Does anyone have a sure-fire way to cure insomnia?

The only thing that works for me sometimes is just saying up and going to bed when you want to teach your body to go to sleep and waking up when you want to teach your body wake.

I personally, when this are not an option, like the Equate brand sleep aid. Its cheap, its easy, its the same active ingredient as Tylenol PM.

Vigorous masturbation. I’m not kidding.

I’m assuming you’re against sleeping pills? You might only need 2 weeks worth to get you back on track. I’ve heard of concentrating on every breath you take, trying to clear your mind and that works for some.

What OTC did you buy? You might try taking 2 if you only took 1. and try not to obsess. If I know I have to wake up and be alert, then for sure I won’t be able to go to sleep!

OTC is nasty. Hangover every time for me. I got a prescription for Ambien and only take a half one when I need it . Works like a charm and no hangover.

@Dog Half an Ambien just pissed my body off. I’d take one half and wake up a couple of hours later and would have to take the other half in order to sleep through the rest of the night, running the risk of not getting up when I needed to. :P

@avvooooooo Time release or regular?

Quit drinking or eating anything with caffeine, especially later in the day (i.e. tea, coffee, energy drinks, chocolate). You are already exercising, but try exercising more vigorously, and also again, not late at night. One other thing that helps is meditation. You can find books and CDs about meditation pretty much anywhere. I find that controlling my breathing via meditation helps relax my body and brain, and allow me to fall asleep when my mind is racing.

@Dog Several years ago, not entirely sure.

I second @shilolo on drinking and limiting caffeine.

Valerian root sure fire cure to sleep disorder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerian_root

to buy any health food store or online at amazon

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_5_6?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=valerian+root&sprefix=valeri

Oh yeah. I got a hypnotism CD on positive thinking or something. To this day, I can’t tell you what’s on that CD past a certain point! I don’t think it improved my outlook, but it sure knocked me out. :D It was kind of boring though, so I didn’t use it all the time. Still ended up with an Rx for Ambien, but that was also about the time that crazy came to town and moved in upstairs. The first night that she ended up beating at my door at 2 in the morning after all kinds of craziness happened was my first night on Ambien. :P

What has worked for me really well lately is to force myself to read a textbook. I do programming/development so I already have a number of textbooks that relate to my job that I should be reading, but often when I read them I get drowsy and have to go do something else. When I’m really stressed and having bad insomnia I just force myself to read one of these books and after a while I can feel my head drooping. Works every time.

Sleeping pills are one of the only things that will get me to sleep on time, but I always either wake up at around 5am and can’t get back to sleep, have a nasty hangover, or both. It seems really obvious, but too much stimulation plays a big part in staying up too late. It helps just to force yourself to turn off the computer, the tv, and the lights, and just get in bed at a normal hour. Not that I am doing that right now! It is 1:30 am here :p

Pot, masturbation, and if those don’t work, Benadryl.

I just stay up all night and into the day. This has helped me a bit to jump-start the fatigue for the night because I couldn’t ever force sleep on myself. I am relatively groggy all day, but it actually ain’t so bad. Then that evening I go to bed at a decent hour. That’s how to get the ball rolling at least; after that it’s about going to bed when you should be in bed, and waking up when you should wake up.

But don’t pay for the name, get the generic!

Be very careful if you decide to start taking OTC sleeping pills. I took Equate sleep aide and got hooked soon after. I was on them for 3 years. They worked great but I found that once I tried getting off them, I had a very difficult time. I’ve been off them for about a month now and my sleep schedule is still crazy from it. The first week off the pills, I stayed up for 2 days straight. It was awful. I’m struggling to this day to get back to normal sleeping. Exhaust all other options before relying soley on OTC sleep meds. They really can become addictive.

Just a warning to consider sometimes insomnia can be a symptom -even when triggered ( in your case, changing in sleep patterns) So I know this doesn’t help you now but just in case I would see a doctor. But this once help me fall asleep while camping (going to sleep outside! – not my thing) someone suggested envisioning the color spectrum – red, orange, yellow, green, blue than purple. imagine that the colors just fade into the next and keep your breathing deep and steady. It took awhile but after 25–40 minutes later, I was asleep.

Try pzizz.

I second the no caffeine thing, especially after noontime. Then, start a bedtime routine. Shut off the cell phone and television, get off the computer, take a hot bath, lower the lights, put on soft music, and relax. It will take about 1–½ hours at first to get yourself into a relaxed state. Lay in bed or on the couch and read, write in a journal, or write letters.

scruffpuff is on to something now that I think about it. Having fallen asleep several times in college while trying to study a boring textbook seems foolproof. Maybe the Bible would help you fall asleep. It does me in every time. Valerian/Melatonin don’t work for me at all. Sleepytime tea helps relax me but won’t put me down. Your best bet is to try and stay awake by doing something you don’t really want to do (textbook, watching CSPAN, etc).

You want to get to sleep, I say have a fantasy, it helps me.