Insomnia

[gentlewind]

Hello Family,

 

my daughter(24)has been suffering with insomnia for over a year and I fear she may be near mental exhaustion/breakdown. she said to me that she would accept one good night's sleep a week! she saw the doc today who was hopeless and gave her anti-hystamines!

 

any suggestions/thoughts/ideas on how my beautiful daughter can get some shut eye most welcome. she lives with her mother who I call the Dark One, so she hasn't got it easy!!!

 

there is an Air Guitar to those whose suggestions do the trick - and I'll even pay the postage!!!  

[silent thunder]

Absolutely everything else in life is harder, when you're not rested.

Much empathy for your daughter my friend.  I suffered insomnia in my twenties as well and a few times thereafter to a much less intense degree, but it is a real hammer in life when you can't get rested.

 

 

I could usually fall asleep, but staying asleep was a challenge... and after waking at certain points, it seemed fruitless to lie there.

 

I'm afraid my only options will seem rather droll, but anything is worth a try when it comes to sleep.

Two things that seem to help me stay asleep or drift back when I wake are Darkness and Ambient sounds.  We have heavy drapes in our bedroom and I use an eye wrap that keeps extraneous light out of my eyes.  I no longer have any electronics in my bedroom, but for ambient sound playing to keep neighborhood random sounds from waking one up, one of youtube's many 10 hour sets of various ambient nature sounds, waterfalls, heavy rainfall, or soft ambient music may be an option. 

 

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFlrc16xjik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRBCFsU_KDc

 

 

I also got very stubborn at one point, either if unable to fall asleep, or find myself waking.  I started to 'just lie there' in bed, awake for the remainder of my sleep time, refusing to get up.  Eventually even if sleep didn't come, I'd drop into what I call 'the grey zone'.  Mind became quiet, body will buzz lightly with calm and it is restful to a point.  At the very least, I wasn't up spending what precious little energy I'd regathered in my little sleep, by doing stuff and engaging with things.

 

Qi Gong and regular sitting, after years of daily practice, seem to have nullified sleep issues now for me.  On occasion I'll lay in bed for an hour or so before sleep comes, but this is once in a blue moon and when it happens, I no longer 'give up and get up' but lay there with my eye wrap on and simply let my body melt on the bed.

 

My best to you and your daughter old friend.  So wonderful to catch your presence.  Wish it was under better circumstances.

[thelerner]

Hmnn, what kind of air guitar?

 

I'm a life long insomniac.  I go for years accepting it, trying to make peace with it, then work on it with the usually common sense advice and whatever new fangled ideas have popped up. 

 

Right now I'm wearing the Oura Ring, a smart ring that measures sleep.  It tracks heart rate, body tem and movement gives readouts on Deep Sleep, light sleep, Rem sleep, time awake as well as when you feel asleep and wake up.  You can also track caffeine, late meals, TV watching and try to make connections between variables and your sleep patterns. 

 

In my Biohacking thread I talk about new strange stuff I'm trying.  It skips around but this thread has info on stuff-

Taomeow and I both read this article and it helped- ttps://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/fall-asleep-fast/

but for me, so far, nothing works long term.  But the answer is out there.  I obsess a little, then go back acceptance (which helps) then switch back.  

 

Like most insomniacs, I probably get more sleep then I realize.  Lately I've discovered by ring and wife that there are times I think I'm up, when I'm actually sleeping.  Ie I'm in light sleep or REM and don't realize it.  Worrying about lack of sleep is bad. 

 

From my Group Self Hypnosis thread-

Yoga has had a practice for relaxing the body deeply for years.  Yoga Nidra, a cheap easy practice on deep relaxation.  Here's info-

Some of the best guided meditations are from the Indian tradition called Yoga Nidra.  There are dozens if not hundreds of them available and they are wonderful for putting you into a deep state of openness and relaxation.  They tend to be less visual then most western scripts, so work well with people who don't visualize as well.  

 

Here is a link to a short simple 16 minute one- http://www.yoganidranetwork.org/mp3/bridget-reader-yn-1

Here's a nice one for sleep- http://www.yoganidranetwork.org/mp3/yoga-nidra-good-night-sleep

Here's a long one with nice tibetan bells  http://www.yoganidranetwork.org/mp3/colour-ling-mann

I encourage people to go to http://www.yoganidranetwork.org and try out a few, find one they like, download it and work with it.  Often there are bits we miss the first few listenings that have experiential teachings.  **note the yoganidranetwork.org constantly cycles to new ones, knocking out old, so look around. 

 

For those with Amazon Alexa units, you can Open up the skill Yoga Nidra, then anytime you want to hear a nice one you simply say Play Yoga Nidra and it plays. 

 

Here's a good Sleep hypnosis audio called Sleeping Pill.  Good because its more training then to get you to fall asleep-

"

Was having trouble falling asleep for a couple nights.  The usual insomnia I get every now and then when I can't fall asleep til 4 am.  For the last 2 days I've been self treating with melatonin 3mgs, mint flavored edible ones from Trader Joes.  Plus listening to Sleeping Pill Hypnosis by Jaqueline Powers, under 11 minutes and works well if it grabs you. 

 

It's good in that it doesn't leave you sleeping, rather its training to get to sleep faster.  The last 2 nights listening to it earlier in the day have helped me get to bed within a half hour. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COMD5PSVmO8

I turned it into an mp3, also put it into my amazon music account so I can listen to it on my Alexa Echo unit before they stopped allowing such add ins. "

 

Hope your daughter find the right combination to get a good nights sleep. 

Michael

Edited October 3, 2019 by thelerner

[doc benway]

I don't know your daughter's health conditions but I know several people who use cannabis products successfully for sleep. 

Anti-histamines can be quite effective for some people, especially Benadryl (diphenhydramine).

I prefer a supplement-free, drug-free approach but either of those may be worth a try if nothing else works.

 

I used to practice Tibetan style dream and sleep yoga very consistently but I've gotten away from it recently. When I was engaged in the practices, my sleep was better than it's ever been before or since.

 

Here are some simple suggestions that help me, most of which were recommended by my dream yoga teacher -

1. Begin winding down the day with the intention to quiet the body, speech, and mind for a few hours before going to bed

2. Stop all electronic stimulation, including television, at least 2 hours before bed.

3. No heavy meals or exercise within 2 hours of bed time. 

4. Create a sacred and supportive environment in the bedroom.

5. Keep electronics away from the bed, on the other side of the room.

6. Make sure to get some vigorous physical activity several hours before sleep, not too soon before bed.

7. Abstain from alcohol completely.

8. When lying down to sleep, you may visualize being surrounded by beautiful, loving, supportive beings - dakinis, angels, whatever speaks to you. Imagine that they are there to help you fall asleep and to watch over you during sleep.

9. Keep a dream journal by the bed. Whenever possible, especially if waking up in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning, write down any dreams you can remember. 

10. When unable to sleep, it is good to try and allow the body and mind to become still. If that stillness can be maintained for a few minutes, sleep will come. 

11. When waking up in the night, first try to simply rest the body and mind in stillness. If this does not work, get up and occupy yourself for a while but NO ELECTRONICS. Read, write, meditate, do some gentle stretching, draw, anything to engage the body and mind gently. When tired return to bed. For me, meditation usually works well. I'll get out of bed, if necessary, and meditate on my cushion for 20 minutes or so and I"m usually ready for sleep.

 

Good luck to you both!

 

PS - my teacher wrote a book on dream yoga that is filled with useful information - Tibetan Yogas of Sleep and Dream by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. He also offers an online workshop on the subject which will be starting in November.

[gentlewind]

wow!!! thanks guys I really appreciate your advice which I will pass onto my daughter when she visits. once again I truly appreciate your time and effort you put into your posts, I know my daughter will be happy to read through your posts.

 

Blessings to you all.

[idiot_stimpy]

If she is up to experiment, tell her to cut out all grains, gluten and sugar in her diet.  

[Jim D.]

Melatonin worked for me. Listening to a guided meditation through era plugs while laying on my left side in my bed under a comforter seemed to be very pleasant. I learned to speak Italian that way as well. But if it goes deeper than that it could be Panic Disorder. I don't know. For me it was fear. 

[JCB]

Try some TRE. Always provides me with a rested and sleepful state after a practice. Would recommend connecting with a provider in your area but here is the walk through https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeUioDuJjFI&list=UUY0BSkFcY0DqIcRRQiJKyUg&index=1&fbclid=IwAR2aAZyHirarO-4LyGBq8jjhaQuPtm4rprqMxVZpImtJsEqIfvycAQUGU5s

[Neha12]

Hey,

 

Few years back I was also suffering from insomnia, but then someone recommended me to try acupuncture. It was really an amazing experience. Acupuncture helped me a lot. I would highly recommend it. Have a look at this article over here: https://www.medicinenet.com/acupuncture/article.htm