Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
Hi,
What started as an intermittent problem when I moved into a new apartment has now escalated to daily routine. Literally every night , no matter if it's the weekend or workday, I wake up at this hour and can't go back to sleep.
I'm afraid I've used up all my options. I don't nap, I use ear plugs and eye masks, I keep a set routine (10/11 p.m. to 6/7 a.m.), avoid coffee except one in the morning, and still I see no progress.
I'm 30. I don't exercise, but I'm very active throughout the day. I am on the verge of losing my mind.
I am not sure if my problem falls under the domain of insomnia or anxiety, since I don't feel anxious, but a small dose of Valium (5mg) is the only thing that helps put me back under once I wake up. I resort to this every third or fourth day, as to not develop dependency.
I don't know what to do. I've always had problems sleeping to an extent , but they would come and go. They never lingered for this long (its been 3-4 weeks now that I've been waking up like this every night without fail.) I have problems outwitting my brain to fall asleep, it is on constant alert I suppose.
I know that the 6 hours I get aren't enough for me since I'm exhausted every day, barely able to function. I also know that 6 hours fall under the lower limit of normal sleep (6-8 hours), but to sleep that little daily without naps is certainly not enough and it is noticeable after only a couple of days.
I don't know what to do, if there even is anything that can be done. Please help if you can. Thanks.
I also listen to spotify every night as my insomnia started from anxiety, If i hear anything, even the wind or a car passing im up, scared and if im very bad, i will have a panic attack :/
i hope yous done mind me posting this here but at 2am lastnight i finally decided to set up a facebook page to share my sleepless nights, what goes through my head ect. i want people to join so everyone can have a place they know everyone is in the same boat as them. and hopefully help people. Here is the link, please feel free to like it, it would be greatly appreciated :) https://www.facebook.com/InsomniaDiaries123/ please keep in mind it has only just been set up so it is still very bare. thanks xx
On the other hand, if this has only been going on for a few weeks, bad as that is, there's a good chance it will resolve on its own. Most acute or short term insomnia does. Many of us have struggled for decades with this problem.
If it continues, suggest you see your doc to either treat or rule out an underlying medical or psychiatric basis. If none, then you can look at nonmedical solutions, particularly CBT sleep training methods for adults. They are the gold standard, and what docs typically recommend.
If you are the self-help type, you'll find much good info online.
Yes, anxiety and hyperalertness are definitely the main culprits in my case.
It's a tough way to live,wish I could at least take a power nap although I know they're not good in the long run.
I've slept well ( from 11 p.m. until 6,630 a.m.) over the weekend and without the use of pills , so perhaps I am on the way to recovery.
Funny thing (although a different topic perhaps), for about 3-4 days before I finally managed to sleep well, I've felt pain in my left eye, a symptom of optic neuritis, one of MS hallmarks that I had 4 years ago. Once I fibally slept, the pain subsided . I wonder what would happen if I went to the doctor. Since the official opinion is "insomnian can't physically harm", I would probably get corticosteroid treatment as if it was neuritis. I think poor sleep has caused at least some of the damage I have on ny brain , no matter the official opinion.
But like I said, I'm just rambling here, nobody can know,thank you again for your response.
Insomniadiaries,
Thank you for you respinse as well. Having and maintaining your own insomnia page, even if it is part of Facebook, sounds like a noble idea, but also like a lot of business. It could be a double edged sword, too. You could end up having to think about sleep (yours as well as others) more than you normally would.
I don't have Facevook, but I can open one and check out your link.
I’m so sorry to hear about your insomnia. I'm 30 as well and had the same thing as you for years but have recently discovered sage pills which seem to have completely cured me! Forgive me for posting a copied and pasted blurb below - it’s literally changed my life so much I’m just posting about it everywhere because I know how destructive lack of sleep is. For you, if the sage doesn’t work, I’d also recommend checking your vitamin d and calcium levels - it sounds from your inability to switch off that you might be deficient in these, but definitely try the sage first! Pasting all I have below:
I’ve had terrible trouble sleeping for 15 years (average 4-6 hrs broken sleep a night, at one point it was 2 hrs... horrific) but recently seemed to have been cured using sage tablets! For the last 5 weeks I’ve now had 8-12 (yes TWELVE!!) hours sleep.
What I did: the tablets I bought were SAGE LEAF by a company called SOUL NUTRIENTS on amazon uk. I don’t know if you can get them internationally, I’m sure any sage leaf will work, but try and get the Soul Nutrients ones if you can as (a) I know they work and (b) I’ve since contacted the seller who is lovely and explained they’re a small batch company that make sure everything they produce is very pure and potent. The tablets come in 500mg dosage. I took 2 tabs (1g) before switching the light out and I was out in about 5-10 mins. I woke to go to the loo twice but went straight back to sleep. Woke the next morning having slept 8 hrs, deep, healthy natural sleep. No hangover the next morning, a slight sleepiness but nothing more.
I repeated this every night for 14 nights until I noticed I started to feel a bit dizzy, so I stopped, but to my amazement I’ve continued sleeping perfectly, 7-10 hours a night and last night I had my first 12 hour sleep in.. probably my life! It’s been 3 weeks now since I took a sage pill and I haven’t needed it at all.
I’ve tried everything else before this, from valerian, to dopamine to melatonin, but have found that they’re all unreliable (ie you’re never guaranteed a good sleep) and I wake feeling like I’ve been hit with a sledge hammer. Really can’t recommend the sage leaf pills more - they’ve changed my life! I’ve since given them to family members and friends (one who has night terrors and usually only gets 3 hours if that) and they’ve all reported the same results!
Only precaution is not to take while breastfeeding as sage dries up milk, conceiving/pregnant as there are links with miscarriage, and also to be careful if you’re epileptic as there is a link with causing spasms, or diabetic as it lowers blood sugar (though this is a good thing, so just make sure you’re ready for it!).
Good luck and please do try this - like I said it’s genuinely changed my life!! Xx
P.S. the pills are listed as helping reduce symptoms of menopause but don’t let that put you off - I’m 30 so nowhere near menopause (hopefully), I just saw them and had an overwhelming craving for sage, so bought them, and now I sleep! Literal magic. I hope they work for you too.
Sage pills? I must say that this is something new for me, I haven't heard of those.
I will check them out, for sure. Nothing to lose.
My vitD levels are fine since I have to check them regularly, but don't know about the calcium so maybe I'll check that out too.
But first the sage pills. :)
Thank you for your input!
Will eventually fall asleep again, ongoing patter for years. Hopefully to
Sleep until 8AM to go to work. I've been a night owl for 40 years, 50 now.
This is still unnerving to have.