What can I do to help me fall asleep at night  besides sleeping pills?
457395
i have always been quite the insomniac.  luckily for me, I'm on a night shift now, and seeing as i enjoy staying up late i just do and it's fine.  however i wasn't always on a night shift so i can give u some of my techniques.\n\n1.)  first of all, u don't want pills?  is this a health thing like you don't like taking pills? u could try herbal supplements.  Valerian root and melatonin are the two best.  melatonin will always be in pill form that i know of, but it's just a replicate of the exact same chemical that your brain uses to put you to sleep.  it's either the best stuff out there or it won't work at all. that depends on you.  Valerian root on the other hand, has one major benefit for you.  it doesn't to be a pill.  u can actually buy this in it's natural form and i think u boil it in some water.  there may also be some herbal teas that have it.\n\n2.)ur second bet is herbal teas.  there are alot of them available a  sleep aid and even if they don't have Valerian root they do have other things that work.  and drinking something warm before u go to bed usually helps you go to sleep anyhow.  warm milk can sometimes do it for me.  you need to make sure, however, that you do not drink anything with sugar or caffeine in it at least 2 hours before you go to bed.  if i have to go to bed at ten, i don't drink caffeine after 5 pm, or not at all if i can help it.  also, u might try not smoking about a half hour before sleeping if u r a smoker.\n\n3.) another thing u can try is a sleep CD.  my friend Whitney swears by some of them.  they have music or sounds or just gentle whispering and she says that some of hers will put u to sleep within 5 minutes of starting them.\n\n4.) make sure that you have the most comfortable bed set up possible.  if your like me, your body and mind love finding any excuse to get up, and the wrong pillow blanket and mattress is an easy target.  i love the foam pillows but the foam mattresses suck for me.  but it all depends on you. if you sleep in clothes, make sure they are soft and loose.  it's better to sleep in the nude, however. also keeping a room a bit too cold for ur tastes but having plenty of cover is a great way to go to sleep.  you'll wrap urself up tightly and u won;t move.  soon you'll be asleep.  i always sleep better in winter.\n\n5.) reading or watching a television show that just DOES NOT INTEREST YOU is another way.  i watch the news because i hate the news.  sometimes the news can conk me out in the middle of the day.  \n\n6.)there are plenty of meditation exercises out there and lots of them can relax you to the point of sleepiness.  instructions for quite a few should be available on line, but try this one: breath in and fill your lungs all the way up.  imagine that when you breathe in you are breathing in a number (the number one for the first breath and so on).  fill ur lungs up completely with ones.  then breath out all of the ones (emptying ur lungs completely) and then continue with the number two. sounds crazy but it does relax you and if ur laying on ur back in ur bed, it can actually put you to sleep.\n\ni hope one of these works!!
164014
What I do when I am too stressed to fall asleep is: Fix some hot chamomile tea with honey and soak in a hot bubble bath with candles and relaxation/ocean music in the bathroom.  It is very relaxing.  Then, I usually play the relaxation music while I fall asleep.  Normally I don't listen to music when I sleep.  \nIt is good to set a pattern before going to bed each night.  For example, I know it is bedtime when I brush out my hair, wash my face, and brush my teeth.  My routine is simple.  Other people might have a certain drink, read a book, play a certain song, do a certain stretch routine, etc.  It is just the idea of doing a routine every night that creates a habit.  That habit will eventually sink into your subconcious and you will relate that habit to going to sleep.
944185
Try this:\nThe idea is to tone down mind and body activities hours before sleep so you will get to sleep easier...\nSome useful steps:\n1. Drink less coffee, tea or any other drinks that contain caffeine, especially after later part of afternoon.\n2. Try going to bed at the same time every night.\n3. Avoid alcoholic drinks after evening time as alcoholic drinks may cause early morning wakefulness and may wake you up after your sleep.\n4. Ensure your sleeping environment is suitable for sleeping (not too noisy, not too bright, not too cold, bed not uncomfortable)\n5. Avoid heavy meals hours prior to sleep.\n6. Stop all mind-stimulating activities 1 hour before going to bed (activities like reading research papers, reading mystery solving books, doing your school work, solving a complicated Maths question, watching your computer, watching TV, etc)\n7. Half an hour before bed, take a warm bath. Then drink a cup of WARM milk.\n8. As you lie on bed, take a deep breath and as you breath out, slowly, imagine you have abandoned your body. Imagine that your body slowly 'sinks' into your bed and become 'blended' into the bed. As you are imagining, take another deep breath and count 1. * As you breath out, slowly, now imagine your body is like water ripples spreading out, slowly. Take deep breath again and count 2 and repeat the process (from the place i marked with a *). Start counting from 1 again when you reach 9 or any number you prefer...\nHope this help. Email me if you have queries.
756855
If you're trying to fall asleep, I suggest Benadryl, also called diphenhydramine.  It's an antihistamine which causes sleepiness.  Take one capsule about 1/2 hour before you go to bed.\n\nIf you're trying to pass out because you can't deal with your life, I suggest you get help.  Seriously.
94362
I have dealt with insomnia too, and one of the best things you can do is create a regular sleep/wake cycle. Try to go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time every morning. It can be hard at first, but it really does help, and you'll feel better emotionally.\nAlso, you can try these tips:\n-cut back on coffee, tea, and soft drinks that contain caffeine; instead drink clear soft drinks like 7-Up and Sprite, or caffeine-free sodas like root beer\n-avoid eating large, heavy meals before going to bed\n-don't exercise too soon before going to bed\n-relax yourself before bed with a hot bath, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation (see my link), etc.\n-have a glass of warm milk and half a turkey sandwich about 30 minutes before going to bed; both contain tryptophan, which will help you sleep\n-don't use your bedroom as a place to work, eat, watch TV, etc.; it should be a place to sleep and rest and that's it\n-avoid alcoholic drinks in the evening\n-listen to calm, soothing music before bed and while you're trying to sleep\n-sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillow\n-keep your room at a cool temperature\n-practice deep breathing exercises (see link)\n-avoid naps if they interfere with your sleep/wake cycle\n-once you're in bed, visualize a safe, peaceful scene, like the beach or a rainy day\n-establish a bedtime ritual before going to sleep to key your body to relax; follow the ritual every night\n-keep your bedroom dark\n-sleep in a well-ventilated room\n-don't watch TV, read, or do any other mentally stimulating activity before bed\n-try to get into the habit of sleeping on your back... it's the best position for relaxing because it allows for deep, restful breathing\n\nGood luck!
721195
Try not to close your eyes, when you want to sleep. You must have a gap between your sleeping schedule. If you cannot sleep, try to massage the outer side of ur eyes, circling the eyes and then the forehead with your fingers. You will feel better and I hope you can sleep faster. Avoid to take sleeping pills, otherwise you will be habitual and then you couldn't sleep without those pills. I hope this helps you.
60634
I had a bad problem with insomnia for many years, and did some research on it.  Here are the things I’ve found that help the most.\n\n1.  Don't take the sleeping pills.  Although they are not addictive in the way we tend to think (you won't jones for them if you miss taking them) they are addictive in the sense that once you have taken them for a while, you will have to take them to get to sleep, but they won't have the same effect they used too.   This is because you tend to not get the necessary REM sleep you need to be rested.  If you must take a sleeping pill, take it well before you go to sleep.  For instance, I prefer to take sleeping pills 2 hours before I go to sleep, so that the pill can get into my system and make me drowsy before I get into bed, then get out of my system (hopefully) early enough that I get some normal sleep.\n\n2.  Try to go to bed at about the same time every night.  You have some wiggle room on this, but if you stay out on Saturday night till 3, it'll be harder to go to sleep at 10PM Sunday.\n\n(Which somewhat contradicts:)\n\n3.  If possible, don't go to bed if you're not sleepy.  Note  - one thing I have read and found to be true is that you have to be awake for 12 hours before you can go back to sleep.  So if you sleep till noon, again, you won't be sleepy at 10PM.  \n\n4.  Don't spend more than 15-30 minutes trying to get to sleep.  If you notice that you've been in bed more than 15 minutes, get out of bed and do something for a while.  Make sure what you do isn't going to make you more hyper; e.g. no exercising or energetic music or writing posts to Great Debates (or reading GD for that matter ;) ). \n\n5.  When you go to bed, choose a chore or some other task that you do not want to do and tell yourself that if you are still awake in thirty minutes you will do that task.  Then, if you are still awake, get up and do your chosen task.  This is my favorite suggestion, as it has worked nearly every time I've used it. .\n\nThose are the most useful suggestions I have.  Other things you can try:\n\nBefore you start getting ready for sleep, turn off high energy music and turn the lights down.  I love R&R music, but I went through a period where I had to turn the radio off every night about an hour before I went to bed, or I would be to wired to sleep. And our bodies react to reduced light by producing melatonin which puts us to sleep.  \n\nGet plenty of exercise, but not right before bed.  (Unless you're weird like me - exercise right before bed just puts me to sleep)\n\nAnother suggestion that might work is to relax your body, consciously, one area at a time, starting from your feet. You think about the ball of your left foot and relax it, then the ball of your right foot, then the arch of your left foot, etc. You have to concentrate (pretty hard) on what you are doing.\n\nSex :D  by yourself or with an SO, it produces a nice soporific chemical, which does a nice job of putting you to sleep.
977651
Top Ten Tips For Beating Insomnia\n\n1. If you have an alarm clock with a large bright display, place it out of sight. The last thing you need when trying to sleep is a constant reminder of how late it is - stressing over being awake will keep you awake!\n\n2. Eliminate as much light as possible, including light from alarm clocks and vcr panels. \n\n3. If your sleep is interrupted by outside sounds, try masking them with the sound of an air fan, a radio tuned to static or by using a white noise machine. \n\n4. Keep a moderate ambient temperature - if it's too hot or cold your body won't want to relax\n\n5. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine or alcohol. It's best to abstain from these altogether but if you can't then try to avoid them before late afternoon/ early evening. \n\n6. Even if you're tired during the day don't take naps as this will it make it harder for you to get to sleep at night.\n\n7. Don't exercise too close to bedtime (at least 3 hours) as your body needs time to wind down and will keep your mind awake. \n\n8. Adopt a 'going to bed' routine, a ritual that signals your brain that the day is ending and it's time to shut down. Don't do any work or any puzzle-solving during this ritual.\n\n9. Only use your bed for sleep or sex. Don't fill your bedroom with computers, tvs or anything not to do with restful activities. \n\n10. If you haven't dropped off to sleep within half an hour, don't lay there stressing over it. Get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy.
63281
Read a book.  Take Valerian Root and drink Chamomile tea and warm milk ... stay away from activities that may "stimulate" the mind ... listen to music, and fortunately I have a subliminal tape that induces sleep .... listen calming music ... listen comedians, because when the "mind" is happy, it is much easier to fall asleep.
435238
There are several things that may affect your sleep problem.\n\nTry and relax before u go to bed, dont work-out excersice. take a shower, that helps to relax ur muscles. Avoid watching Television right before u sleep, try and avoid eating sweet. Also dont drink any ligquid right before u go to bed. Do u have a nice comfortable bed? if not get one. Sometimes a mattress pad works better than a new mattress.\nReading really helps me sleep faster. Try and take atleast an hour before u go to sleep to shower and unwind.
185345
try melatonin, 3mg a night helps you get back a normal sleep cycle. its also NATURAL, no habit forming, and you dont feel groggy in the am, i use it every night.
695849
How do you sleep at night?
1170032
Stay awake until your normal bedtime and this should help put you back on track.  Your body cannot store sleep like a battery.  If you need to sleep late on the weekend, then it is to make up for the sleep deficiency you built up during the week.  It this happens a lot then you might want to adjust your sleep habits so you get more sleep.  Believe it or not you can sleep too much which will make you tired, and yes you can get too tired to sleep well.  The only cure is to stay up until you fall asleep.\n\nWhen you have sleeping problems again try:  Warm Milk at bedtime (yes it works, and it is natural).  Take Melatoin, a neurotransmitter normally produced by the body.  It can be found in most supermarkets and drug stores at a reasonable price.  Develop good Sleep Hygiene; remove the TV from the bedroom, sleep in a dark place, only use your bedroom for sleeping so when you go to bed your body will know it is time to sleep.  If after 20 minutes you don’t fall asleep then get out of bed and do something quiet (read or watch TV) for 20 minutes.  Avoid caffeine after noon, and don’t eat an hour before going to bed (the stomach is still working so it won’t want to go to sleep).  If noises at night disturbs you then get a fan and run it all night, the fan will cover most noises, and your body will get used to the constant noise pretty quickly (make sure you don’t have it on rotate so it won’t disturb you by waving across you, if it gets too cold then point it away from you.\n\nIf the problem continues then you might want to talk with a doctor.  Trazodone is a good medication for this.  It is safe and reasonably priced.  It is an antidepressant, but not a very good one.  It has one major side effect, it makes you sleepy, and it can be used safely for years (after 5-6 years I started hearing a ringing in my ears, which is another side effect, so I stopped taking it, but after being off it for years I am taking it now with no problems.  Drugs like Ambien are meant to only be used for a short time (2 weeks or so), and recently we have heard of problems like sleep walking, sleep driving, or sleep eating (I took it for over 2 years with no problem though).  If these sleep problems continue then you might need a specialist and a sleep study.
647143
At least an hour before you plan to go to bed, do something relaxing...anything...take a bath, listen to soothing tunes, read a book that is not too engrossing. That should help you to nod off. Don't rely on sleeping pills. You just have to make yourself calm down.
173817
Stay up all night then the next day youll be very tired but only go ot sleep like at 10:00. Ive tried it because it takes me a while to fall asleep too.
255101
Generally if you can't sleep but are tired you are considered to have insomnia. \n\nIf this has been happening for more than a few weeks and none of the following suggestions help, you may want to talk to a doctor.\n\nI had a bad problem with insomnia for many years, and did some research on it.  Here are the things I’ve found that help the most.\n\n1.  Don't take the sleeping pills.  Although they are not addictive in the way we tend to think (you won't jones for them if you miss taking them) they are addictive in the sense that once you have taken them for a while, you will have to take them to get to sleep, but they won't have the same effect they used too.   This is because you tend to not get the necessary REM sleep you need to be rested.  If you must take a sleeping pill, take it well before you go to sleep.  For instance, I prefer to take sleeping pills 2 hours before I go to sleep, so that the pill can get into my system and make me drowsy before I get into bed, then get out of my system (hopefully) early enough that I get some normal sleep.\n\n2.  Try to go to bed at about the same time every night.  You have some wiggle room on this, but if you stay out on Saturday night till 3, it'll be harder to go to sleep at 10PM Sunday.\n\n(Which somewhat contradicts:)\n\n3.  If possible, don't go to bed if you're not sleepy.  Note  - one thing I have read and found to be true is that you have to be awake for 12 hours before you can go back to sleep.  So if you sleep till noon, again, you won't be sleepy at 10PM.  \n\n4.  Don't spend more than 15-30 minutes trying to get to sleep.  If you notice that you've been in bed more than 15 minutes, get out of bed and do something for a while.  Make sure what you do isn't going to make you more hyper; e.g. no exercising or energetic music or writing posts to online debates. \n\n5.  When you go to bed, choose a chore or some other task that you do not want to do and tell yourself that if you are still awake in thirty minutes you will do that task.  Then, if you are still awake, get up and do your chosen task.  This is my favorite suggestion, as it has worked nearly every time I've used it. .\n\nThose are the most useful suggestions I have.  Other things you can try:\n\nBefore you start getting ready for sleep, turn off high energy music and turn the lights down.  I love R&R music, but I went through a period where I had to turn the radio off every night about an hour before I went to bed, or I would be too wired to sleep. And our bodies react to reduced light by producing melatonin which puts us to sleep.  \n\nGet plenty of exercise, but not right before bed.  (Unless you're weird like me - exercise right before bed just puts me to sleep)\n\nAnother suggestion that might work is to relax your body, consciously, one area at a time, starting from your feet. You think about the ball of your left foot and relax it, then the ball of your right foot, then the arch of your left foot, etc. You have to concentrate (pretty hard) on what you are doing.
722710
Try taking like Motrin or Motrin pm, it helps to relax you. And when you go to sleep don't try  forcing yourself to sleep. Just try to meditate. It does work sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep too. Just take deep breaths and slow your breathing, it should help to make you tired and then you can go to sleep. Make sure the lights are off, it will help too. Hope this helps