Help me with sleep pls

[Arun]

Good morning everyone, I’m writing this at 3:01 on Thursday morning (in Australia). As is instantly obvious I have a problem with sleep. I was wondering if I could get the forum to help me brainstorm why and how to fix it.
When I was in therapy my psychologist taught me proper sleep habits and I did them and they helped (I think).
My problem is now I simply can’t tolerate lying in bed, awake, with no distractions. I get restless, I go on my phone (which is the worst thing to do!). But every damn time I switch off my phone to try to sleep I feel so (emotionally) uncomfortable that I turn it on again. I can stand it once I’m absolutely shattered eg at 1 - 4am.
I have tried to practice lying there, I have tried YouTube for meditation sleep things (they work) and I have tried to knock myself out with pain killers and drowsy antihistamines. So I’ve got some last resort things that typically work. Oh and I also come on the SF chat. That can typically soothe me enough that I drift off.

But does anyone have any insight or suggestions as to why this is???

(I hope this makes sense, cause, you know, 3am brain.........)

 

[may71]

I was wondering if I could get the forum to help me brainstorm why and how to fix it

Yes, I'd be happy to, but I'm a bit too tired at the moment, lol!

I'll try to get back to you soon

 

[Rockclimbinggirl]

Do you have a blue light filter on your phone?

What about a snack like warm milk or turkey? I find it helps.

What about melatonin or asking your doctor for meds to help you sleep?

 

[Gonz]

My problem is now I simply can’t tolerate lying in bed, awake, with no distractions.

When I feel this way a thing that helps is audiobooks. They keep my mind occupied, while still allowing me to lay still with my eyes closed. I set the volume just barely loud enough to make out what’s being said, which is quiet enough that it won’t keep me up. And it’s always something I’ve read multiple times before, so I don’t get too engaged and lose sleep that way. I’ve fallen asleep to The Lord of the Rings more times than I can count.

 

[Petal]

HI @Arun

I have tried to knock myself out with pain killers and drowsy antihistamines.

Don't play with fire because....you will get burned. This is harmful behaviour. Not what you need at all.

Honestly, I had years of trouble with my sleep and came off (yes came off) sleeping tablets because I think they were just masking the issue and I was correct. Not every night but most nights now I can sleep without trouble by tiring myself out during the day.

Sounds simple but get lavender drops and put it on your nightwear, in your bath before bed and have a lavender diffuser on in your room, it is a really relaxing scent.

Talk to your doctor and see if there are other natural remedies that could help

 

[may71]

But does anyone have any insight or suggestions as to why this is???

I'm not a medical practitioner of any kind, so this is just my amateur 2 cents. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, insomnia is often caused by what is called "Yin defficiency".

@brightshen probably understands this much better than I do.

Too much thinking, too much stress, sugar and sweets, alcohol, and caffeine could all be contributing factors.

Foods like potatoes, celery, rice, and rosemary might help. Eating freshly, lightly cooked whole foods served warm, and only consuming warm beverages might help.

Getting acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbal medicine might help. They should also be able to give you a formal diagnosis in Chinese medicine terms. There's more than one thing that can cause insomnia from the CM perspective, but the recommendations above will still probably help at least a little.

The acupressure self-massage in my signature might help.

Being really diligent about your meditation practice would probably help. You may also want to try removing your shoes before meditating, and removing your shoes a few hours before bed-time regardless. Massaging your feet before you go to bed might be helpful.

 

[Aprilflowers7]

Sometimes I have bad dreams and then I can't get back to sleep. I have been having dreams lately about murderers and people trying to get into my house and stuff. When I can't sleep I just lay there or I take melatonin. I don't know what else to take besides melatonin. But I'm not even sure if it's helping. I think one problem could be a lack of positive stimuli or positive energy during the day. Even a call from someone you love can help you fall asleep faster at night. Or taking a walk or other forms of exercise.

I don't know why I've been dreaming about people coming into my house, I don't even watch cop programs.

 

[Innocent Forever]

I don't do sleep recently @Arun and it's causing me to come down with stupid things (like a throat infection now coz' run down etc).
At one point what really helped me was a bedtime routine that I kept to and kept to a set time (it stopped helping coz' I couldn't sleep and was up for hours even with it, but then I know there are other issues behind no sleeping). I would head to bed 2 hours before I wanted to be in bed. Actually more like 3 hours. And I would put away my computer before then.
Sounds to me, though I could be wrong, like anxiety about not having your phone on.... would you put all electronics away a couple of hours before you want to sleep, and devise a real sleep routine, and have an ipod or something with meditations downloaded, hour long, that you listen to after your sleep routine, when you're in bed and can fall asleep during?
Sending hugs...