What do you take to help you sleep, and side effects

[OverVolt]

Oh, and I totally know what you mean by mind racing. So much stuff going on in life, it's hard to not think about those things. Especially when you are running around all day trying to get stuff done. You don't have much time to think other than the time you lay in your bed at night.

Cold shower directly to the head will literally shut down the thinking bits of your brain.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Just curious OP, but what are your habits before you lay down to sleep? I posted in the healt & fitness about my first anxiety attack and my dr. attributed it to stress and lack of sleep. I changed some of my before bed routines and I haven't had any difficulty sleeping since.

Before, I would play on the pc right till bedtime, then I'd go to bed and surf the net or play a game on my phone till I literally fell asleep. Now, I make sure I'm off the pc at least an hour before I go to bed, and make sure the only electronic appliance I use is the tv so there's very little stimulation going on in my head. I also used to go to bed at 1130pm. Now I exercise and make sure I'm off the pc by 830-9pm so I can just veg for an hr before going to bed. This has helped wonders. It may not for you, just giving you some FFT.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I take Benadryl (Tylenol PM.)

I should try the Melatonin.

I don't often need a sleep aide though.

 

[clamum]

The only thing that has ever really worked for me is alcohol, but I don't recommend using it for a sleep aid ;-).

 

[BurnItDwn]

I too don't fall asleep easily at night. In my case, my mind simply isn't tired. So, when I lay down and try to sleep, I obviously can't fall asleep. Even if it's 2am or 3am, often I can't sleep.

When I worked evenings, I was OK, cause usually I get tired around 5 or 6 am and fall asleep fast.

What I've found that works for me to a point where I can actually show up on time, and be awake at work ....

Melatonin ... a little bit around midnight, usually I get to sleep by 1ish and sleep a solid 6 and 1/2 to 7 hours.

Benedryl .... I am drowzy and feel like zombie for 16-24 hours


I've talked to my doc about it, and he said he thought it was a late sleep phase issue. Would need to do a sleep study to "confirm" it, but with melatonin ... I feel like I've got things under control as I am now able to fall asleep by 1 or 2 am every night.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder

 

[OverVolt]

Just curious OP, but what are your habits before you lay down to sleep? I posted in the healt & fitness about my first anxiety attack and my dr. attributed it to stress and lack of sleep. I changed some of my before bed routines and I haven't had any difficulty sleeping since.

Before, I would play on the pc right till bedtime, then I'd go to bed and surf the net or play a game on my phone till I literally fell asleep. Now, I make sure I'm off the pc at least an hour before I go to bed, and make sure the only electronic appliance I use is the tv so there's very little stimulation going on in my head. I also used to go to bed at 1130pm. Now I exercise and make sure I'm off the pc by 830-9pm so I can just veg for an hr before going to bed. This has helped wonders. It may not for you, just giving you some FFT.

Yea any kind of screen is bad before bed. The closer to your face, the worse it is. Some TV off in the corner making essentially white noise is fine though.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Ohh and to add, I've had this problem my whole life. As a kid, Dr always said it was a phase or I would grow out of it or they simply discounted it. My mom pretty much said lay down and close your eyes and then I would just lay there awake for 4 or 5 or 6 hours trying to sleep.

On the plus side, I had a LOT of solitude and time to develop a healthy imagination, however, I lacked sleep pretty much my whole life due to waking up in the morning with not enough sleep due to not being tired until sunrise.

 

[OverVolt]

Ohh and to add, I've had this problem my whole life. As a kid, Dr always said it was a phase or I would grow out of it or they simply discounted it. My mom pretty much said lay down and close your eyes and then I would just lay there awake for 4 or 5 or 6 hours trying to sleep.

On the plus side, I had a LOT of solitude and time to develop a healthy imagination, however, I lacked sleep pretty much my whole life due to waking up in the morning with not enough sleep due to not being tired until sunrise.

See your avatar? The computer screen blasting your face? That is bad.

 

[LookBehindYou]

One word:

VAPORIZER

This.

 

[sixone]

I use cold temperature.

Take a cold shower and run cold water over your head. It will literally force your frontal lobe to shut off. High brain/head temperature is associated with insomnia. In general, your body is supposed to be cooling down before you sleep. You can speed this up with a shower at night and keep turning down the hot as much as you can tolerate without jolting your system.

Good idea. You could also set your A/C to run more often, starting about an hour before bedtime, or set the furnace to run less overnight.

 

[BoomerD]

Nothing. Ambien and Lunesta don't really work for me...and Lunesta leaves a nasty metallic taste in my mouth the next day. (known side effect) It's unpleasant enough to keep me from taking it anyway.

Rarely do I need anything to help me sleep, although, some nights, I lay there for an hour or two before my mind shuts down and I can go to sleep.

 

[KeithTalent]

Red wine and/or intercourse works very well for me.

KT

 

[JJ650]

The wife issued to take ambien. Stories about ambien sex are true.
Half the time she woke up with mo memory of anything ever happening or if she did recall something, it was incorporated into a bizarre dream

 

[Saint Nick]

Cold shower directly to the head will literally shut down the thinking bits of your brain.

Thanks for the tip ... I will give this a shot over the next few nights and see how it works!

 

[Udgnim]

At bedtime, my mind wanders a lot, and it is not unusual for me to lie awake for an hour trying to relax and fall asleep.

I leave a small fan on so my mind can focus on its consistent sound when trying to sleep.

 

[Rakewell]

if something is changing the way you taste, its probably not healthy for you

It's a common side effect, I'll have a weird metallic taste in my mouth four a couple of hours in the morning. Pretty harmless, though it seems to endure a bit longer than usual in Kaotik.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/lunesta-side-effects.html

 

[Oyeve]

I pop a couple of benedyls.

 

[JTsyo]

The wife issued to take ambien. Stories about ambien sex are true.
Half the time she woke up with mo memory of anything ever happening or if she did recall something, it was incorporated into a bizarre dream

:hmm: :sneaky: :whiste:

 

[JoeyP]

Just curious OP, but what are your habits before you lay down to sleep? I posted in the healt & fitness about my first anxiety attack and my dr. attributed it to stress and lack of sleep. I changed some of my before bed routines and I haven't had any difficulty sleeping since.

I do some internet and then try to read a little. Don't do PC games, but if I start a project in the basement or garage that requires troubleshooting, that normally fills my mind with what-if thoughts.

I also have to wonder if I am getting too much sleep. Sometimes I'll stay up until 11pm (normal bed time is around 9:45) and for some reason feel very well rested by 6am. Also, sleeping in on the weekends throws my sleep cycle off, and Sunday night usually calls for half a benadryl.

 

[BurnItDwn]

See your avatar? The computer screen blasting your face? That is bad.

My avatar is because of cheap camera with bright flash much too close with no macro lense ... there was no computer screen in front of me at the time.

 

[JJ650]

:hmm: :sneaky: :whiste:

Wait a sec...

 

[Blain]

What do you take to help you sleep, and side effects?

3mg Melatonin + 25mg Dimenhydrinate

Brings on drowsiness in about 1/2-3/4 hour.
No groggy feeling when waking up.

If I stay up longer than about an hour after taking, the drowsiness seems to pass.

 

[lokiju]

My solution after on and off over the years of trying different prescribed sleep drugs?

Just realize I don't sleep much and embrace it.

I go to bed at midnight and get up at 6AM ever single day, no exception.

I actually feel better if I do this than if I get to bed sooner.

 

[Kroze]

At bedtime, my mind wanders a lot, and it is not unusual for me to lie awake for an hour trying to relax and fall asleep. So when I need a good solid night's sleep and a poke is not in teh cards, I'll sometimes take either half a benadryl tablet, or a melatonin.

Wondering if anyone noticed these side effects:

Benadryl: fall asleep within 30 minutes, almost always have very vivid dreams, sometimes a little hard to get out of bed, drag for an hour afterward.

Melatonin: good solid sleep, easy to wake up after 7 to 7.5 hours.

What do you take for sleep?

I use ambien because OTC sleep aid doesn't work for me. OTC sleeping aid just make my body relaxed and tired but my mind still wander and is restless.

I never have any vivid or crazy dreams with any sleeping aid. But then again, It's just me.

 

[ichy]

Exercise. I've been sleeping much better since I started running. There are days when the only reason I run when I get home from work is that I want to be able to sleep easily.