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If you have not tried melatonin then you should. It works great and has no side effects and is not habit-forming. You buy it at health food stores (WalMart even has it). Give it a try.
20yrsinBranson
I wouldn't say "no side effects." Melatonin is notorious for causing vivid, strange, and unusual dreams.
That's because the dosage in the OTC supplements is way too high. You only need a small amount to be effective for sleeping. BTW, tart cherry juice is a natural source for melatonin too.
The dosage in supplements isn't regulated, because it's not a prescription drug, in the USA.
Also, melatonin is only effective if you have a sleep-cycle disorder; if your circadian rhythms are functioning properly, it won't do a damned thing for you and might even cause new sleep problems on top of whatever ones you already have.
The best thing you can do, is to -not- follow any herbal advice here, UNTIL you first go to a sleep specialist (there are actual sleep centers all around the country), who can interview you and possibly even schedule you for a sleep study. I didn't need the study, but many people benefit from it. Biorhythm/meditation methods are often advised and found effective, without any kind of medication or supplement at all. Sometimes it's just a matter of exercising more during the day, or adjusting the types of foods you're eating, or your caffeine intake.
And sometimes you need meds. It really depends on the nature/cause of your sleeping problem; you have determined it's anxiety - but what is *causing* that anxiety? Is it a brain function problem? Psychiatric, or psychological? That's something you need a physician to help you discover; you won't find the answer here on a forum. Once you get a definitive answer (or at least something more definitive than general anxiety), you can be in a better position to learn what will work most efficiently AND safely for your particular needs.
Last edited by AnonChick; 10-16-2010 at 09:29 PM..
Reason: I spelled definitive wrong the first time :)
The dosage in supplements isn't regulated, because it's not a prescription drug, in the USA.
Also, melatonin is only effective if you have a sleep-cycle disorder; if your circadian rhythms are functioning properly, it won't do a damned thing for you and might even cause new sleep problems on top of whatever ones you already have.
The best thing you can do, is to -not- follow any herbal advice here, UNTIL you first go to a sleep specialist (there are actual sleep centers all around the country), who can interview you and possibly even schedule you for a sleep study. I didn't need the study, but many people benefit from it. Biorhythm/meditation methods are often advised and found effective, without any kind of medication or supplement at all. Sometimes it's just a matter of exercising more during the day, or adjusting the types of foods you're eating, or your caffeine intake.
And sometimes you need meds. It really depends on the nature/cause of your sleeping problem; you have determined it's anxiety - but what is *causing* that anxiety? Is it a brain function problem? Psychiatric, or psychological? That's something you need a physician to help you discover; you won't find the answer here on a forum. Once you get a definitive answer (or at least something more definitive than general anxiety), you can be in a better position to learn what will work most efficiently AND safely for your particular needs.
I agree. Going to a sleep specialist was the best thing I ever did for myself.
Wow. Sounds like you have lots of unresolved issues. Have you tried therapy? For the insomnia, I have lots of suggestions . . . of course make sure you get a check up to rule out any medical issues. I would say to try to eat an organic diet as much as possible and get rid of as many toxins as you can in your environment . . . cleaning supplies, etc. If you have carpet, steam clean it with vinegar, otherwise, just keep everything really clean . . . prayer works, even if you don't know who you are praying to . . . just try it as an experiment. Inner Balance is a natural supplement that I think is very effective. Hot bath or shower before bed, write all of your worries down before bed . . .put "EFT" into the search engine at YouTube and watch some videos. It is amazing and can help your anxiety or any other problem you are having. Good luck!
I was just going to make a new post on this topic myself! Great info here.
I am however curious to see if anyone can give me some specific advice too.
I have always been a night person, and even on an average working day it wasn't unusual for me to stay up until anywhere from midnight to 2, even though I had to be up for work by 6.
Now that I have been unemployed for 6 months and I haven't really had an alarm clock to answer to in A LONG TIME, my sleeping habits are completely haywire. Most days I end up staying up until 4 AM, and not be choice either. I've found that even if I try to lay down and fall asleep around 1-2 AM, it just won't happen for another 2-3 hours and all I do is toss and turn in bed in the dark and get frustrated when I check the time again and I still haven't fallen asleep. So I would say that on most days I sleep until 10-12:30 and then go about my day. I'm also compounding the problem by taking naps at irregular hours of the day, like 2 in the afternoon, or 7:30-8ish at night. I reach a point where my lack of sleep catches up with me and I just feel FLOORED by it and I have to lay down then. So I end up napping for 2 or 3 hours and get back up and once again, I don't fall asleep until 4 or so.
I'm not drinking any caffine AT ALL since my college years consisted of A LOT of All Nighters to get my projects done so I don't have a tolerance for caffine anymore and it will REALLY keep me up, not to mention it seems to give me stomach problems. I've tried on many occasions to go the the gym late at night and get in a 40-45 min. cardio workout in to tire myself out, but that doesn't seem to help either. In fact, I think it has the opposite effect because then I'm probably full of adrenaline!
As for my tolerance for medicine and drowsiness, none of it really effects me. Benadryl, Sudafed, etc. never really make me drowsy. Even when I take pain killers like Vicodin I don't really feel any effect.
It sounds like the Melatonin and Magnesium would be a good thing to try and I'm going to pick some up, but I'm wondering if there are any Over the Counter sleep aids that I should try too, if any might be strong enough based on my normal medication tolerance?
I start working TWO part time jobs this week, and I get the feeling that I will be working opening shifts at one of them pretty soon, so I can't stay up til 4 and go to work 2 hours later! I'm sure that actually WORKING for 4-7 hours at a time moving around frequently and being on my feet all day will help, but I'm just worried about oversleeping too.
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