I’ve been struggling with sleep issues for over a decade now. My Doctor has prescribed me all sorts of medication, all of which has had many adverse side effects. What I do know that works, is Xanax. My wife was prescribed it for some stress issues and occasionally will give me one so I can finally sleep. Obviously asking my Doctor, “can I have Xanax” Will not go well. I’ve eluded to it in ways and the response has always been along the lines of “that’s habit forming, I’d rather you try this”. Of the many medications prescribed, none have worked. Resorting to the dark web is something I’d really rather not do. Fentanyl laced drugs took my sister and it’s a road I hope to not have to explore. Any suggestions?
Apologies for giving you a boring canned answer when you are sleep-deprived and looking for help. But I swear these things really helped me.
Number one: think about getting a sleep study done by an actual sleep doc (pulmonary doc or neurologist). This was life changing for me. Don’t go to a chiropractor or whoever the fuck and get a CPAP machine.
Also, and this is important: Have you looked into tips for “sleep hygiene”? None of them are a quick fix like Xanax, but they can be powerful when used together.
These include things like:
And when you have trouble sleeping, it’s a very good idea to get out of bed, go to a different room (one that is not too bright) and do something boring like read a text book for 15-20 minutes then go back to bed and try again.
When we stay in bed and aren’t sleeping, we’re training our brain that it’s OK to do that. You want to beat it into your subconscious brain that the bed / bedroom is for sleeping.
And I should have included exercise. The best sleep I ever get is when I get in a really good amount of exercise during the day. I won’t lie to you, I’m pretty lazy about it myself. You don’t want to do this close to bedtime, either. Go for a really long walk / jog / whatever in early afternoon if you can squeeze that in somehow.
Seriously. Nothing puts you to sleep better than 10 hours of hiking.
Obviously that’s unattainable most days, but I struggle with insomnia all my life, and one of the things I look forward to most from backpacking trips is the restful call of sleep when I “actually” feel like I “need” it.
Thanks for the advice. There’s definitely some stuff here I can try. I have a stressful computer job so cutting back on caffeine makes sense along with several other tips you mentioned!
I hope you find something that works. Not getting sleep is the worst!
100%. It’s all I look forward to these days. I know that fact in itself is a huge problem though.
A few things to add to this great list:
Magnesium supplement before bed. They’re not all the same. Don’t just take a pill. Get one of the proper powdered ones magnesium citrate or threonate. I really like this one.
Also, pod casts and audiobooks. I use headphones and turn the volume down just far enough so I really need to concentrate to hear the words.
Thanks!
Also the exercise thing. I find that when stress from the computer job is likely to keep me awake, a fast walk before bedtime is enough to help smooth that out
Definitely need to exercise more so I’ll give this a shot, thanks
Caveat: doctors will only let you have a sleep study if they suspect sleep apnea. Other sleep studies that capture off-the-wall sleep disorders don’t seem accessible, at least in my local health system which is a Catholic-run local monopoly. Perhaps HCA, or Kaiser, or others may have a different philosophy.
This is not universal. I have average US insurance in Colorado and my GP sent me for a sleep study after we tried just a few things for my insomnia.
I wasn’t aware of this. That is discouraging. I think there are like 30-something sleep disorders. Though apnea is extremely common. Some insurance plans will also push hard for an “at home” sleep study first, which is fine if you just need a CPAP machine. But it’s no bueno if you need someone to monitor you and hook you up to all those Star Trek devices like they did to me.
To add to the ‘canned answers’ here is one more:
As non medication, Magnesium has a muscle relaxation effect. With a big cup of water before going to sleep it could help falling asleep. (Tho make sure you are using the right kind of magnesium pill that actually gets absorbed into the body)
Thank you! Today I learned. (I’m usually kind of skeptical about supplements but what I’ve been able to find supports what you’re saying here).
Magnesium threonate cured my insomnia, it’s fucking wild how well it works. I’d tried everything until I discovered it, from melatonin, to antihistamine sleeping pills, all the way to downing 350ml of whiskey every night just to force sleep.
Magnesium works better than every single thing I’ve tried (but you HAVE to let yourself fall asleep when you feel it starting to work.)