How do you fall asleep?

[torn asunder]

BS is apparently the hulk.

what happend to bruce banner?

i thought it was david banner!? :blink :erm

[paradox]

that was the tv show. crappy name change cause they thought 'bruce' sounded too gay.

comicbook name is bruce.

[LadyWindstone]

Apparently........I just can't stop using this word.

[Paper Hearts]

last night i shot a third of a bottle of codiene cough syrup. -That helps.

[Nienna]

Mine has gotten so bad that a double dose of over the counter stuff dosn't do a thing. Oh.... this sucks!

[Dollardave]

I'm on a medication called zyprexa that works with very little side effects my shrink gives it to me and if you are psychotic(which I clearly am) its a mood stabilizer as well only downfall is it costs $1,000 a month.

[Nienna]

I'm on a medication called zyprexa that works with very little side effects my shrink gives it to me and if you are psychotic(which I clearly am) its a mood stabilizer as well only downfall is it costs $1,000 a month.

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No insurance = over the counter.... that and I am NOT psychotic... =)

[Vater Araignee]

chamomile, st. johns wort?

[Nienna]

chamomile, st. johns wort?

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I wish.. i do sleep well about once every 4 days or so... exhaustion can do wonders.

[soothsayer]

I suffer from night time anxiety attacks and insomnia. So I can go 3 or 4 days and get very little sleep before I get 1 to 2 nights of decent sleep. It sucks but I've gotten use to it and just plug along and deal. No meds to induce sleep for me. I'd rather not take any chances on becoming dependent on medication.

[Aralis]

A couple cocktails....a candlit warm bubble bath and that should knock ya right out. A massage always helps too. My sweetie when he isnt working massages my whole backside when I am laying down and that always calms me down and knocks me out.

[Fierce Critter]

I've had problems with insomnia for a few years now. Here are some things that work for me. I recommend trying them in combination if one or another doesn't work.

What seems to work best for me right now is watching boring TV shows. And I mean BORING. A political talk show, a Discovery Channel documentary on a subject I've seen a million times, anything where the talk is monotonous and/or in a tone that's soothing. Many PBS documentaries fit the bill - the narrators are so low-key. Put your TV's sleep timer on for about 30 minutes so you don't have to worry about it staying on after you doze off (most newer TV's have them).

Herbals - Many of the recommended herb teas are too subtle to work for many of us insomniacs. Catnip, Chamomile, etc - forget about it. The only herbals that I have found that work for me are Valerian & Passion flower. I prefer true, dried plants to tablets, so here's how I make my own infusion. I get Valerian root from stores that cater to those into magicks. Valerian STINKS. Anyway, Valerian is a decently mild, yet effective sedative. Passion flower is an anti-anxiety assist. For Valerian to work for me, I need to calm the anxieties I feel throughout the day - including the anxiety that comes with the fact that sleep doesn't come easy, which is a worry in of itself. Anyway, I have a tea ball (available many places), and I put in about a heaping teaspoon of valerian root. I add a heaping teaspoon of passion flower. Steep it in a mug of boiling water for about 20 minutes (the longer the better). Set-up your bed in a way that you can steep the tea, drink it in bed, and put your head down without having to walk to the kitchen, etc. It does NOT taste good. You can add a teaspoon of sugar to make it a little more palatable, but NO MORE - the more sugar you add, the more it'll negate the effect of the herbs. Drink the tea and put your head down. If that doesn't work alone, use any of the following examples in addition.

Scents can help a lot. The most well-known and best working as far as I know is lavender. Some people recommend putting a lavender sachet in your pillow. That's too allergy-problematic for me, so I use genuine dried lavender flower in a water-based potpourri pot. They also recently came out with a baby bath to help get your baby to sleep. I think it's by Johnson & Johnson, and I think it's a wonderful idea for adults, too.

Visualizations such as Troy described are wonderful. Lay down, pick something and focus on it. I loved the cloud numbers idea. Another thing I do is focus on the parts of my body as follows: My toes are tired and heavy; my feet are relaxed and heavy. My ankles are relaxed. I feel tired creeping up my ankles to my calves. etc. Go through that, and hopefully you'll be asleep before you get to your head.

Another thing I focus on is replaying a recent movie I've seen in my head. I remember the opening credits, then go through it scene by scene. This helps me keep my mind from straying to all the BS that my mind wants to wander to. Usually by the time I get to about 20 minutes of the film, I'm out.

White noise bugs the crap out of me. So I sometimes resort to nature CD's. Some of the ones that work best for me are frogs/crickets, a babbling brook, nightsounds that include owls hooting, a low wolf howl, gentle leaf rustling, etc. I have a ton of these and would be happy to send you a copy of a couple if you'd like.

Try not to rely on medications. It can be too easy and addictive. I emptied my husband's post-surgery Percocet prescription not for the high, but for the ease of which I was able to relax & sleep on them. We decided not to refill his prescription due to my knowledge of how easy they make that.

And OTC sleep meds can eventually have the opposite effect, so best not to take them more than occasionally.

By the way, OTC meds won't do the same thing something like Percocet does. Percocet has a euphoric effect that makes you relax. OTC sleep meds basically help you sleep once you can get yourself in bed with your eyes closed - they help make you tired, they don't knock you out.

Experts recommend keeping your sleep chamber for just that - sleep. Don't hang out in your bed. Don't watch TV in your bed. Get your body used to a signal that when you put yourself to bed - it's time to sleep. I haven't tried this, so I can't vouch for the truth in it, though it makes sense.

What can also work is to keep your bedtime routine consistent. For instance, at 10:00 you're in the bathroom taking care of bathroom stuff. At 10:15 you're in bed. You read a book from 10:15 to 10:45. You put the book down and shut the light. etc.

Oh - and I find I do a lot better if I shut the damned computer down and actually GO to bed.

[Nightflyerswmn]

all i have to do is lay down with my daughter (when she's sleepy) and i'm out. when she's not ready to go to bed, it's a little harder.

[JaneDead]

it is really weird to me that so many people on here have sleep issues. i have had sleep issues for a long time but have rarely come across too many people that i actually know (in person) who do other than me and my dad.

[Brenda Starrr]

I've been having serious sleep issues for days now. Wayne saved me last night by massaging my feet. I was relaxed just enough to go to sleep.

[Vater Araignee]

Truth be told I'm an insomniac and hypersomniac. Maybe, maaaaaybe two three times a month I get good sleep rather than none or sleep that makes me want to die.

can't win for fucking lose. Weed helps but I'm tired of the rising cost and can't come up with bigger lumps of cash to cheapen it.

[Sybil]

If you like red wine, have a good glass of merlot. It works for me.

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hey BlackSunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brenda speaks truth, this is my cure too...

its my tummie cure and my "bug-eyes" cure..

[Brenda Starrr]

I highly recommend Caliterra Arboleta or Blackstone Merlot. They're both very relaxing.

[Vater Araignee]

I'm thinking car starting fluid.

[Brenda Starrr]

Too strong, Vater. Think "mellow".

[Nienna]

Wow.. went dancing tonight.. I'm TIRED!

[TomCat]

Wow.. went dancing tonight.. I'm TIRED!

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OK, prove it...go to sleep. *sings lullabies to Nienna*

[Nienna]

OK, prove it...go to sleep.  *sings lullabies to Nienna*

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la la... and here I am still online..

[mallochai]

Mr. Sunday, it's five thirty in Michigan right now, nothing working so far still?

Maybe you need to invest in an anvil and a good pulley system.

[Black Sunday9]

Mr. Sunday, it's five thirty in Michigan right now, nothing working so far still? 

Maybe you need to invest in an anvil and a good pulley system.

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yes i am still awake, unfortunately.