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Any tips for sleeping better at night?

I have been having trouble falling asleep at night. I think last night I slept like two hours. I have a bit more stress at work and the whole thing with the economy here is not helping. But the worst thing for me, is that I feel so much pressure to fall asleep fast that I get really nervous.

 

Any tips for getting a good night sleep or falling asleep faster?

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Re: Any tips for sleeping better at night?

  • Do you have a routine? What do you do right before getting into bed?

    Every night before I go to bed I listen to a podcast. I generally fall asleep to whatever I'm listening to. I play them on speaker so I don't have to worry about falling asleep with headphones on. It helps that DH likes to listen too, but he generally falls asleep before I do. It's like listening to bedtime story for me.
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  • I have a tmi answer, but if I can't fall asleep I find a good release helps me relax so I may grab H and go for a good O. It helps me relax and put whatever is worrying me out of mind. I hope that's not too much of an overshare! I have also tried some relaxation techniques I learned in my birth class the most effective being where you focus on relaxing one part of the body at a time from heax to toe. You simply say something like "My neck is getting heavy/tired" and repeat it a few times then move on to the next body part. When I do this I usually fall asleep before I get to my toes.
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  • I know the site says it's about depression, but this one has some fabulous relaxation exercises and music on it.

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  • I sometimes take a long time to fall asleep, too, and I know how frustrating it can be. I once read that the relaxed state when you're laying in bed and your mind is drifting is *almost* as good for regeneration as actual sleep. So if I'm having a hard time falling asleep and am stressing about it, I try to remind myself of that. It helps me to take the mental pressure off of myself and I often end up falling asleep rather quickly, then. 

    For the record, I don't know if it's true or not, but I seem to recall reading it from a reliable source, and the fact is that it helps me psychologically when I'm having problems falling asleep, so I'd appreciate it if no one bursts my bubble. :-)

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  • I've been using MrsBini's idea of thinking of countries alphabetically. Sometimes I have to go through the alphabet a couple times, but it really helps calm your mind. Thanks, MrsBini!

    I also like to do crossword puzzles or read short stories before bed. Getting into a book can stimulate me too much and make me want to stay up reading. 

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  • I always read a little in bed, it helps me disconnect from the day. A bath around half an hour before bed also makes me sleepy.

    Also, if you can't sleep, don't stay in bed driving yourself mental: get up, read a little and try again when you feel sleepy.

  • I read that you should not watch TV or go on the computer for at least 2 hours before bed. Also don't eat cheese just before bedtime. Have a warm bath (not hot), a nice warm milky drink and do at least 20 minutes of reading... get that trashy novel out. You could also try spraying some lavender room spray?

    I personally found taking melatonin worked best for me and in SA and USA you can get it in a health shop or a GNC, in the UK you can only get it on prescription.

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  • This is going to sound weird but I went through something like this recently, I'd wake up in the middle of the night thinking about work pressure and then I could not stop thinking about it and turn my mind back off.

    I started thinking about an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then worked my way through the episode - paying enough attention to the plot that I was now thinking about that and not about work.  When I worry about work it's circular and the process of working through a television episode is linear - this really helped me break the going in circles stress thinking and fall asleep.

    Ditto to masturbation/sex.

    Wearing earplugs will keep you from being wakened out of a deep sleep, staying asleep is part of it, if I wake up in the night my brain switches ON and then I'm in trouble.

    Sometimes I'll also just go to better living through chemistry, you can get an over the counter sedative here called Advil PM, but I have to think ahead and take it by 10pm or I'm groggy in the morning.

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  • imagedulcemariamar1:

    I have been having trouble falling asleep at night. I think last night I slept like two hours. I have a bit more stress at work and the whole thing with the economy here is not helping. But the worst thing for me, is that I feel so much pressure to fall asleep fast that I get really nervous.

     

    Any tips for getting a good night sleep or falling asleep faster?

     

    Woohoo! I'm not the only one losing sleep over this! I'm having a hard time too (the government is now 9 days late in paying us!). Hope you can find a way to solve the issue. 

  • I've been dealing with sleep issues lately and I've been told sleep yoga can help as well as shutting down all screens an hour before bed. Also having sort of a mantra or something to visualize to focus on instead of your running list in your head as ou try to fall asleep. That and melatonin and that homeopathic stuff calms forte, it's in a yellow tube I forget the brand name but it's pretty popular. Hope you get some sleep tonight! 

  • I've had sleeping problems before and it would get worse every night since I'd finally fall asleep way too late, so I'd over sleep, or fall asleep on the couch after work and then fall asleep even later.

    I actually asked my doctor for a couple of sleeping pills. I always have some available. When it gets really bad I try avoiding evening cafeine and trying to remove my thoughts from stress factors, but if that doesn't work, I'll actually take a sleeping pill.

    The sleeping pill will help me break the bad sleep cycle and usually the next evening I can fall asleep a lot easier. If not, another sleeping pill. I've set myself the rule that I can't take sleeping pills for more than 3 nights in a row, but I honestly can't recall the last night I've needed to take one more than 2 nights in a row. 

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  • Almost every night I go to sleep with my iPad. I play games like time management games, search games and after about 10 minutes I'm having to really struggle to stay awake. Works like a charm, every time- even when I'm stressing about work stuff.
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  • also Passionflower and Valerian Root are good herbal sedatives that are supposed to help with anxiety and such. I think you can even get them in tea form some places.
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