When you cant sleep..

What do you do? Do you have anything that particularly helps you to fall asleep?

Develop a sleep hygiene routine. Keep with it. It will take about three weeks. No caffeine after noontime. I find a short guided meditation and talk radio important as it gets you off screens before bed. I was a very bad sleeper, but these things have helped me in a big way.

It depends on how bad it is and what’s keeping me up. I make it a point to not notice the time because then I think I’ve been up for x hours. My upstairs neighbor is inconsiderate and often wakes me up.

I do a puzzle for about 15 minutes, as a distraction. Sometimes I think of the thread on how did you sleep, then realize someone else is probably up too.

If I don’t have to be anywhere the next day I tell myself that. If so I can cancel or take the bus instead of driving. Another thing I do is focus on how QUIET my building is and enjoy it, as it’s the only time I get that kind of peace. It will often relax me enough that I can sleep again. No caffeine or sweets after lunchtime.

Also sometimes I just accept I’m up and tell myself everyone has trouble sleeping at times and it’s normal. Valerian root or melatonin an hour before bedtime could help.

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Hi @MangoPassion:

I usually zonk out right after getting comfortable in bed. But there are breathing techniques that can help.

One is to breathe a bit slower and focus on making the duration of the inhalation the same as the exhalation.

Another (which I just learned about in the Finch app) is to inhale to a count of four, hold the breath for a count of 6 and then breathe out to a count of 6. I'm yawning just thinking about this.

I'd add onto @Deejay14's good advice about avoiding caffeine too late in the day and say that some OTC drugs such as Exedrine can contain caffeine. Also avoid chocolate in the evening and take antidepressants in the morning. All this assumes you're trying to sleep at night.

Another thought is to have some room ambient sound that will mask abrupt noises such as annoying clicks, creaking floors, flushing toilets and all that stuff.

You can buy these "white noise generators" but if you have an FM radio, you can try to tune it between broadcasting stations and get a nice fluffy hissing sound. An air purifier with HEPA filter works well, too. If you're into apps, try myNoise, by Dr. Ir. Stephane Pigeon.

I have sound machines or white noise machines but because I wear earplugs I don’t use them at night. My neighbor is so bad that I can hear him even with earplugs so I give up on that. I’ve tried the machine and the plugs and it’s hopeless. I curse the day he was born, laminate flooring up there and he has no rugs at all. The sound machine can be just a competing noise of its own.

Sometimes I say out loud or think breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. I never knew why they say that, why not the nose both times.

So it depends on what’s keeping me up, my thoughts or my neighbor. The weather matters too, sometimes it’s too hot to sleep or it’s too cold to get out of bed….. I have to adjust what I do depending on various factors.

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I try to have a dialog in my head of some situations. I close my eyes in bed and start down that route. If it becomes a regular occurrence, your mind takes over and runs down some alternative situations and you could train yourself to know you're going to sleep. It's like forcing your brain to head into a dream.

Some great thoughts and ideas on everyone’s responses. Very interesting to read.

I like the term “developing a good sleep hygiene”.

When I’m at my best, I find it helps if I stick to a set sleep time window, and one that is realistic - even if it is short to begin with. So go to bed at the same time and get out of bed at the same time. This isn’t easy at first, but it’s worth bearing with it.

The aim is to see the bedroom as a place purely for sleep. All too often it is easy to drift into a mindset where going to bed is associated with fear and anxiety over whether or not you will sleep. So no reading in bed, no electronic devices, no TV, as all of these things will hinder the sleep process.

I make sure I stop using my mobile phone, or any electronic devices at least an hour before bed. I usually sit and read a book in as low a light setting as is comfortable.

As soon as I get up in a morning I step outside to get natural light for at least 15 minutes, and try and ensure I’m out and about getting as much natural daylight as possible in the first third of the day. I appreciate this is a tough one, depending on your work and family commitments.

I also try and do a walk for at least thirty minutes, or a cycle ride at some stage during the day, but not too late in the evening.

If for some reason I still can’t sleep, then I will get up, but just for a short period, and go to another room (not the bedroom) to read a book, and then go back and try again.

Cutting out stimulants, such as alcohol and caffeine will also help, but it may take a few days, weeks, to adjust and get it out of your system.

It’s not easy, and it takes hard work.

Jeff.

I have a pretty good routine and really only have trouble sleeping if my neighbors are having a 6 hour rifle party in the middle of the night. Sometimes my thoughts are a little maddening, but honestly, if that keeps me up I rub one out real quick and go to sleep pretty easily. If all else fails, I have a PRN sleep med that does its job.