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...
Hey folks, college student here. I've had insomnia for about 8 years now...I take a sleeping med called seroquel. Some days it works some days it doesn't. Some days I'll struggle trying to even get out of bed...but the one night(s) I don't take them I can't get myself to sleep for the life of me...does anyone know of any effective natural remedies I could take if it gets too late to take my meds? I've already tried soothing music, no noise, pitch black..the scent of lavendar...sleepytime tea and so forth...I'm running out of options...Help!
First, any questions about meds and/or other substances to help you sleep are best directed to your doc or other healthcare professional who's examined you and knows your unique medical history. No one on this site (or anywhere on the internet for that matter) can do that for you. To avoid any potentially serious problems with contraindications there really is no substitute for this.
I mention that because seroquel is most often prescribed for psychiatric conditions such as bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. You really need to be careful with what you combine this with -- and that's true with any psychoactive med.
Do you have any underlying psychiatric conditions that could be disrupting your sleep? If so, then I presume that's what your doc is trying to treat, and by doing so your sleep should improve.
The key to better sleep is to find and treat the true underlying cause for your insomnia. If you are treating any underlying medical or psychiatric issues, then it's important to consider possible nonmedical causes. These are typically some combination of bad sleep habits and excessive worry about the idea of sleep.
Much if not most insomnia is actually self-imposed for many (not all) of us. You can treat these nonmedical root sources "naturally" meaning without drugs by using CBT sleep training methods. These will help you with establishing a sleep-supportive lifestyle (very important for students) as well as addressing ways to take the pressure off yourself ... as stress about sleep tends to fuel insomnia.
Good luck. Keep us posted.