Well, that's not true...but it literally takes me 3-4 hours to fall asleep no matter what time I go to bed. It never used to be this bad.

I'm bored out of my mind here.

Welcome to my world, I can't sleep either at night and turn nocturnal often.

That totally blows.

There have been a few nights that I've almost cried because I feel tired but can't fall asleep.

I thought exercise helps you sleep....it's not helping me.

I had a lovely argument over the phone about an hour and half ago and it's still playing over and over in my head. I wonder why I can't control my brain...

Is it worry and anxiety that's keeping you up? I think exercise pumps your adrenaline, so it depends on when you work out I think. What is your caffienne intake like?

I never work out late. I don't drink coffee on a regular basis and I drink caffeine free diet pepsi.

My mind never slows down so it's obviously due to the things I have been dealing with for the past month or so. I just wish I could shut it all off....but I can't.

Thanks, Genesia!

What about melatonin? Know anything about it? I know a few people who swear by that.

Rescue Sleep:

When sleeplessness is triggered by repetitive thoughts and stress, two quick sprays to your tongue help calm and quiet your mind, enabling you to sleep naturally and wake refreshed.

I like the sound of that.

but this sounds a bit weird:

Rescue Sleep is totally natural and contains six of the 38 Bach® Flower Essences: Rock Rose for terror and panic, Impatiens for irritation and impatience, Clematis for inattentiveness, Star of Bethlehem for shock, Cherry Plum for irrational thoughts, and White Chestnut for relief from repetitive thoughts.

I could benefit from that spray, but most medication scares me. I've heard about melatonin helping as well. If reading doesn't help, something you don't want to do like cleaning can tire you out too. Or a quick warm shower and a glass of milk, maybe even mixed with ovaltine.

JustErin said:

I never work out late. I don't drink coffee on a regular basis and I drink caffeine free diet pepsi.

My mind never slows down so it's obviously due to the things I have been dealing with for the past month or so. I just wish I could shut it all off....but I can't.

I'd suggest investing in a good vibrator and rubbing one out to orgasm before bedtime to release some happy hormones , but then again not knowing your whole situation, getting yourself off may bring even more stress.

Longer term, however, you should try meditation. Just go to a quiet place without any distractions and just sit there and breathe in and out for about 15 to 20 minutes. Unfortunately you may need to do this several times over the next few days or weeks to really get into a restive and peaceful state, since most of us have our minds occupied with something all the time, and it may take several sessions just to learn how to rest our minds and clear our thoughts.

melatonin works for me at high dosages....10-15mg.

I'm taking ambien every night for the past few weeks. It def. helps, but even with it I've had nights where it takes me hours to get to sleep.

[Edited 2/17/12 21:10pm]

I've tried the whole masturbation thing but really, my mind is really not there right now.

I even tried to watch some porn recently and I felt immediately depressed and very emotional so I turned it off right away. Soooooooo weird for me.

I dunno...I'm not really myself these days so I'm thinking maybe a little help via medication is needed....just to help me relax enough to fall asleep and get some decent rest.

JerseyKRS said:

melatonin works for me at high dosages....10-15mg.

I'm taking ambien every night for the past few weeks. It def. helps, but even with it I've had nights where it takes me hours to get to sleep.

[Edited 2/17/12 21:10pm]

I think I'll try the melatonin first then.

Sorry you're struggling too.

I was going to suggest masturbation as well, which can be relaxing, not to creep you out or anything, but it's relaxing when you're done and can make you sleepy at times.

What about talking on the phone at night? I find myself almost falling asleep too when I do that for too long.

JustErin said:

JerseyKRS said:

alphastreet said:

I was going to suggest masturbation as well, which can be relaxing, not to creep you out or anything, but it's relaxing when you're done and can make you sleepy at times.

What about talking on the phone at night? I find myself almost falling asleep too when I do that for too long.

No worries, I don't think it's creepy at all. I have a healthy outlook on masturbation normally. But I'm a bit of an emotional catastrophe at the moment due to certain things that have happened, so I'm having issues with sex and love and all that crap and I'm a tad messed up.

Genesia said:

JustErin said:

Thanks, Genesia!

What about melatonin? Know anything about it? I know a few people who swear by that.

Rescue Sleep:

When sleeplessness is triggered by repetitive thoughts and stress, two quick sprays to your tongue help calm and quiet your mind, enabling you to sleep naturally and wake refreshed.

I like the sound of that.

but this sounds a bit weird:

Rescue Sleep is totally natural and contains six of the 38 Bach® Flower Essences: Rock Rose for terror and panic, Impatiens for irritation and impatience, Clematis for inattentiveness, Star of Bethlehem for shock, Cherry Plum for irrational thoughts, and White Chestnut for relief from repetitive thoughts.

It's not weird if you understand how homeopathy works. The beauty part of that spray is that if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can use it again. And it won't give you a hangover. The problem with melatonin is that it's hard to get the dose right - and the symptoms are exactly the same for too much as too little. I never had any luck with it. Theanine is something else you might try. It's an amino acid that just chills you out without actually causing sleepiness. In fact, you can even take it during the day if you're feeling anxious.

I clearly don't understand how it works...this works for this and that works for that...seemed a bit goofy to me but I'm totally willing to give it a try.

I'll look for it tomorrow.

JustErin said:

I've been watching episodes of 30 Rock every night, it's my shut off from the real world - I'm asleep as soon as I turn the TV off. I've just started on season 4. It's got to the point where I'm yawning just from the theme song, AND last night when I didn't watch any? you guessed it, I couldn't sleep for ages

Genesia said:

JustErin said:

I clearly don't understand how it works...this works for this and that works for that...seemed a bit goofy to me but I'm totally willing to give it a try.

I'll look for it tomorrow.

Well, just think of it as being like a multi-symptom cold remedy - one ingredient for cough, another for congestion, another for aches and pains.

True, true.

JustErin said:

alphastreet said:

I was going to suggest masturbation as well, which can be relaxing, not to creep you out or anything, but it's relaxing when you're done and can make you sleepy at times.

What about talking on the phone at night? I find myself almost falling asleep too when I do that for too long.

No worries, I don't think it's creepy at all. I have a healthy outlook on masturbation normally. But I'm a bit of an emotional catastrophe at the moment due to certain things that have happened, so I'm having issues with sex and love and all that crap and I'm a tad messed up.

That might be it then. I find that if it's related to that, it feels unsettling while you're asleep too and still going through the notions.

melatonin definitely made me feel tired in a non druggy way. It felt natural. But it didn't really help me sleep, even though I was sleepy. But I had some other issues at the time.

I like audiobooks, the more boring the reader the better!

Lately I try to go to bed without listening, but if my mind starts to work, then I put on a book and it distracts me to where my tired-ness takes over and I fall asleep.

Of course, it doesn't work every time.

I'm still awake God damn it!

JustErin, do you manage to get through the day after all this, or have you been nocturnal lately?

Believe me, I am trying to meditate and stuff but my mind doesn't slow down long enough.

Oddly enough, I can make it through the day ok.

I've tried a million tricks, and some of them work some of the time, none of them work all the time.

When I was sick NyQuil was like magic. But I was not going to take it forever, as tempting as it may have been.

One thing I do quite a lot is actually keep my eyes open in the dark, looking at the ceiling while lying on my back. I try to keep my eyes open for as long as possible, which is difficult even if you have trouble sleeping. And it's even harder when you can't focus clearly on anything in the dark. Eventually your eyelids get very heavy, and often this leads to you know what.

Shit, I do that eyes open thing too....but I just end up talking to myself when I do that.

Have you tried listening to an audio book?

JustErin said:

Shit, I do that eyes open thing too....but I just end up talking to myself when I do that.

oh well

That sort of relates another thing I do. I find that the thoughts that are most distracting to me are the ones that come in the form of words, like rehashing an argument or talking to myself.

So what I do is close my eyes and focus on looking out my eyes, to get my thinking away from words/sounds and into a visual place. I think about what I see through my closed eyes, and since that is nothing, you start to imagine stuff, maybe abstract shapes or colors. Try to let those develop and take shape.

Anything to take you away from thinking "how could they do that...I really need to fix my brakes...I hate work...I like eating..."