Do you have any odd remedies for sleep deprivation?

If your from the US you could get Melatonin, which is a hormone that promotes sleep, I have looked for it here in Ireland but it’s not available, but in some countries I think you can get it in the health food shop.

ack, The Pineal Gland. A very different subject for me all together.

Keep a strict bedtime and time you awake routine no matter how much or how little sleep you get. If you are really desperate for sleep, I take a Benedryl caplet and read a book on our Nations History. Out cold in 10 minute.

I try @Cruiser I really do. For instance I just spent the last 5 hours laying in bed trying to sleep. I was tired when I went to lay down, but about an hour into it I was wide awake. Also, funds are tight so being able to afford Benedryl (which does work btw, +Lurve for you) is kind of tough. Much less a whole book on our Nations History, lol.

Ok, sarcastic response:

Well, I generally fight sleep deprivation by taking a nap!

But seriously, taking a couple of milligrams of melatonin (a sleep regulating hormone) before bed usually does the trick.

Taking something that is naturally produced by the brain (The pineal gland) kind of frightens me. I’m not saying it won’t help or that it doesn’t work, I’m also not saying I won’t try it, but it does frighten me @YoBob.

@Axemusica Why would it frighten you more to take a natural hormone your body produces anyway rather than a narcotic sleep aid invented in a chemistry laboratory?

Bottom line: Talk to your doctor. S/He will be able to give you much better advice than the good people of Fluther.

I like to stretch before bedtime,sometimes meditate or listen to music.
If I really can’t sleep,I will stay up and draw.:)

Lol, “Doctor”.

@YoBob well it’s not necessarily the the chemical (that’s also produced in a lab, unless they’re harvesting it from other living beings) Melatonin per se, but the other effects the pineal gland can produce and the chemicals that are produced by it as well that frighten me. Long story and I’ll digress, lol. I will look into it though. :)

@lucillelucillelucille being the obsessive musician I am, creativity will keep me up all hours of the night. I’ve done it before, many a times. Though I like the stretching and meditation ideas. :)

@Axemusica If you are having trouble falling asleep I found the worst thing to do is just to lay there. Get out of bed, assuming you took your benadryl, keep reading your Nations History. When you feel sleepy hop back in bed.

I also have a belly breathing routine that has worked without the Benedryl. Lay on your back and completely relax. Then take slow long relaxed breaths….not deep breaths but normal ones but do them slower than normal. Do it 17 times. If you are still awake, roll on to your right side and repeat again 17 breaths. IF you are still awake, roll on to your left side and do the 17 breaths. I don’t ever remember making it to the final 17.

@Axemusica : I , too, am a chronic insomniac, thanks for asking this. I tried the melatonin thing, it perked me right up oh, contrary me! so I plan to try @Cruiser‘s trick. Sometimes rereading soft fiction that I have read so often that my lips move when they speak helps, there’s no curiosity about the stories so it’s basically just an eye-movement exercise. Otherwise, hey, just give me a call and we’ll chat til we’re brilliantly punchy and should not drive or operate heavy machinery! ;-)

I too will be trying @Cruiser‘s suggestion @JilltheTooth, in fact right now. You know, since I have yet to sleep yet. lol.

Also, I’m already quite punchy and should be operating machinery already. Which is why I don’t understand how I can’t sleep.

Also, why the number 17 @Cruiser? No critique implied. Just wondering if there’s a method or if it was a random number.

Have you tried having a relaxing bath about an hour before you go to bed? This is meant to help you relax and aid sleep… might be worth a try.

I take naps in the dark… in the bath-tub with a warm shower on my legs.. while listening to classical music or the bathroom’s fan.

@Axemusica Not sure exactly. It is an age old Yogic technique and that number I think has something to do with the bio rhythms of the body.

I take Vitamin B-50 Complex, which is 50 mg of all of the B vitamins. The brain knows exactly what it needs from it, because some B Vitamins are energizers, and some are relaxers. If you need rest, it will use the relaxers and discard the rest. Since the B Vitamins are water soluable, they don’t stay in your system but get flushed out in urination. A slightly stronger amount of Vitamin B-Complex is what is used in Stress Tabs. The only side effect I’ve noticed is dark yellow/orange urine. I also had great success with this when I used to have panic attacks. It brought my anxiety down within a minute. It’s amazing.

My advice for what it’s worth is as follows…..

Don’t take medication

Go to bed at a fixed time at night and get up at a regular time in the morning

Persevere; you might not get to sleep right away. If you find you are wide awake, watch a film or read a book for a bit and then try again.

I think you have just slipped out of your regular sleep pattern and need to get back into it again.

Melatonin wakes me up, too. I have audio books on my laptop. Even when I’m interested, I drift off. I read a breathing technique years ago. It is just to concentrate on every breath you take, just normal breaths. When your brain drifts away, drag it back. So now I’ll tell the truth and admit I’ve been taking a sleeping pill for years ‘cause nothing worked for me!

I work rotating night shifts, so I’m constantly struggling against my sleep biorhythm. Some random things:

-A bath can help, but about 2 hours before bedtime is ideal (the body cooling down makes you sleepy vs. the bath itself).
-Valarian root – capsules or tea. The tea can be found at health food stores (I favor a mix of the Yogi brand with Sleepytime Vanilla). Alone it can taste kind of assy.
-Melatonin seems to help with sleep quality, but not with getting there.
-Warm milk.
-Read/watch something BORING! If you have company in bed, ask them to ramble about a topic they like that is very mundane to you.
-Relaxation sounds. There’s this one app called SleepStream…
-Focus on your breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply as if you are already asleep. Count the little specks of mystery behind your eyelids.

Valerian.

Do you get enough sunlight?

Ok, I’m back but not because @Cruiser‘s technique was a success, (Sorry @Cruiser) but because I had been up all night and needed to sleep. I was attempting the technique when I realized that concentrating on my breathing doesn’t really work for me. I’ve tried it in the past. It does relax me and I understand the concept, but for some reason my subconscious can’t let go of concentrating on the breathing. When I try to let the thought of my breathing escape my mind I actually stop breathing. It’s weird I know, but I can’t help it. If I think too much about breathing it actually hinders my goal because of it. Also, counting really doesn’t help me either. If I could just shut off my brain would be best, lol.

Baths are out, considering that place I currently live has the worst shower ever! Really, I want to find who did the plumbing and punch them right in the face.

I do have some sleepy time tea and it does make me feel sleepy, but it’s always until I go to actually try and go to sleep. There’s like a window time frame and if I miss it, I get a boost of energy and sleep becomes impossible.

@incendiary_dan, actually no, I don’t. I live in Alaska. The sun isn’t easy to come by right now.
@lloydbird What’s Valerian?

@Axemusica You might want to consider taking some form of Vitamin D, then. Both my partner and I have had trouble sleeping and getting restful sleep when we don’t get enough.

And valerian is a plant whose root is used as a sedative.

Well, @incendiary_dan I have recently started taking a multi-vitamin. Though maybe that’s the cause, but I don’t want to stop taking them as obviously it’s healthier to take them.

@Axemusica Consider taking some more D in some form. Most multis, in my experience, don’t quite have enough D, particularly for someone in Alaska in the winter.

Cod liver oil tends to be a good source of D. Traditionally, people living in areas with limited sun get their winter vitamin D from animal fat.

Also, Nothing to do with you @incendiary_dan lol, but I’ve noticed that a lot of people mention a strict sleep regiment. People it’s not like I haven’t had one before. Since I can remember I’ve always had trouble with sleep. If I were to see a doctor I’d probably be diagnosed with insomnia. I’ve always naturally been a night person. Don’t think I haven’t tried the regiment in the long term, because I have. It’s just the sleep part that doesn’t agree.

@Axemusica ; I’m not a night person and I have those problems, too. I feel for you. I might (if lucky) sleep adequately 1 night out of 3. I like to think it adds to my goofy charm. But then, I’m sleep deprived, so what do I know? ;-)

Do not follow any folk advice online without consulting your doctor first. Your symptoms may be a residual or chronic effect of the previous medical issue. Please see your doctor.

Hehehe folk advice.

Perhaps you should see the doc if you fear your insomnia is related to your illness. Or just go to get an Rx for Ambien or something similar. Works for some people.

Valarian, or valarian root, is an herb that can be found in the vitamin aisle.

I would love to see a doctor is I could afford it, but I don’t even have a “paying” job at the moment.

Also, after the horror stories I’ve heard from people using Ambien, I’m going to have to say no thank you, @Bun. :)

Bummer… yea wasn’t sure about your coverage situation.

(personally, I am a bit anti-going-to-the-doctor-unless-dying anyway… they are waay too eager to write an Rx and scoot you out the door)

Erm…......did anyone mention exercise?

Melatonin does nothing for me. Zip,

Also tried Sonata. No effect. Two hours lying there listenning to my heartbeat and not sleeping. Sometimes three. Once seven.

Don’t like taking sleep aids at all, but wish I could find something that works anyway without making more problems. So I sympathize.