Can't sleep. :(

I've been having sleeping issues for a while now. I can't think of any reason why I can't sleep, I have nothing on my mind or anything, etc. Anyway, I JUST CAN'T SLEEP! I get only a few hours sleep a night and when I'm working all day long at school on top of sport, etc., I'M JUST SO TIRED!!!

I've been to the doctor many times, first I got some useless booklet [I tried every suggestion on it], second, I got some sleeping pills. They worked quite well and gave me a good night's sleep. But now the doctor won't give me anymore, because "they're bad for you". Yes, I agree, they're not going to be great for you, but neither is getting a few hours sleep a night. During the day I am SHATTERED, irritable, moody, severely lack concentration, I fall asleep in lessons, I have no enthusiasm for anything or energy. I'm so sick of it! The doctor won't do anything, he just said, "Yes, some people do sleep badly, you just have to get over it and try your best to sleep." EASIER SAID THAN DONE!

So what do I do now??? It's ruining everything!

P.S Herbal sleeping pills don't work on me.

Reply 1

~tifa

try reading a book before going to bed...that usually helps. pick a text book. they tend to be boring.
or try shower before you jump in bed?
hot choclate?
a teddy?

sleeping pills is definitely not a good option.

I had the same problem...but I know the reason that keeps me up ....-thoughts of someone-

Reply 2

Anthony Arundel

Sleeping pills truly are a bad route to choose. I've been through exactly the same, and pretty much demanded a prescription, like your typical "I'm boss" patient. In the end, they'll only make the problem worse. What you'll find is that they'll provide some relief in the short-term, but you'll feel very drowsy in the daytime, and, after some time, they'll stop working, but you've become addicted to the point you now have no hope of sleeping without them. Don't be tempted.

I would certainly not advise any of the following: hot chocolate/milk; alcohol; lavender; herbal tablets (as you know); reading (absolutely not!); a bath; a shower; a change of bed; gregorian plainsongs or whatever other soothing music might come to mind.

Here's what I would suggest: there may be something subconsciously bugging you. This is what is happening a lot of the time. The brain is a mass of signals, like a load of TV channels chattering away at once. Before you go to bed, keep a sort of diary - nothing too fussy, just something in which you can gradually siphon off all those things whirring around your mind, just below the surface. Think about all the little things you have to do, and that are secretly stressing you; your work, your errands, your fears, the crush you have (you might want to write that in Urdu or something), any creative ideas, etc., and make a sort of to-do list. In that way, all these things are safely transferred from your mind to paper, where they can't get to you, and they're ready to be attacked each new day, when you wake. I would seriously, heartily, recommend this.

Good luck with whatever course you take. :smile:

Reply 3

Lady Venom

Hot milky drinks, a long run, a boring book, a bath with lavender oil in it, rescue remedy (relaxes you!), stop worrying about not being able to sleep and don't clock watch.

Lie on your back and close your eyes and think of nothing and you'll soon drift off.

Reply 4

Anthony Arundel

InaSpin

Hot milky drinks, a long run, a boring book, a bath with lavender oil in it, rescue remedy (relaxes you!)

Well, that's just about everything that I've dismissed. :wink:

Well, it's not that I'd warn against them, but they are generally ineffective. It sounds like you've got real, embedded sleeping issues. These sorts of remedies are superficial, for someone in need of a sleeping catalyst, not a cure. And avoid "a long run" like the plague. Any doctor will tell you exercise in the evening is not a good idea for good sleeping. A long run in the morning, on the other hand - well, that's probably okay.

Reply 5

noodles!

Sounds kinda odd but tense each bit of your body then relax it. Like your feet, then your legs etc... it really does work!!

I won't be sleeping tonight.... I had a daddy long legs in my uni room, and someone who lives in one of the other flats in the hall has had to come and get it out for me and I don't know her and what if it's not gone?

But that aside, it really could be that there's something not conciously on your mind but it's there. When I was in year 11 I couldn't sleep for fear of my Japanese oral, but I never realised it was that at all.