Any suggestions for natural sleep aids?

[gwendolyn]

I am absolutely, utterly exhausted. Again. After a night of my brain racing, feeling too hot and uncomfortable in bed, being jolted awake by noises outside and J snoring next to me (even though he''s got breathing strips and sprays to help), I got a total of about 3 hours of sleep. Spread out throughout the night. It''s almost the end of my summer vacation (go back on Monday), and I am really quite worried that I will be miserably useless at my job if I have to go in on as little sleep as I have been getting lately. I teach a very needy class of moderate to severely disabled students and need my wits about me all the time to stay ahead of them, especially since one is prone to violent attacks.

Anyway, I don''t like the idea of sleeping pills but want to try some things to help me sleep better. I''ve been relaxing in bed with a book before turning off the light which sometimes helps, and also tend to make lists of things I need to remember to do the next day, so I don''t spend the night worrying about forgetting. Anything else you can suggest for me to try? Please?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/3/2009 6:34:11 AM
Author:gwendolyn
I am absolutely, utterly exhausted. Again. After a night of my brain racing, feeling too hot and uncomfortable in bed, being jolted awake by noises outside and J snoring next to me (even though he's got breathing strips and sprays to help), I got a total of about 3 hours of sleep. Spread out throughout the night. It's almost the end of my summer vacation (go back on Monday), and I am really quite worried that I will be miserably useless at my job if I have to go in on as little sleep as I have been getting lately. I teach a very needy class of moderate to severely disabled students and need my wits about me all the time to stay ahead of them, especially since one is prone to violent attacks.

Anyway, I don't like the idea of sleeping pills but want to try some things to help me sleep better. I've been relaxing in bed with a book before turning off the light which sometimes helps, and also tend to make lists of things I need to remember to do the next day, so I don't spend the night worrying about forgetting. Anything else you can suggest for me to try? Please?

Hi Gwennie

I would try earplugs, they can really help. I sleep with a snorer and they have been marvellous. BTW I got this tip from another PSer and I never looked back....

 

[gwendolyn]

I have ear plugs. Used them a lot last year in my grad school apartment building because my neighbours were very very rude--banging doors and shouting down the corridors early in the morning (as in 2 or 3 in the morning). But they don't work with J's snoring. He's really loud, and right next to me, so they make is softer, but it's still loud even with them in.

Thank you for trying to help, though! Much appreciated, hon.

 

[Efe]

I take Melatonin and sleep with a fan on for white noise. My husband snores terribly but has improved since I got him one of those nasal rinse syringe kits. You use it for allergies but a side benefit is that he snores less. Good luck. There is nothing more frustrating than struggling with sleep.

 

[fieryred33143]

I was going to suggest a white noise machine too. I use it at night for DD since she wakes up when FI snores. It helps me sleep too. I just focus on the machine and pass out.

Do you like tea? Sometimes a bedtime routine that includes a nice hot shower with a lavender soap and a cup of tea can really relax you enough to fall into a good sleep.

 

[Black Jade]

If you''ve always slept well and suddenly aren''t, you might think of going to a dr.
Things can affect your sleep like allergies, and it''s possible to not realize that that''s what it is--sometimes they can help you find out.
Best of luck. It''s miserable not to sleep, I hope you get some sleep soon.

 

[Black Jade]

Warm milk also helps. There is something in milk, I forget the name of it, which is relaxing.
Of course, it''s fattening (which is why I stopped doing it) so many want to try warm skim milk (maybe with a little vanilla added).

 

[CNOS128]

I''m an insomniac also. The best remedy for me has been to get a significant amount of exercise during the day - then nothing can keep me awake. I''ve also tried warm (skim) milk (sometimes spiked) and that''s pretty nice & relaxing, too, although I don''t like to eat/drink right before I go to bed. A glass of wine helps me fall asleep, but my dad told me when you drink alcohol it affects your REM cycle so the sleep you get might not be as restful.

Anyway, so far exercise - and plenty of it - has been the best for me. But early in the morning, not right before bed!

 

[janinegirly]

another vote for melatonin..try just 1mg to start.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Can you sleep in another room?? This helps me a lot....and no TV or computer 1/2 hour before bed....warmed milk...

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2017150/25_natural_sleep_aid_remedies.html

cheers--Sharon

 

[VRBeauty]

Melatonin and/or warm milk.

I use 3mg melatonin tablets. On bad nights I double up (after reading here about doctors suggesting up to 10 mgs to battle jet lag,) Take it about 30 minutes before going to bed.

 

[cellososweet]

I''ve been a freakin'' insomniac for years, so you have my sympathies.

If I really need to sleep, desperately, I take a benadryl. Just to get one good night of sleep. After that, your body is like "oh yeah, sleeping! this is awesome" and you might have a better time the next nights.

Other than that, peppermint tea is good as is a white noise machine or some soothing sounds.

Good luck!

 

[Loves Vintage]

I'll ditto everyone who suggested a fan or a white noise machine. DH needs a fan to sleep because it quiets any outside noises. I have never needed a fan to sleep, but I am so conditioned to it now, that when he puts it on, I feel instantly comforted and know I will be asleep in minutes. It signals sleep to me. I love it.

I would use caution with sleeping pills. I think that you do not get the same quality of sleep as you would if you slept naturally.

You mentioned that your mind races. I would suggest meditation and/or deep breathing tapes so that you can learn to quiet your mind and go to sleep. I used this years ago to learn more about deep breathing as a method of relaxation: http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Master-Key-Self-Healing/dp/156455726X Since then, I have also visited a hypnotherapist for guided meditation, and the breathing methods I learned there have been really invaluable to me.

 

[Haven]

It usually takes me a couple hours to fall asleep, and since I''ve been exercising regularly I fall asleep within a half hour.

I''ve also had success with warm milk and meditation. The meditation helps the mind racing disappear.

Experts always seem say to use your bedroom only for sleeping and sex, so no watching tv in the bed or going on your laptop or anything like that. I imagine it''s because your body will associate the bed with being awake rather than asleep. We don''t have a tv in our room, so I wouldn''t know if this is true or not, but it''s something I''ve heard repeatedly.

Good luck, Gwennie! I know how frustrating it is to lie in bed wishing for sleep to come.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

melatonin doesn''t work for me

Wish it did. I am NOT a good sleeper. Motherhood really ruined it for me

but what really helps is falling asleep BEFORE my DH (if possible). His snoring is more likely to keep me awake than wake me up. Sometimes, if I am desperate, I will sleep in our guest room. White noise (from a fan) also makes it easier for me to sleep. Plus I like the breeze. Reading helps make me really sleepy so I read before bed. Some nights it still takes me hours to fall asleep and I consistently wake up during the night. Guess I am not the best person to give advice but just wanted to sympathize!

 

[cara]

If not sleeping is new, see a doc. Friend had some thyroid problem, it caused racing thoughts and problems sleeping, anxiety and too much talking. (In someone that already talks WAY more than an average person.) If your husband hasn''t, maybe he should see a doc for the snoring?

If there is no medical relief, and the other suggestions here don''t help much, sleeping separate might be called for? Sleep is super important, and three hours is not enough. There are other ways to be close to hubby.

 

[swingirl]

Try sleeping with your head by hubbies feet. It''s not much but it puts the snorer further away from your ears!

 

[gwendolyn]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am going to try probably all of them in turn, starting with tea (just finished mine!), a hot shower, some meditation and a fan for white noise. (Too much all at once?

) The exercise in the morning is a great idea too--I think one of the reasons it''s been worse is because I get more exercise at work, and have been on holiday from school for a while now.

Someone mentioned sleeping pills? Don''t want to use them--that''s why in the title of the thread I asked only for natural remedies.

No TV or computer in the bedroom, so that''s not an issue anymore (although it was last year at grad school--only places to sit were the uncomfortable desk chair and the bed, which were about 4 feet apart from each other). Other than sleep and sex, it''s just where I read quietly--currently a non-fiction book which is interesting but not something to keep me awake.

Like Haven, I take a while to fall asleep (usually 1-2 hours), and J falls asleep in 5 minutes and likes to go to bed at the same time as me, so it''s not very practical for me to go to bed before him, even if he would be ok staying up a lot later than me. Plus, he tends to sort of throw himself into the bed

, so when he comes home late from work and I am already in bed, most of the time he wakes me up anyway.

J went to the doc today about the snoring, and he''s going to see an ENT doc about it. For 4 or 5 years, I have had trouble sleeping, but it''s just been lately that I have tried a bunch of my tricks and they haven''t done anything. Allergies have been extra bad this year, J''s and mine, and he snores louder when he''s having bad allergies, so hopefully since allergy season here is (hopefully!) coming to a close, that will help majorly as well.

Unfortunately, we don''t have a spare room, so when things get bad, I move myself to the couch, but it''s not very comfortable so that only helps minimally. But, it usually does award me some sleep! J always offers to be the one to move to the couch, but it just feels mean to deliberately wake him up and then kick him out, y''know? He says he doesn''t mind because he can sleep better than I can, but I haven''t been able to do it yet.

Seriously, thank you all so, so much for your suggestions and your empathy. Hopefully your tips will help and I can start the new school year well rested!

 

[phoenixgirl]

We have a white noise machine too, but I don''t know how much it would do with loud snoring. I am a light sleeper, so the faraway whistle of the train or the noise of revelers walking home from the bar can wake me up, and it helps with that kind of thing, but those are much quieter than someone sleeping next to you.

Does J smoke? My DH used to snore, but it stopped when he quit smoking. Yay!

When he used to snore I sometimes would "accidentally" nudge him to get him to stop, or just move his head to a different position. This usually didn''t wake him up and would stop him at least temporarily.

I know my DH is paying karmically for the snoring now with my constant peeing and flip-flopping around with pillows in tow at 33 weeks pregnant. Neither of us is sleeping well these days.

Maybe you can get a comfy air mattress for nights when you just can''t take it? An extra air mattress always comes in handy.

It sounds like if he has allergies that the nasal rinse somebody suggested might help too.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 9/3/2009 12:21:57 PM
Author: Haven
It usually takes me a couple hours to fall asleep, and since I've been exercising regularly I fall asleep within a half hour.


I've also had success with warm milk and meditation. The meditation helps the mind racing disappear.


Experts always seem say to use your bedroom only for sleeping and sex, so no watching tv in the bed or going on your laptop or anything like that. I imagine it's because your body will associate the bed with being awake rather than asleep. We don't have a tv in our room, so I wouldn't know if this is true or not, but it's something I've heard repeatedly.


Good luck, Gwennie! I know how frustrating it is to lie in bed wishing for sleep to come.

I was pretty much going to say the same thing about the bedroom.

At one point I had a yoga routine that was designed to do before sleep. It really was the only natural remedy that helped me with my racing mind (which is a huge problem for me). Breathing exercises might also help to.

I have my super allergic snoring BF on breathe right strips, flonase, zyrtec and that works most of the time. But if I get lazy and don't dust and vacuum my room for a couple weeks, he snores through all that stuff. I also encased the mattress and his pillow so that dust mites cannot burrow in the bed. It is good he is going to the ENT doctor, but just trying to give you some things to think about.

Hope you get some rest.

 

[Po10472]

Hi Gwen

I know exactly what you''re going thro, I''ve suffered for years with interrupted sleep and you end up walking around like a zombie.

What I suggest you should do before taking any kind of sleeping pill, is try an experiment where you cut out sugar and caffeine from your diet for a few days. Now I know that may seem like rather an extreme thing to do, no tea or chocolate and try and avoid eating high carb packed foods such as pasta (lots of sugar) and you''ll be falling into bed and asleep all night. If you can''t survive without caffeine, then cut it down to 2 cups a day, and don''t eat or drink after 8pm.

I modified my diet on the 1st July, haven''t had any chocolate, sweeties, cakes etc and no pasta or high carb foods and I swear, I''m sleeping like a baby. I have 1 or 2 cups of tea a day and don''t have anything after 8pm as that keeps me awake. I''m finding that even if I hear the cat during the night, I just hear him......in my subconscious, I don''t waken up with a start or get up to see what he''s doing, I just go right back to sleep. That''s a big deal for me as I used to be like Inspector Clouseau waiting on Kato to jump out at me all the time and it''s not good to have your mind racing like that.

Anyhoo, I hope that whatever you decide to do that it works, cos it can start to get you down after a while and you end up going to bed all stressed out about not sleeping and that doesn''t help.

Po
x

 

[pinkelephant]

Hi there, I too have had chronic sleep issues. I have found that having a regular sleep routine helps me get to sleep. I start my ''wind down'' about 1-2 hours before I want to sleep. This really helps as it gets my body ready for sleep and allows me to slowly relax. My BF also snores loudly, so while sometimes I go to bed before him, when he gets into bed it usually wakes me too. Anyways, here''s a list of some things I''ve tried: hot bath, lavender spray/scent, chamomile tea, yoga about 3 hours before bedtime, reading a book that I''ve already read (so I don''t lie there and wonder about what''s going to happen next), and believe it or not, I find that getting my BF to read to me helps a lot. It''s good for times when I have a racing mind because it makes me focus on what he is saying and I find his voice soothing so it helps me go to sleep.

On nights when I''m having a lot of trouble my BF will give me a back rub to help relax and soothe me as well, this really helps.

I hope you get some better nights of sleep! Sleep deprivation is really horrible.

 

[sba771]

I can probably get you my brother''s college lectures on mp3, that always puts me to sleep!

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 9/4/2009 11:32:31 AM
Author: sba771
I can probably get you my brother''s college lectures on mp3, that always puts me to sleep!

Hahah! Thanks.

So, after a few mediocre nights and one really good night of sleep, I was back to getting hardly any sleep at all last night. I did a lot of the prep stuff that''s been working (thank you again for all of your suggestions), but it was like things were conspiring against me. The temperature in the room seemed to never be comfortable, my body felt really achy for no apparent reason, and even though James had a nasal strip on and had taken an allergy pill, he still snored most of the night, off and on.

I will probably sleep well tonight since it''s been an exhausting day (even without figuring in the sleep dep), but if we can''t get back into a normal sleeping routine, I will have to go see the doctor. Not that there''s much hope they will do anything, but this just can''t carry on. I really, really need to be on the ball at my job, and it''s also just really miserable.

Ah well...thanks (as always) for listening and letting me gripe. Much appreciated!

 

[Maisie]

I have terrible trouble sleeping too. Its since I went on my anti depressants. I always thought those pills knocked you out! Sometimes I am awake all night. Its horrible. I end up feeling exhausted by mid afternoon.

When you say your mind races.. is it always about the same things? Are you thinking wedding stuff all the time maybe?

 

[Skippy123]

I think unplugging from tv, computer etc an hour before bed. I notice my mind keeps running if I go straight to bed from being on the computer or tv. Also, sleepytime tea helps me; it has valeria in it. I hope you sleep better soon honey!!!

 

[Steel]

Sorry you are having sleeping problems.

I ditto the white noise suggestion - I often use a fan.

Also I recommend physical exercise - if you are tuckered out physically unless there are emotional issues you should sleep like a little baby. So get out for a long brisk walk.

 

[radiantquest]

My hubby snores and I have a terrible time sleeping. I take sleeping pills use ear plugs run the air conditioner even when it is only on fan because it makes more noise than only a fan and I use a face mask because even the light that the alarm clock gives off bothers me. There was even a time when I was taking 5 ambien a night so that I could sleep through the night. I wouldn''t take them all at once, but throughout the night. I am NOT suggesting that you take it to the extremes that I do. It has taken years for me to perfect it for me.

The reason I am even mentioning is that since my husband snores I have experimented with his pillows without him knowing to see if it makes a difference. They say that sleeping with one pillow is better for you and that it should open up the airways and keep him from snoring, but keeping my hubby on two squishy pillows works the best for his snoring. Thought it might be worth a try.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

The key with the pillows is the extend the neck a little and tilt the head back. However, side or stomach sleeping is something I found really helps keep my BF from snoring.

 

[Deelight]

camomile tea works - helps little ones sleep as well

All else fails RUM is natural