Ive been having trouble sleeping more than 4 hours at a time. Anyone have a good night routine to help them sleep peacefully?
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Me too. Milk for me. Alot of people think it’s fattening to drink it before sleeping but hey, booze was worse. And tylenol because the tension was giving me a low grade headache. Thst usually helps me knock out.
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I’ll try the milk
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L-tryptophan, is what finally worked for me. It’s an amino acid/vitamin, depending on your deficiencies it might take up to 4 pills 30 minutes before bedtime in the beginning, but start with 1 and work your way up. You can find it on Amazon.
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Lunesta…. It requires a prescription but worth it
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Hi Evan, I have a technique that helps me calm my mind and fall to sleep peacefully. I play disc golf. So when I close my eyes to sleep, I play a round of disc golf in my imagination. If my thoughts drift to negative thinking, I redirect them back to the game. I have also done the by imagining myself fishing. I try to make sure not to imagine things with crazy expectations. Like an ace(hole in one) on every hole. That is what finally helped me. I also use the serenity prayer to help direct my thoughts when I am falling down the negative rabbit hole.
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Melatonin and and a mediation app. I fall asleep pretty fast.
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A lot of us experience sleep issues in early sobriety. Milk, melatonin, magnesium and L-tryptophan have all been known to work. Exercise (even a simple walk) helps too. Try different things until you find what works for you. I would stay away from anything addictive like prescription sleeping pills.
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Lifetime foe of insomnia here.
Non -Rx options: melatonin works for many but only a night or two here. CBD gummies geared toward relaxation help me better. Chamomile tea is awesome (Sleepy time brand) I followed the supplement regimen of a popular neuroscientist for sleep : L- theanine, magnesium threonate, and Apigenin with mixed results. Apigenin is the best of the bunch, shitting down your frontal cortex if you overthink lying in bed. L- tryptophan and GABA based sleep aids are sporadic with me but work well for many. Personally, I'd take CBD gummies with GABA , tryptophan, and or Apigenin . You kinda gotta figure out your own combo by mix n matching over weekends or breaks.
Rx options: benedryl makes me feel weird . Doxylamine succinate works for a night or two. These previous two are the most common ingredients in OTC night time meds. NyQuil of course has 10% alcohol in it for the record. I currently am prescribed hydroxyzine and Seraquel, 25 and 100mg respectively. Trazadone has worked in the past. Currently best combo is my Rx Seraquel and hydroxyzine with Apigenin and GABA supplements. I know the he ll of not being able to sleep. Good luck my friend.
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Oh yeah, exercise of course helps. For whatever reason, weight -training helps me sleep far more than cardio 🤷, but both absolutely help
I was taught a simple sleep meditation exercise that does help me.
Eyes closed but not with effort. Start breathing on an even count. 1, 2, 3,4,5. Just regular breath.
On your back. Hands down at your side.
Start with your feet. Curl the toes tight for a five count. After five release to relaxed position.
While doing this imagine a ball spinning while the excercise is in motion and let it slow on relax. Like a car with foot on the gas.at a reasonable rate of speed. Not too fast. Not super slow.
Next feet stretched. 5 & relax. Feet toes up for 5 & relax.
Belly tightened for 5 & relax.
Hands in a fist tight for 5 & relax.
Forearms tightened for 5 & relax.
biceps flexed for 5 & relax.
Shoulders puled back towards the spine for 5 & relax.
Head looking up tilt right for 5 & relax.
Head looking up tilt left for 5 and relax.
Now the sphere is most often blue in peoples mind. While breathing evenly slowly let it spin but slowly turn purple, green, yellow, to orange like a sunset.
As it spins slowly let it get smaller until it disappears. Slowly open your eyes and then gently close again. You should be easily falling asleep.
It might ale a few tries. Nothing wrong with repeating if needed.
Focus on the breathing , the count, and the sphere.
Sleep well my friend.
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I got a prescription for Trazadone. It helped a ton the first month. Now I take it once or twice a month when I can tell I can’t sleep.
Ashwaganda gummies do me wonders. I don’t take them anymore, but when I was early in recovery they were a godsend. I couldn’t sleep to save my life, was riddled with anxiety, and was super scared to take any prescription in fear of becoming dependent. My fiancé bought some and gave them to me and it helped keep me focused and in the moment throughout the day, killed the anxiety, and I slept like a baby. I started with one a day, but quickly tapered off. Highly recommend.
Evan, I'm 7 months sober and still have issues staying asleep.. I wake up about 10-20 times a night, but luckily, I'm usually able to fall back asleep. I'd talk to your Dr.. wish I had the remedy for you and myself.
These are the ones she got me.
Hey Evan! Worth looking at gabapentin with your doctor. It’s used off label for anxiety and insomnia (as well as alcohol use disorder withdrawals) and has had no side effects for me. It also is non addictive and doesn’t give me a knockout feeling. I struggled most with sleep maintenance vs onset and this was a game changer.
dont sleep during the day. make sure there are no lights of any type in the room. no coffee, chocolate or anything that might have caffeine in it. exercise and eat dinner early