[QUOTE=guilloche;3879660]Hey DarkAngelGirl... That's how I felt most of my life. I just turned 40, and the last few years were particularly awful - I work from home, and would often fall asleep around 3 or 4 pm... if I could stay awake past that for work, as soon as I logged off, I'd lay down, turn the tv, and fall asleep. Then I couldn't fall asleep at bedtime. And, I was chronically exhausted, and felt like crap. It was truly awful, and I can empathize with that.

These things might sound crazy, but they've been a HUGE help. I don't think I got relief until I did BOTH of them though, neither one alone seemed to make a big difference in my sleeping.

1. I cleaned up my diet. I'm now eating a mostly paleo-like diet. I got rid of grains, and especially SUGAR. (I do ok with one "cheat day" a week where I can have chocolate or sugary treats, but that's it - my body doesn't seem to process sugar well, and if I have it more than one day in a row, my sleep is NOTICEABLY affected.)

Part of that, I think, is the caffeine in chocolate. I don't drink coffee, but if you do, you might want to consider getting rid of it. From what I read (and I'm NOT an expert), some people have a gene that makes them process caffeine slower - so it affects them longer. Something worth thinking about.

(For my diet, I'm also limiting dairy, as it upsets my stomach, and eggs, as I've found that I have an intolerance to them. I think it makes me look crazy around food, but it makes my body function better. Basically, on non-cheat days, I stick to meals of meat and vegetables, sometimes nuts and berries to snack on, with a tiny bit of the dairy products that don't upset my stomach here and there.)

The biggest part was the chocolate/sugar for me... when I have it, it still screws up my sleep. Like I said, I can get away with one day a week, but even with that, I can feel the difference... I just can't go cold turkey with no sugar ever!

2. No blue light before bed! Note: any normal white lightbulb contains blue light as part of the spectrum. Blue light has been shown to cause your brain to stop melatonin production, so you don't get as sleepy. What I try to do is - 2 hours before bed - I turn OFF ALL SCREENS (computer, tablets, phones, tvs), and all white lights... I put on an orange light (light bulb was $5 at home depot), and do relaxing things (read, some stretching/exercising, listen to music, write by hand). You can also get orange glasses on Amazon that block blue light (good for traveling), but I think avoiding it is more effective (some light seeps in around the edges of the glasses). Candles/firelight is ok - that's not blue. (Note: you don't have to use ORANGE - I find it peaceful. Anything on the red side of the spectrum should work: red and orange are great, yellow might work...)

Those are the two big changes that really made an enormous difference for me. I also try to keep my house cool at night, b/c I can't sleep when I'm hot, and try to turn off any stressful thoughts I'm having (sometimes easier said than done). I have to be careful with what I'm reading - too much triggery-psychology-self-help stuff makes my brain spin.

But, for the most part, the difference has been amazing. I don't fall asleep after work anymore, and when I'm on track with this stuff (sometimes stress gets me off track), I wake up feeling so much more normal and human!

Good luck! And, of course, check with your doctor. My doc did some blood tests, but nothing came up - the next step was going to be a sleep study (yikes) but I tried the diet/light changes first, and they've worked, so no sleep study for me.[/QUOTE

Thanks! I eat chocolate ALOT because I'm a chocoholic. (Haha, it's a joke.) But isn't caffeine supposed to wake you up?

As for the blue light, I don't sleep near any blue lights. Or with any lights on even.