I have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. I’m a light sleeper and if I happen to wake up sometime it takes me awhile to fall back asleep. Those of you who may have the same issues, do you have a routine you follow to help with better sleep? I have an overactive thyroid that I take medication for and have a follow up appointment regarding blood work and medication sometime soon but I’ve been dealing with these sleep issues my whole life. I’ll also add that I don’t want to take any medication that may put me in a too heavy sleep. 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.

Exercise - as much as my physiology can handle.

My son-in-law takes melatonin to help him fall asleep faster.

I hear that avoiding screens (blue light) at least an hour before bedtime also helps.

Fortunately for me, I’m the guy that falls asleep before the lightbulb cools off... However, I do wake frequently through out the night, but I go right back to sleep (most of the time).

Sorry to hear about your issue and I hope they can figure it out and help you with that.

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.

I've been through this, including extended bouts of insomnia (months). Go see a good psychiatrist who understands the causes and options. GP's mean well but most often they are not experts. The first question is if there is an underlying cause. If your mind is overactive with ruminating thoughts, you you need to slow that down a bit to fall and stay asleep. A very mild benzodiazepine anti-anxiety med might be just enough in a low dose. If there is no underlying anxiety, a hypnotic like Zolpidem (aka Ambien) may help).

Used correctly, neither of these will make you over tired or hung over in the morning as the older barbiturate sleeping meds would.

My opinion of melatonin is that supplements are of marginal value, and more likely to be effective via placebo effect.

I rarely get more than 2-3 hours sleep at a time, at best. I work all hours of the day and night, constantly switching time zones up to 18 hours away, and have zero consistent schedule. Consequently, no internal clock for sleep.

To increase the ability to sleep, isolate from light. The body is attuned to use light as an alarm clock. Minimal light, minimal distraction, helps.

Do not use chemical assistance to sleep.

Avoid stimulants within several hours of rest. Caffeine and other stimulants are not your friend when it comes to sleep.

Avoid stimulation prior to sleep. Internet, TV, anything with a screen. Avoid blue light.

A little background white noise often helps, so long as it doesn't distract.

Pick a happy place. Go sailing in the bahamas. Play cards. Wax a car. Just with your eyes closed and in your mind. Let go.

A good self-hypnosis or general hypnosis technique, that works well for relaxing to fall asleep, is focusing on one part of the body at a time and relaxing it. Start at your feet and work up, or your head and work down. Forehead, cheeks, lips and chin, neck, shoulders, one arm, then hand, then the other, etc.

Another simple practice is to imagine descending an escalator or elevator, slowly, with each level becoming a bit calmer, quieter, and closer to your ideal temperature, and focusing as you descend on relaxing a little more.

Focus on breathing.

Try for consistency. Try to fall asleep at the same time each day. Don't take stress or work to bed.

All this assumes you don't have an underlying psychological or physical/medical reason for the inability to sleep. If you do, then proper, competent authority is the best route to getting the rest you need.

Melatonin, for me, does not help me to fall asleep but it keeps me sleeping. If I cant turn my head off, I recall pleasant things for my childhood. I will travel back to my Grandparents home in KY and start in the front yard and walk slowly through each room of their house. This relaxes me. Sometimes I read for short time to relax me. It helps that where is live is very quiet and dark. My cat snoozing with me is relaxing too.

Everyone has posted some really good answers and I will add my own simple solution.

For years I struggled with laying in bed for hours before barely falling asleep and then waking up multiple times per night. I found out that my brain was listening for sounds as I was quieting down and I couldn't get my brain to slow down to fall asleep. I started using high quality ear plugs to stop the sensory input to my ears and this has worked tremendously.
I started using them only when there was noise or my wife's snoring got too bad and I started falling asleep almost instantly. Every time I didn't use ear plugs, I lay in bed for hours trying to fall asleep. Every time I DID use plugs, I was asleep in a handful of minutes.

It took the reduction of sound inputs into my brain to get it to quiet down enough to allow me to fall asleep. If my alarm is in the same room, I can still hear it. I can also hear when the kids or wife need something. I use them every night now. Here is a link to the ones I use. They are super comfy for long term use.
https://www.amazon.com/Howard-...id=1614518559&sr=8-2

Maybe try an easy non-chemical sleep aid first?

I've been sleeping with earbuds and the audio at a super low setting. White noise or ambient helps for me. Been about 4 years now.
I also use my phone as my alarm so the alarm sounds through the earbuds.

Can melatonin be used nightly for the long-term or should use be limited to some duration?

Quite a good number of people get sleepy after taking a Benadryl. That's how Nyquil helps you sleep.

Be sure you take a Benadryl only, not one of those multipurpose meds with other ingredients.

Try taking one 30 minutes before bedtime.

Generic is just fine for this.

I feel ya. I work nights. For the last few months I haven’t slept for shit. Current cycle is three or four days of not enough sleep, and then being up 24+ hours and finally crashing at day 5 or 6 and sleeping 10-12 hours.

I fell asleep at 06:15 or so. Just woke up at 09:00. Last night was my first night back for the week, but between nights and days I’ve had one fully off since February 13th. But I was still on call. And I’m not off til Friday.

Melatonin, muscle relaxer for my back, beer, sleep machine, blackout curtains, CPAP...none of it works. My sleep cycle is FUBAR’ed. I’ve gained ten pounds. Hell, fifteen. Only relief is I’m guaranteed to come off nights by mid-May.

Good luck.

They say sleep is the biggest thing disrupted since covid started. So you are in a large group

Sometimes melatonin can help me. I used to try Tylenol PM but my goodness then I had a really hard time waking up in the morning.

Listening to relaxing music via ear buds often helps me too. Beethoven symphony or piano concerto I find very relaxing.

This sleep mask is pretty awesome.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K..._encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I've never had sleep issues but what I have read about them generally says they're caused by stress or bad sleep habits or both.

I completely sympathize with you techguy. I have dealt with sleep issues pretty much my whole life. I can’t really add any more advice that others haven’t passed along, but one warning. Drugs like Ambien can be habit forming. You can very easily get dependent on them for sleep. Before long you won’t be able to sleep a wink without it. I was stuck on Ambien for years before being weened off it. Good luck

I started having trouble falling/staying asleep about 6 months ago. Here's what worked for me:

1) Exercise every day.

2) Drink a cup of hot chamomile/sleepytime tea (caffeine free, of course) about 30 minutes before bed.

3) No electronics at bedtime.

4) Melatonin as needed.

I don't take Melatonin every night. Just as needed (every few days initially, and maybe once every couple weeks now). I keep a bottle of quick-dissolve tablets next to the bed. If I've laid in bed without falling asleep for 30 minutes or so, or if I wake up in the middle of the night (12/1/2 am) and can't get back to sleep, I stick one under my tongue. Within about 15 minutes, I'm out.


The above has drastically improved my sleep. I rarely have trouble falling asleep now, and rarely wake up in the middle of the night any more. In fact, I've started naturally waking up a little before my alarm in the morning, and feel well-rested when I do.

What's your diet like?

I've had sleep issues my whole life. As a child, falling (jumping) out of bed onto the floor nightly. Sleep walking, talking, insomnia, always trouble falling asleep, night terrors for about a year and a half in my 20s, and throughout it, from a small child to my late 40's, the inability to wake up. Always like a zombie in the morning.

In recent years I cut carbs way way back, mostly gave up sugar and sugary drinks. (as a side effect caffeine went with it) Blood levels better, weight loss, and I fall asleep fast and wake right up in the morning. No more tossing and turning, no more groggy zombie in the morning like I was my whole life.


(i've done a 180 sleep wise, I couldn't fall asleep or wake up. Now I do both easily. But "middle age" and pain from laying in one position wake me up)

I have a daydream I play through my head. It's a story that I'm in of a time in my life and I just play through scenarios that I make up. It really helps putting me to sleep.