trouble sleeping

[LetsGoWings13 0]

Well the title really says it all. I can never fall asleep intill about 3 or 4 in the morning and its really starting to hurt me for school the doctor told me to take the tv out of my room and not eat close to my bed time and yet ill lay there with my eyes closed but im still awake intill 3 in the morning. I dont really have any caffene after about 6pm. What should i do??

[Squirrel 0]

Have you tried some sleep medication?

[ShaneyB 0]

Well the title really says it all. I can never fall asleep intill about 3 or 4 in the morning and its really starting to hurt me for school the doctor told me to take the tv out of my room and not eat close to my bed time and yet ill lay there with my eyes closed but im still awake intill 3 in the morning. I dont really have any caffene after about 6pm. What should i do??

exactly the same problem with me.

[Michael9 57]

the doctor told me to take the tv out of my room

A tv helps me go to sleep, i just but on the most boring thing on and i fall asleep instently

[Eazy_b97 1]

Don't eat anything after 8pm. Turn the TV off at 11. Lay in bed, and try not to move around. Get up relatively early the next day, say 7ish, then don't have a nap or lie down or anything until you go to bed the next night.

[tokes 0]

It's so different for all people that I don't really know if you can give specific advice. IE, for some people watching a bit of TV helps them sleep. For me it's too stimulating or something and it keeps me up. For some people exercise keeps them up, for me a light 30 minute run, then come home, have a shower, and go to bed and i'll be asleep in 10 minutes. Another good one is listen to some quiet mellow music without any words in it, and play solitare in my ipod. For some reason my brain equates solitare with sleepy time and it'll help me get to sleep.

[flaming_june 2]

when i had insomnia, i couldn't sleep b/c i had a lot of things on my mind and i couldn't stop thinking of them.

couple of things helped me sleep faster: low volume music through my mp3 player, letting go of the things i think about, and being mentally/physically wasted the day/night before.

[Fletch 219]

Do you watch TV in bed, or do homework on your bed?

Don't sit on or lay down on your bed until you are going to sleep at night. You need to convince your body that your bed is only to be used for sleeping.

[asdfa 0]

listen to gregorian chant.

i usually find an old magazine that i have and read articles that i've already read before. it's so boring that i fall asleep in about 5 minutes. if not, i can stay awake for like 30 min, even if i'm totally plastered from the night/day before

[kosydar 0]

Go to a health store/pharmacy and look into Melatonin. Its a natural substance which knocks you on your ass. As far as I know, there are no side effects from it. Of course, I'd do a little research before you do it, my doctor told me it was a good alternative for me. The beauty of it is, if you take it for about a week you get yourself into a good sleep pattern and you'll become tired at a certain point and you won't need it anymore if that makes sense.

[Jason Harris 31]

flaming_june alluded to this, but are you having trouble sleeping because you're thinking/worrying too much?

If that is the case, you have to realize that after a certain amount of dwelling on your problems, there's not much you can do while lying in bed. You have to shut down your brain then. And have the discipline to keep it shut down even when there's a tendency to want to think about something else.

Besides that, I find reading before falling asleep helps; generally, I get to the point where I'm virtually asleep as I turn off the light.

[Downz 0]

I had this same type of sleeping problem on and off for about 3 years. As someone mentioned Melatonin is good stuff, the only problem I found is that after a while I would need to up my dosage in order to fall sleep. Something that works well for me is Tylenol PM, I definitely wouldn't recommend using it often though. My only advice, lay down in your dark room, try and clear your mind, and hope for the best. This of course didn't really work for me, or I wouldn't have had the problem for 3 years. Best of luck though, it's a real crappy problem to have.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

Have you tried some sleep medication?

Don't use over the counter sleeping pills. You'll eventually develop resistance and you won't get a good a sleep, or so I've read.

[thenizzle 0]

are you by any chance a teenager letsgowings? because i sure am and while i dont have trouble going to sleep, i dont end up going to sleep until like 2. and yes i cant go to sleep earlier, and i have t wkae up at 6 for school . Same thing goes for many of my friends. I think it just has to do with the teenage sleep timeclock, and how messed up it is for everybody.

[ktang 34]

I read an article in "Mens Health" (British version) a while ago in which it stated that teenagers (especially male) still need the 8+ hours of sleep, but for some reason can't get to sleep until much later than normal. It happened to me too when I was a teenager, but I grew out of it.

[Bruin88 0]

last year i had that problem ,now i go up to bed at 11 and fall asleep by 12

[asdfa 0]

my biology teacher said that teenager are supposed to go to sleep later and wake up later than adults/children. it's just the way their body works, unfortunately, their schedules (with school etc) can't accomodate that.

[LetsGoWings13 0]

yea i tried the melatonin and it didnt do anything. I am a teenager. My doctor will not perscribe any sleeping medicines. I really dont think about much when im laying there im just awake.

[McCabe24 0]

Two summers ago I developed the habit of staying up until around 1:30 in the morning and it ended up sticking through the school year. I got my sleep habits back in order by getting up at 6:15 everyday in the summer for work, got to the point where I could easily be sleeping by 9:30 or so. Bad time managemnt has me going to bed at 11:30 or so these days.

[hockey22 0]

i drink green tea when i can't goto sleep and it works like a charm.

[Jim A 4]

I had a cell bio teacher in college who was one of those people who only had 4-5 hours of sleep a night and was no worse for the wear..for the rest of us he still passed on a couple tidbits..that have worked for me..but ymmv..as there are different takes all over this thread..

1. at least 30-45 min before you go to sleep you should be in wind down mode..(nothing strenuous..nothing too involved..) allows you to clear your head..

2. most people have ~90 min sleep cycles..so if you are sleeping less than 6 hours..doing so with a 90min type of timer (ie..4.5 hours a lot better than 5.25) because you wake up at the top of the cycle..and not when in the deepest part of REM sleep..(which is why at times you are groggy despite getting a lot of sleep)

3. if you are in the sleep deprived part (ie. 4.5 hours of sleep or so) you need to be stimulated and active in the first 30 min to jump start your system..

I guess other things to ask: are you napping during the day? if I get one for more than 45 min or so ..I can't sleep much that night..

eliminate factors..is the light on, etc...find out what works..keep a log are you slamming red bull for 9pm hockey practice? Sudafed? etc

[Deathmoves 0]

Didnt realise so many people had the same problem as me! WoW! Though it was just me and ShaneyB. Well its 1:17am and i am just getting sleepy now <_<

[Chadd 916]

get off the computer long before you head to bed, that helps me as much as anything. I find that I need to be exhausted of I can't sleep.

[thenizzle 0]

and maybe a guiness or two will loosen you up ^ :P

[Gongshow11 1]

i actually close my eyes and try to see things that help me relax, knocks me out.

during the summer i had some gf problems so only a 6 pack would put me out, dont do that tho lol.

worse comes to worse you know what to do to make you tired quick.