<p>Okay...I have early classes I keep waking up too late to go to...I just can't sleep at night. I've been laying down since 9pm tonight and its almost 1....(not a lie) Ive been reading and I'm kinda tired but sleep just doesn't come to me. I need some advice because nothing is working and its causing a lot of stress in my life. I don't want to be diagnosed with insomnia....and I feel that's the direction is heading. It's not healthy for me to get 4 hrs of sleep a night and I don't know what else to do....any tips would be greatly appreciated. And also, I don't want to be on medication or see a doctor about this. I want to try to self remedy this myself becuase I don't think its too extreme yet. Thank you so much in advance.</p>
<p>Getting less than four hours of sleep is bad. I have severe insomnia. If I don’t take sleeping meds i don’t sleep at all. Recently, even on fairly high doses, in getting five hours of sleep 4 days a week (other days I get 12ish).</p>
<p>See a doctor and get medication, even if you dont want to. At the very least try melatonin which is natural. You don’t want to have repeated sleepiness nights, it just builds up until almost delirium.</p>
<p>Firstly, try changing your lifestyle. No caffeine in the afternoon. No diet soda at all. No naps at all. Eat three meals a day. The third meal signals the body to prepare for sleep and that the day is over. Exercise (Hike, bike, gym) 45 minutes a day.</p>
<p>Sosomenza’s advice is spot on and addresses the most helpful things you can do. A couple of other things that can help: Make sure your room is cool and also dark; and avoid stressful things right before bed (like a math problem you are struggling with or texts from an overly dramatic friend). In other words, set the stage for relaxation as bedtime approaches.</p>
<p>Have you tried running a fan or something that would make a low consistent sound? Also, don’t exercise within 2 hours of your planned bedtime, exercise earlier. If you are spending a lot of time in your room for watching tv, doing homework, etc, change where you do those things so that your bedroom is only for sleeping. Try using imagery, like picture yourself on a warm beach with the sun shining on you and the water lapping at the shore, or picture laying on a hammock listening to birds, or floating on a raft in a pool - anything that you find very restful, peaceful, relaxing, etc. Tense your toes and relax, then your shins, ect, working your way up your body while you picture the relaxing place. picture even your scalp tensing and then completely relaxing. Listen to your own breathing or the fan/other sounds.</p>
<p>Hope you find something that works. Warm milk or if you are of drinking age, a little sip of wine, can also help.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to see a doctor, you will have to figure out on your own what’s causing your insomnia. Is your body still ‘high’ on caffeine or ADHD medication? Are you worried about school work? Is your room too loud or too warm for you to sleep? Could the insomnia be a side effect of a new medication you are taking? </p>
<p>Seeing a doctor might be the best thing you can do right now. Think about it this way: having access to sleep medication will ease your symptoms and help you function in daily life while you figure out what behavioral changes might work for you. What’s the point of not seeing a doctor? The longer you don’t sleep, the more problems your sleep deprivation will cause… I would imagine that your life is stressful enough already.</p>
<p>I have been using mindful meditation techniques to fall asleep. I get into a comfortable position on my back and breathe deeply, concentrating on the air going in and out. Inevitably I am asleep in less than 5 minutes. No drugs.</p>
<p>Before this, I asked my doctor for meds. He suggested that I try OTC meds. I bought generic (Target brand) stuff, the same ingredients as in Sominex and other name brands, but without the ibuprophen or tylenol since there was no pain involved. Sometimes it helped. The ingredient is just a very mild antihistamine. But the breathing is better.</p>
<p>Ditto the avoidance of caffeine after lunch.</p>
<p>Also try melatonin to get your sleep back in track. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>Second melatonin. It’s not a drug, but if you are taking certain prescriptions it may flush the prescription from your bod.</p>
<p>Things which may help:
-Chamomile tea and/or Valerian root tea (both of these promote anti-anxiety and sedative effects - essentially a much milder and herbal version of a benzodiazepine). Avoid teabags if possible. I go to one of the hippie food stores in my area and buy it cheaply in bulk.
-Meditation
-Exercise during the day
-Keeping a regular sleeping schedule
-Not going to bed too early and not waking up too late (9pm? Seriously?!)
-I don’t condone or condemn psychoactive substances, but having a hit or two of cannabis does wonders for falling asleep (although the quality of sleep is lessened).
-Same goes for DPH/diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Take 50mg and it’ll help a lot falling asleep.
-Wouldn’t recommend getting a benzo script. Easy to become dependent on and you don’t need to become an addict. I tried using alprazolam (Xanax) a few nights when I was having major sleep problems (gone now) and while it did knock me out nicely the rest of the week was even worse.
-Melatonin is iffy. Some studies show little improvement over placebo. I find that chamomile works better than melatonin and is cheaper.
-Read a book or study in bed. You’ll get tired eventually.
-Don’t look at your phone or laptop right before going to bed. Bright lights are a no-no.</p>