleep. I still have occasional issues with popping wide awake after about 4-5 hours though. This issue comes and goes though. ???

 

[killster1]

Do you drink any soft drinks, coffee, tea, or any other kind of caffeinated drinks?
Do you have a routine before bed?
Do you sleep with anyone? If you do, what can they tell you about how you sleep?
How comfortable is your bed, and what relative temperature is your room?
How do you know you need 7 or 8 hours of sleep every night?
What do you feel like during the day?


Please say that you have some kind of rigorous evidence for this. Because the literature I can find on this tells me that melatonin is a generally well-tolerated treatment for insomnia in both children and adults with no permanent or serious transient side effects or withdrawal, dependency, or tolerance effects.

im sure i stay within my 2000mg sodium per day, most of the sodium i eat is int he hot sauce. Crackers do have alot and cottage cheese maybe a bit high, trying to do high protein low carbs, but no matter what diet ive had i never have slept much, always jealous / angry at my buddys that sleep 12 hours a day and still sleeping at 2pm when i go by.



No caffeine of any kind, no soda, routine before bed um play on computer and watch some tele. Sleep with someone and they usual stay on there side i put my knee up to make sure i have a little space hehe. I dont know if i need 7 or 8 hours i really dont i am surviving on 5 hours fine but i want my muscles to grow and more rest will prob help that. I fine fine during the day but im used to being tired.
Nice to hear someone is on the side of being able to use something to help sleep.. ill read up on it i guess and maybe take a low dose

I guess ill take my blood pressure, my age is 29 6'3 196-202 pounds

 

[Whisper]

im sure i stay within my 2000mg sodium per day, most of the sodium i eat is int he hot sauce. Crackers do have alot and cottage cheese maybe a bit high, trying to do high protein low carbs, but no matter what diet ive had i never have slept much, always jealous / angry at my buddys that sleep 12 hours a day and still sleeping at 2pm when i go by.



No caffeine of any kind, no soda, routine before bed um play on computer and watch some tele. Sleep with someone and they usual stay on there side i put my knee up to make sure i have a little space hehe. I dont know if i need 7 or 8 hours i really dont i am surviving on 5 hours fine but i want my muscles to grow and more rest will prob help that. I fine fine during the day but im used to being tired.
Nice to hear someone is on the side of being able to use something to help sleep.. ill read up on it i guess and maybe take a low dose

I guess ill take my blood pressure, my age is 29 6'3 196-202 pounds

You may also want to consider having someone look at the actual quality of sleep you're getting. It's possible that you have RLS, sleep apnea, or some other sleep disorder that's causing you to wake up early and/or frequently throughout the night. Does the person you sleep with ever complain that you snore loudly, or anything like that?

Also, I'd say cut off the computer and TV use 30-45 minutes prior to going to sleep. Contrary to what it might feel like, those sorts of things actually tend to activate your brain and wake you up more. Reading a book or doing some other sort of very light and relaxing activity (e.g., knitting, meditating) would be your best bet. You can also try taking a shower about two hours before going to sleep.

 

[spamsk8r]

im sure i stay within my 2000mg sodium per day, most of the sodium i eat is int he hot sauce. Crackers do have alot and cottage cheese maybe a bit high, trying to do high protein low carbs, but no matter what diet ive had i never have slept much, always jealous / angry at my buddys that sleep 12 hours a day and still sleeping at 2pm when i go by.



No caffeine of any kind, no soda, routine before bed um play on computer and watch some tele. Sleep with someone and they usual stay on there side i put my knee up to make sure i have a little space hehe. I dont know if i need 7 or 8 hours i really dont i am surviving on 5 hours fine but i want my muscles to grow and more rest will prob help that. I fine fine during the day but im used to being tired.
Nice to hear someone is on the side of being able to use something to help sleep.. ill read up on it i guess and maybe take a low dose

I guess ill take my blood pressure, my age is 29 6'3 196-202 pounds

The blue light from television and monitor screens can affect your brain into thinking it should still be awake when it really shouldn't. I would consider avoiding screens of any kind an hour or 2 before bed and see if that helps. Also, make sure that your bedroom is the right temperature (68-70 degrees Fahrenheit) and is very dark (pitch black if possible). These are very important factors in getting quality sleep, and affect some people more than others, but it's definitely worth it to give it a shot and see what happens.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

I take ambien (before it was prescribed I'd use pm tylenol) every once in a while to make sure I can fall asleep when I need to at least some of the time.

 

[killster1]

ya i figure it couldnt help but does makes my eyes tired.

thank you all for replies..

i know ambien would work ive taken it before and it knocks you out good, but i dont want to get hooked on that kinda thing. Ive tried 2 Tylenol pm before important day and still cant sleep.. i know good temp no light and no noise will help me sleep, also knew about shower helping.

guess ill put another blanket over the window, (my girl hates it when i do that) and read for 30 mins before bed and try no computer for 1 hour before bed i dont think i can do 2 hours =P

 

[shortylickens]

I don't know that your body would irreversibly stop producing melatonin, but I could see how taking it as a supplement would cause your body to begin producing less, at least until you stopped taking it, at which point the "rebound" period would probably be brutal. Sort of like how continuous use of chapstick will cause your body to stop naturally moisturizing your lips until you discontinue use. Then again, neurochemistry is a bit more complicated.

I definitely agree that developing good sleep habits should be a first-line treatment for insomnia. So many people have fairly horrendous sleep schedules and activities and don't realize it. OP, if you haven't already met with a behavioral sleep specialist, doing so may provide you with a multitude of useful techniques.

Yeah I learned a lot about proper sleeping in that 18 month period, mostly that I wasnt doing it correctly.

As an example: You need your conscious and subconscious to associate your bed with sleep and nothing else. Always go to bed at the same time, regardless of whether you are ready to sleep or not. Eventually your brain will make you sleep at that time.
Dont do anything in bed except sleep. Dont eat, drink, read, nef, or watch TV. Even sex should be done someplace else, like the floor or bathroom or something. If your brain associates bed with an exciting activity then it will expect such activity whether its actually gonna happen that night or not.
Try a white noise generator.
Try watching TV BEFORE you go to bed. It numbs the brain and gets you ready for sleep.
Turn off the phone.
Make a big deal of closing the blinds, putting your clothes in the hamper, and turning down the bed. Get your brain to associate an evening routine with sleep and you will be tired by the time you actually crawl in.