Melatonin here too. I take 4 5mg pills. Supposedly, it only lasts about 30 min. I'm usually still up 1 1/2 hrs but it still helps me fall asleep. I also read that magnesium will help you stay asleep. I take 1 250mg pill right at bedtime. Seems to help most nights.


Rick

quote:

Originally posted by RIC.45:
Melatonin here too. I take 4 5mg pills. Supposedly, it only lasts about 30 min. I'm usually still up 1 1/2 hrs but it still helps me fall asleep. I also read that magnesium will help you stay asleep. I take 1 250mg pill right at bedtime. Seems to help most nights.


Rick

Magnesium has helped me as well. I take 250mg one hour before bed.

For me it seemed like the magnesium needed to build in my system, it didn't work immediately but after a week it seemed to help alot.

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quote:

As some of you know my wive was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2018 and she had a bone marrow transplant in March of 2019, so far, by the grace of GOD, the transplant has been a success but I’m afraid if I’m in too deep of a sleep I won’t wake up if she needs me.

Maybe there's something here to unpack.

Does melatonin make y’all groggy?

I’ve got some 3mg pills. I take 1 or 2 sometimes, but they don’t really do much for me. Sounds like I need to be taking more? But my thing is I’ll fall asleep fine sometimes, but wake up wide awake two or theee hours later.

I’m aggravated. I got home and slept 2.5 hours and woke up at 0900. I won’t be able to go back to sleep until maybe 0900 or later tomorrow morning. It’s going to be a shitty night with too much caffeine. I’ve got a job where I’ve got to be on top of crap and being irritated from no sleep is bad.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
Does melatonin make y’all groggy?

No. But the latest I've ever taken one is ~3-4 hours before I was supposed to get up. I've never woken up shortly after taking one, so I can't comment on any shorter term grogginess effect.

Whereas sleeping pills like Tylenol PM do make me groggy, even after several hours of sleep.

I was doing the same thing you described for a little while, falling asleep as normal but waking up 2-3 hours later. Taking some melatonin allows me to get back to sleep and stay asleep for the remaining 4-6 hours.

I sleep good, except in bed. My shoulders pain me, but I have found sleeping on the couch prevents me from the hurting me awake syndrome.

101st Airborne screwed my sleep up. VA won’t do jack squat about it so I go to a doctor and pay out of pocket. Been using Ambien for years. It doesn’t knock me put but if I do my part it sure helps even after taking it for years. Quick dissolve melatonin seems to help when I run out. Falling asleep is my tough nut to crack. If I can just get to sleep I’ll get 4-5 hours of sleep. Trazadone might help keep you asleep but it’s pretty heavy duty stuff. I tried it and my ass would drag the next day so didn’t work out for me.

I know some feel it's snake oil, but I take a bit CBD that has melatonin. It works well for me as to getting to, and remaining asleep for much longer periods than without it. Still, I do wake at least twice a night to pee and sometimes poop depending on what I had for dinner. But, getting back to sleep seems much easier unless I'm particularly stressed and can't get the stressful issue out of my head.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Second the melatonin. It helps me fall asleep but doesn’t make groggy like an actual sleep aid.

You didn’t mention, but might want to see if sleep apnea is a possibility. I thought I was a “light sleeper” for years, but it was due to apnea waking me frequently.

Same here. Did a sleep study, found d out it was sleep apnea

Stress and letting things run around in your mind is the #1 reason.
Any meds is just a repair , not a fix.
You will never get the sleep you need if you cannot conquer your fears that keep you awake.
I struggled for years and on a camping trip I had my catharsis and now sleep very well.
I slept great until I was 12 , but not again until I was 45. 3 hours was normal and now I can crash for 7-8 no problem. I can even sleep in on Saturdays until 7:30 after going to bed @10.

- Don't wear sunglasses, especially in the morning and midday. The sun naturally wakes you up - wearing sunglasses delays this and makes it harder to sleep at the end of the day.

- Remove all electronics from your bedroom, near your bed, the nightstand. No digital clocks. No night lights.

- Consider a sleep mask.

- A cool environment where you sleep is best.

- Blue blocker glasses at least a couple hours before bed. Blue light, from phones, lamps, room lighting, t.v., kindles, tablets hinder your ability to sleep after using them. I have a bunch of them from Amazon and use them regularly before bed.

- Many have experienced that end of day where you were so spent you literally were asleep before your head hit the pillow. Invariably, it coincided with a lot of outdoor ( re: all day ) activity in the sun. The suns helps prep your body for the best night sleep, I've noticed this a lot.

I listen to something/anything to help me get to sleep. I used to use Apple earbuds (it is easier to use them while laying down if you invert them) but then discovered these:
MUSICOZY Sleep Headphones Bluetooth Sports Headband, Wireless Music Sleeping Headphones Noise Cancelling Sleep Mask Earbuds IPX6 Waterproof Unique Gift for Side Sleeper Workout Running Insomnia Travel
It's much easier to lay on your side with these. You can still wake up with a sore ear but it's much nicer than earbuds.

Lina Grace on YouTube can help. I really like her voice.

Of course getting to sleep isn't as much of a problem as staying asleep is. I often wake up at 1 or 2 AM and am just no longer sleepy.

Melatonin doesn't help much but Alteril does. Sleepy Time Tea can also help me sleep longer but if I drink it too close to bed time I'll be up in no time to pee.

I'm following this thread to get more ideas.

quote:

Originally posted by maxxpower:

quote:

Originally posted by RIC.45: I also read that magnesium will help you stay asleep. I take 1 250mg pill right at bedtime. Seems to help most nights.


Rick

Magnesium has helped me as well. I take 250mg one hour before bed.

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Melatonin didn't seem to help me, nor CBD, but Magnesium does... to some small degree... I have restless leg syndrome but have suffered with getting to sleep all my life.

I take two of these an hour or so before bedtime, sometimes a third if I'm still awake an hour after going to bed.

I need a chewable so you might find a cheaper, smaller quantity to try.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/pr..._title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When I was working rotating shifts I was in the same boat as you. I tried melatonin, Benadryl, booze, exercise, mild muscle relaxers, and my GP gave me Trazadone...and that only worked sometimes. Even had a sleep study.

Once I retired, it took about six months before I could sleep “normaly” getting more than four or five hours.

I remember the best sleep I ever had was when I was in the service with a rather large diesel engin in the adjoining compartment. I now use a noise maker to mask other noises in the house as my littl brain seems to be always on alert. And now I only occasionally use melatonin.

If I wake up in the night I take one pill right then and go pee them I’m back asleep within a few minutes...and the good thing is that you can be woken up and not feel groggy or out of it.

I use the brand mid nite with the dissolving tablets at night, and just target brand pills(5mg) for before sleep.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
Melatonin didn't seem to help me, nor CBD, but Magnesium does...

When the wife and I stated keto my sleep got way worse until we started watching our electrolytes. Magnesium is the big one for sleep. Magnesium Glycinate is the one to get because magnesium oxide isn't absorbed very well.

I have a two fold method of falling asleep quickly

1) I force myself to think in pictures. I literally look at the back of my eyelids in the dark and see the colors and things one sees when they close their eyes in the dark. I concentrate on those things. I visualize things. Anything. Pretty soon my subconscious mind takes over and I can see myself drifting off as my mind generates things for me to see and I am not doing it on my own. I drift off into a dream state.

I force myself not to think in words. I do not think about what I should have said during that phone call at work that day. I don't replay a conversations I had with my wife. I force myself to not think about verbal exchanges at all.

And I think there is merit to all this. I've read studies that show that when one thinks in words, replay verbal exchanges, etc, the front lobe of the brain heats and that is inconsistent with sound sleep. Who here has not worried themselves awake all night thinking about an argument? Thinking in pictures cools the front lobe of the brain and that is consistent with sound, deep sleep.

This method rarely fails me.

2) I try to get as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately, my king size bed isn't great for me. The most comfortable thing I've ever slept in, and do so with some frequency, is a half inflated air mattress. I sleep on my back with my CPAP on. The half inflation cradles me like a hammock. Ther sides lift my arms so they are slightly above my abdomen. If I roll a little to the left or right, the mattress fills in behind my back giving me support. I literally wake up in pretty much the same position I fell asleep in. No aches, pains. It's amazing something so cheap can work so well to promote quality, comfortable sleep.

I have trouble falling asleep. If I wake up within a half hour or so of falling asleep, getting back to sleep is almost impossible. Once I have been asleep an hour or so, I go right back to sleep if I wake up.

I can’t shut off the brain. Always thinking about tomorrow, the next task at work, the next goal to accomplish, the next off road trail to conquer.

What has worked well for me is the TV. The trick is finding the right program. That’s the hard part. It has to be interesting enough to keep my attention focused. It can’t be so interesting that I want to know how it ends. Auto repair shows work well for this. Chasing classic cars, rust valley restorers, Gotham garage, etc. interesting, and I like what I’m watching, but don’t care how it ends.
Sleep timer set to 90 minutes, I’m usually out within 15.

That’s what works for me.

There are three major groups of reasons for insomnia.

Group 1 are those that need melatonin. For some reason, people don't make enough themselves. So supplements help. HOWEVER... this is the smallest of the major groups of those with insomnia. If you don't have a problem with low melatonin, taking more makes things worse, as your system detects that you suddenly have more than enough and your pineal gland stops making your own. So now your hormonal system becomes external and reliant on you taking melatonin at the right time each night.

Group 2 is those low on GABA. I don't know much about this group unfortunately...

Group 3 are those with cortisol disorders. That's a much bigger group than people think. You can have overall high cortisol levels, or your high/low cycle is out of whack. First step here is getting a diurnal cortisol test, where you basically get a saliva sample 4x a day and send it off to a lab. They'll check overall levels plus plot the cycle.



That's my graph from a few years back, and makes it incredibly clear why I completely stopped sleeping except for a few micronaps throughout the day. Apparently just enough that I didn't die.

Anyway, if high overnight cortisol is the issue, you'll never sleep well. There are other supplements that really help with high cortisol.

quote:

Originally posted by NavyGuy:
I know some feel it's snake oil, but I take a bit CBD stressful issue out of my head.

Yup, that seems to be the thinking around here, until you get a quality product, then opinions change instantly. Problem is, most products sold are poor quality. (90+%)
CBD has shown to relax the brain to help get a good nights rest.

I recently quit using sleeping aids for the first time in ten years.

I've noticed that the best thing to do for a good nights sleep is to exercise during the day, not right before bedtime but preferably mid day, I go for a 30 minute run and that day the time it takes for me to go to sleep is usually reduced to around ten to fifteen minutes instead of the usual hour-hour and a half.