Insomnia Anyone?

[Highspeedlane]

My oldest son is moving to Australia...possibly (or at least the plan is) permanently. I know parents have to let kids fly but it's beginning to hit me hard with his trip occurring in less than two weeks. I have a feeling until he's gotten there and all is well I'm going to sleep like crap.

I mean kids often move when the time comes, but 10,000 miles...dang.

 

[Tokyospike]

That's as far as he can go without becoming an astronaut. What did you do? (Just kidding . . . I know how that feels.) All will be OK in the end - and if it's not all OK, then it's not the end . . .

 

[Highspeedlane]

That's as far as he can go without becoming an astronaut. What did you do? (Just kidding . . . I know how that feels.) All will be OK in the end - and if it's not all OK, then it's not the end . . .

I hear ya. He does need to get out like all kids do. I did the same thing when I enlisted. Just SOOOO dang far away. Thanks for your kind words.

 

[Shakey-and-twitchy]

Mine is getting worse as I age. Down to about four or five hours of sleep on an average night. I am taking Melatonin but can't tell if it is helping or not.

10 mg works for me, any less did not have an effect.

 

[Shakey-and-twitchy]

I had same issue. Went to doc and now I take half a trazodone pill before bed each night. Works great.

I tried a full trazadone about 20 years ago, I would have sleep through a earthquake.
I was in a fog a long time. Before I knew about pill cutters. I threw them out instead of cutting them in quarters.

 

[Chango]

Anyone ever have luck with magnesium supplements? I suffered from insomnia for years and years. The version I have is difficulty staying asleep. I fall asleep with ease. Then I wake up between 2-3 am and I'm wide awake! Sometimes I doze off again by around 5 am but that's almost time to wake up. The whole time my head would be spinning about whatever is bothering me--work, money, relationship, family...

 

[Highspeedlane]

Anyone ever have luck with magnesium supplements? I suffered from insomnia for years and years. The version I have is difficulty staying asleep. I fall asleep with ease. Then I wake up between 2-3 am and I'm wide awake! Sometimes I doze off again by around 5 am but that's almost time to wake up. The whole time my head would be spinning about whatever is bothering me--work, money, relationship, family...

I do this constantly. Fall asleep no problem, then 90% of the time I'm awake before my alarm is set to go off, sometimes by hours, and just can't fall back to sleep. I have used a magnesium supplement called Calm and it does help me sleep but nothing I've tried (even that) has been the magic formula to get me to sleep consistently through to my alarm clock.

I have done much better in recent months though and what I had to do was swear off all alcohol and not have any caffeine within about 6 hours of trying to fall asleep. Most sleep aids I've tried just make me feel like I'm still half-asleep all through the next morning, especially when I use melatonin.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Another insomniac here! (as well as several other health issues)
My body clock creeps, and periodically I have to try and reset it. Ideally I could do with 27 to 28 hour days, and then I think I'd have a fairly consistent rhythm.

 

[Niles]

I've never slept much. I went so long thinking my experience was normal that I've never done anything about it.

 

[Rusty Blade]

This insomnia must be a modern day affliction. Too many distractions, too much stress, too many stimulants, too much bad news...lots of things to keep us awake at night.

 

[ouch]

But the OP was asking about cures, and I found one.
Valerian Root is an herbal supplement you can find at WalMart for under $4.

I use valyrian steel. I conk myself on the head with the butt of a sword and I'm good for eight hours.

 

[Saxonbowman]

I'm in this boat as well. Currently I'm taking one Tylenol PM equivalent and 3mg of Melatonin. If I wake up I take a regular Acetaminophen tablet to get me back to sleep. This feels like too many drugs and the doc says that the PMs aren't good for your short term memory. I can usually wean myself off of most of them, but the insomnia usually comes back. I tried Trazidone and it only worked for five hours or so.

 

[MntnMan62]

I’ve been sleeping less and less as I get older. Some other issues cause me to have to get up during the night. Normally I can get right back to sleep. One of the best things that helps me get to sleep and stay aslee is regular exercise. A few weeks ago I started doing intervals on the elliptical for an hour at a time 3 to 4 days a week. I slept well. Haven’t done anything the past 2 weeks. Not sleeping so well. Hitting the elliptical first thing Monday morning and I gotta stick with it.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

I'm not an Insomniac, I'm a Night Owl.

I've always been feeling most on my game in the middle of the night, [...]

Now that I'm #Retired, I can make my own schedules,
so its not unusual for me to stay up 'til the sun rises,
then lay down for several hours sleep. [...]

dpm:

...I'm also a Night Owl (and retired), at times.

BTW, I've been known to pull 'all-nighters' mostly on B & B (and/or other 'gentlemanly' pursuits).

"I always seem to come alive after midnight. I feel like the world is mine". Dau Voire

 

[Tokyospike]

. . . and the doc says that the PMs aren't good for your . . .

. . . aren't good for your what again?

 

[Saxonbowman]

. . . aren't good for your what again?

I think he said that taking the antihistamine based sleep aids on a long-term basis might inhibit your ability to form short term memory.

 

[mikelz777]

Anyone ever have luck with magnesium supplements? I suffered from insomnia for years and years. The version I have is difficulty staying asleep. I fall asleep with ease. Then I wake up between 2-3 am and I'm wide awake! Sometimes I doze off again by around 5 am but that's almost time to wake up. The whole time my head would be spinning about whatever is bothering me--work, money, relationship, family...

I've been taking magnesium supplements (400 mg) and they've helped me a lot. I would always wake up in the middle of the night around 3-4 AM and I would have a difficult time falling back asleep. With magnesium supplements I can usually sleep through the night but rarely past 6-6:30 AM. One thing I noticed when I started taking them is that I started dreaming again, sometimes pretty vividly. It's not a fail-safe and it won't counteract the effects of caffeine but I can tell, see and feel the difference in my sleep when I don't use it.

 

[Chango]

I've been taking magnesium supplements (400 mg) and they've helped me a lot. I would always wake up in the middle of the night around 3-4 AM and I would have a difficult time falling back asleep. With magnesium supplements I can usually sleep through the night but rarely past 6-6:30 AM. One thing I noticed when I started taking them is that I started dreaming again, sometimes pretty vividly. It's not a fail-safe and it won't counteract the effects of caffeine but I can tell, see and feel the difference in my sleep when I don't use it.

Yes!! This!! I was afraid to say anything because I wasn't sure if I was imagining things.

I started taking mag supplements as part of undertaking the ketogenic diet (first magnesium citrate now magnesium malate) and not to address my insomnia. Then I started to notice much better sleep, rest, and like you said, crazy vivid dreams. I suspected it was the supplements. I posted something about this on the keto diet thread.

I'm glad somebody else had the same experience. Makes me feel like I'm not crazy.

 

[mikelz777]

Yes!! This!! I was afraid to say anything because I wasn't sure if I was imagining things.

I started taking mag supplements as part of undertaking the ketogenic diet (first magnesium citrate now magnesium malate) and not to address my insomnia. Then I started to notice much better sleep, rest, and like you said, crazy vivid dreams. I suspected it was the supplements. I posted something about this on the keto diet thread.

I'm glad somebody else had the same experience. Makes me feel like I'm not crazy.

My coworker tried taking magnesium supplements after hearing about my experience and she reported having vivid dreams as well.

 

[Tokyospike]

I think he said that taking the antihistamine based sleep aids on a long-term basis might inhibit your ability to form short term memory.

My sense of humor is, apparently, impenetrable.