What do you do for insomnia?

Work over 100 hours a week.  You'll never have insomnia again.

Now that I'm exercising regularly, I don't seem to have my normal bouts of winter insomnia; however, I used to take two AdvilPM and grab a book. That would usually take care of it after about half an hour ... but if it didn't, I was awake for the night ... period.

Hope you got some sleep!

Valerian is an herbal sleep aid that works pretty well for me. Be aware that it has a strong odor.

here are some options/suggestions:

-work out harder during the day.
-wake up early and have a nutritious breakfast.
-cut down on stress. simplify your life.
-take television and radio out of the bedroom.
-lower the thermostat at night.
-don't eat big before bed.
-cut down on if not eliminate caffeine.
-don't exercise too close to bed time.

Those work for me SenjaO.

This is the bane of my existence! (Hence my screenname) I just don't fight it any more. I do on occassion take Lunesta, but that's only when I am really getting desparate. I typically read, browse BT, watch TV, whatever...it's just part of my life. I catch up on the weekends by sleeping in, or taking naps if I am getting run down.

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Now, this is a great thread! I have NEVER been a good sleeper. I have no problem falling asleep but I can't stay asleep. The training does not help because some nights I can barely keep my eyes open until 8 but if I go to bed early then I am wide awake at 11! Ugh! It is very typical for me to wake up 2-3 times a night however, I rarely get out of bed but instead just lay there.

I have heard that Lavender helps. So, I went and bought some Lavender oil and put it in my room next to my bed. The room smells great but it has yet to help with the sleeping. I guess not sleeping well is something I have gotten used to over the years. I am also one of the bizarre people that dreams ALOT! I can wake up and remember 2-3 dreams I had the night before. Here is a funny thing...in the times that I have been in relationships and would sleep next to someone on a somewhat regular basis then I would not remember my dreams and would sleep much better....maybe I should go buy a body pillow...hmm....

i lie in savasana (corpse pose) and think of laying on the beach at stockton island (in the apostle islands). that usually does it...it being either sleep, or making me need to go pee, after which i usually fall asleep. several glasses of red wine also helps me go to sleep fast.

I've got apnea, and have never been a good sleeper. I have 2 problems. First, I have issues falling asleep. Second, I have issues staying asleep. Ambien is my friend. I'll take it for 3-5 days and get myself back on a "schedule", then I'm pretty good for up to a week as far as getting to sleep.

As far as getting to sleep au natural, I have to make sure I am very comfortable, slightly cool (63*-65* room temps) and very dark. Background noises bother me, especially white noises. My lovely wife tends to turn up the baby monitor high enough to hiss, and that drives me crazy. I avoid all caffine after dinner as well. Alternatly, I take an ambien, and I am asleep within 20-30 minutes. Without the ambien, it may take an hour to two hours for me to fall asleep, even if the "conditions" are good.

My other issue is that I wake very frequently throughout the night. I mean very regularly, most nights is between 5 to 12 times awake. The slightest noise, light, heat, motion and I am miserable. Once I wake up, it takes between 5-30 minutes to go back to sleep. If I wake up because I need to pee (at least once a night) I need to get up and go pee. I will not be able to get back to sleep until I do, and if I try to go back to sleep without going, I'll just lay there miserable until I get up and go. Same thing with heartburn, if I'm hot, or whatever. I need to fix the environment before I'll go to sleep. I've tried to ignore things, but it doesn't work. Period. Alternately, I take an ambien before I go to sleep, and I can sleep through the night.

I guess the final answer for me is to make sure the environment is approporate for sleeping, go pee before I lay down, and take an ambien. Even then I will still wake up at least one to two times to go pee, heard a noise, wife woke me up, etc.

You want to know what is worse than my insomnia. My lovely wife is a "clock watcher". She'll wake herself up every 1-2 hours to look at the clock (even when we have removed the clocks from the room), and she tends to wake me up when doing so.

I have not gotten a full uninterupted night of sleep in probably three to four years. Even with Ambien.

I too no longer have ANY clocks in my bedroom! I removed them about two years ago...it seemed to help at first but now I look at my cell phone...next step is to move the phone to the tv, but like you the slightest noise will wake me up, but luckily it is very quiet where I live!!

You may want to try Ambien CR (or XR can't remember) but it is an extended release tablet that is slowly released to your body over the course of 8 hours. It did not work for me but we all have different bodies. I personally have not taken any Rx's for close to a year. But like yourself after 3 nights of no sleep I would take one...also would take Sonata which is a short-acting pill for those night that I had woken up about 6 times before 3am. Ugh...sleepless nights are the worst!!!

I take a product called GABA Calm from Vitacost.com Puts me right out. I don't wake up with that hangover feeling in the morning.

if it's serious, you need to get serious, and see a doc for medication. Insomnia is no joke , and it can get out of hand if not treated

if you are talking casual insomnia, maybe a sound machine, try running a fan at night to block out tiny noises..

stop logging and prowling on BT

LOL!! I agree, lack of being able to sleep does NOT mean you are depressed!!! Sounds like you need to find yourself a new Dr!!! Being in the drug world, I have heard stories of people on anti-depressants that are comatose! While they are good, and fit a purpose, I do not think they are needed for those of us that have just have NEVER been good sleepers!