What do you take to help you sleep?

My doctor prescribed me Hydroxyzine when I came down with a case of hives a few years back. It's an "anti-itch, anti-stress, help-you-sleep" medication and is non-addictive (not on schedule You take 1-4 tablets. I have terrible insomnia/ mine is cyclical (hormonal). I, too, have no problem getting to sleep, but I then I wake up and either can't get back to sleep or sleep fitfully with lots of totally disturbing dreams. The hydroxyzine totally helps.
 
3:15 half way through my first cup of coffee. I live like a farmer in bed at sunset and up at sunrise. I already had my 8 hours of sleep.

I am a napper 20 minutes at about 9AM, and 20 minutes after lunch 1PM.

My drug of choice about 10 oz of pinot noir between 4-6PM.
 
Don't take Tylenol or any OTC sleeping crap. All that will mess you up long term. Do take melatonin only from a reliable source as most of the supplements they sell in amazon are crap. You can take 6 mgs of melatonin with not problem. Melatonin is also an excellent antioxidant as well so it is good for you. People who say melatonin supplements are not good for you have not done proper research. Get good brands like Life Extension, Designs for Health, Thorne or Pure encapsulations. Get a sustain release type. Take 3 mgs when you go to bed and 1.5 mg to 3 mgs more when you wake up in the middle of the night. Do not take drugs, specially Xanax as suggested above, unless you have a diagnosed clinical problem. Go to a Functional Doctor, not your GP. GPs don't know anything about nutrition and only will prescribe a drug without doing any tests just to see if it works and come see me 4 weeks later. GPs sometimes mess you up. Find the root cause of why you are waking up at 2 am. It could be the following: Cortisol spiking. Cortisol is the wake up hormone, which is contrary to Melatonin and that is what wakes you up in the morning. Melatonin makes you sleepy at night only if you provide the right environment for its release. Have a bedtime routine: turn the lights down when it gets dark, use blue blocking glasses. Avoid screen time after 7 pm. Stop eating 3 hours before bed. Meditate before bed. CBD before bed is excellent for sleeping. Eat whole nutritious dense food. Avoid processed and junk food and sugars. Have low temperature when sleeping, say 68 degrees. have a very dark room or wear a face mask, tape your mouth. Take a cortisol management supplement like LesLabs Cortisol Manager when going to bed. The other cause for you to wake up at 2 am is because your insulin is spiking. Get checked for diabetes. Take a teaspoon of honey before going to bed which will keep your insulin stable. Avoid caffeine or alcohol as much as possible. Exercise but not too close to bed. Again, I strongly suggest that you find a good Functional Doctor to help you find the root cause. Sleep is a natural circadian rhythm response that a healthy body has. Hope this helps
 
CBD and/or THC microdoses...just a drop or two otherwise the sleep is "trippy" :angel:
 
Try an anti-depressant called Mirtazapine at a low dose. Very effective and no side effects and so low a dose it is not considered therapeutic except for sleep (off label). Works like a dream. If you can fall asleep and then wake up around 2 am take one and you will sleep like a baby. Talk to your doctor. Been taking this medication for years, when needed.
 
I can usually fall asleep but tend to wake up at 2am sometimes. To alleviate this, I keep a 3mg melatonin and a glass of water by the bed. If I wake up at 2am, taking that melatonin will put me back out until 7am. Taking it when going to bed is too early, and it wears off by 2am, so a 2am dose is a better solution for me.
 
If I wake up and can't get back to sleep, I tell my Amazon Echo to play the news, or a podcast, and I tell it to set a 1 hour sleep timer so that it stops in 1 hour. I'm usually sound asleep again within that hour. Of course this won't work if you have someone else nearby.
 
My best sleep technique: Being intimate with your partner.
 
I have chronic insomnia. I can fall asleep but I wake up a couple of hours later and can’t fall back asleep again. My doctor prescribed 50mg of Trazodone years ago for me. I take one pill right before I want to go to sleep and it helps me to gradually fall and stay asleep without any side effects (other than vivid dreams). I wake up feeling good. And while I’ve been taking it nightly for years, I’ve never needed more than 50mg.
 
There’s a new prescription Ambien that’s for middle of the night insomnia. It’s 1.6mg and you use it sublingually. Instead of doing that I cut up a 10mg into 6 pieces (need strong readers and a sharp blade). Then a 3am I just crush it between my teeth and take it sublingually as well.

Definitely works. Just don’t like the fact that I need to do it quite often as I’m constantly waking up at 3am, and really have nothing on my mind that should cause it.
 
bmcgonig said:
There’s a new prescription Ambien that’s for middle of the night insomnia. It’s 1.6mg and you use it sublingually. Instead of doing that I cut up a 10mg into 6 pieces (need strong readers and a sharp blade). Then a 3am I just crush it between my teeth and take it sublingually as well.

Definitely works. Just don’t like the fact that I need to do it quite often as I’m constantly waking up at 3am, and really have nothing on my mind that should cause it.
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While not strictly speaking an "addiction" it would seem your body has now become accustomed to the "routine" of waking at 3AM/Ambien hit. I would be certain your doctor is okay with your regimen since YMMV.
 
Benzodiazepines (Ambien) and antihistamines (ZQuil) shouldn’t be used routinely for insomnia. We become tolerant to these medications over time and require larger and larger doses. I worry that people who in retirement with less stress are taking stuff routinely for insomnia.

Waking up at 3AM is my normal. I read on my Kindle app on my phone or play word or puzzle games. I’ve not been tempted to use anything pharmacological except recently experimenting with a little melatonin now and then.
 
EastWest Gal said:
Benzodiazepines (Ambien) and antihistamines (ZQuil) shouldn’t be used routinely for insomnia. We become tolerant to these medications over time and require larger and larger doses. I worry that people who in retirement with less stress are taking stuff routinely for insomnia.

Waking up at 3AM is my normal. I read on my Kindle app on my phone or play word or puzzle games. I’ve not been tempted to use anything pharmacological except recently experimenting with a little melatonin now and then.
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Regular kindles are not that expensive and eliminate blue light, in fact the screen lightness can be adjusted as well. I usually spend an hour before bed reading on a regular kindle with only a small lamp lit on my dresser. Also turn on my sound machine as I read. I can/will read kindle during a wake up too.
 
Ready said:
I have chronic insomnia. I can fall asleep but I wake up a couple of hours later and can’t fall back asleep again. My doctor prescribed 50mg of Trazodone years ago for me. I take one pill right before I want to go to sleep and it helps me to gradually fall and stay asleep without any side effects (other than vivid dreams). I wake up feeling good. And while I’ve been taking it nightly for years, I’ve never needed more than 50mg.
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Trazodone comes with a black box warning...aren't all drug sleep aids supposed to be for sporadic use? Ambien as well ?
 
ivinsfan said:
Regular kindles are not that expensive and eliminate blue light, in fact the screen lightness can be adjusted as well. I usually spend an hour before bed reading on a regular kindle with only a small lamp lit on my dresser. Also turn on my sound machine as I read. I can/will read kindle during a wake up too.
Click to expand...

I don't want to turn on any light with DH sleeping next to me. There is a dark setting on the Kindle app-black background, white text. Very low light andI have a regular Kindle I use during the day.
 
EastWest Gal said:
I don't want to turn on any light with DH sleeping next to me. There is a dark setting on the Kindle app-black background, white text. Very low light andI have a regular Kindle I use during the day.
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That's why I use a plain kindle so I don't disturb my hubby..
 
Koolau said:
While not strictly speaking an "addiction" it would seem your body has now become accustomed to the "routine" of waking at 3AM/Ambien hit. I would be certain your doctor is okay with your regimen since YMMV.
Click to expand...



My body was very accustomed to this before I started Ambien. However I’m sure it’s complicated.
 
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ivinsfan said:
Regular kindles are not that expensive and eliminate blue light
Click to expand...

iPhones have Night Shift that does this too. It’s in Settings. I have mine set to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise.

The Kindle app has a light and dark theme, but can also be set to track the iPhone’s Dark Mode automatically (“Update Page Using System Theme”). In the day time I like black text on a white background and at night the reverse. It all happens automatically when you set it up right.
 
bmcgonig said:
Has anyone tried Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. CBTI? It’s getting a lot of buzz these days.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/in-depth/insomnia-treatment/art-20046677
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I highly recommend this book: Say Good Night to Insomnia, by Gregg D. Jacobs. I began the 6-week program but found the sleep restriction impossible. I have sleep hygiene down pat, meditating twice daily, doing all the "right" things. I wake around 3 a.m., feel totally relaxed, my mind isn't spinning, but I cannot return to sleep. I wouldn't care except it isn't enough sleep for me and I feel miserable during the day. I would love nothing more than CBT to work for me but my issue appears to be hormones/menopause. My doctor prescribed a low dose of 100mg gabapentin and it's working for me. If I were you I would try CBT, I was impressed with results of studies and really wanted it to work.
 
Listen to podcasts. Puts me right to sleep. I use an earbud so it stays in or I start dozing and take it out. Works everytime.
 
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