Hi lulu,

Had to chuckle a bit at your wording of "tired of not being able to sleep". Welcome to the club! Pretty much all of us here have been there, done that.

Interestingly though, tired is what you want, because tired is what helps you sleep! Meaning tire yourself out every day, both physically and mentally to the best of your ability, and that will most definitely help you sleep better at night.

What also gets mixed up into the mess of insomnia though are distorted thoughts and beliefs. Such as "I stay awake for days at a time". Do you really? Do you not even lie down for a little while in the middle of the night with your eyes closed?

Most of us experience what's known as sleep state misperception, meaning we are asleep but don't know it. All we remember is the frustration of tossing and turning, and give no credit to whatever actual shuteye we do get.

But if you were turn that around and credit yourself for whatever sleep you got, meaning sort of view more of a glass half full then half empty, that might help take out some of the stress you likely associate with the idea of sleep.

I will definitely try to exert myself more during the day so that I become more tired at night. Sometimes I will go a full day or two without any sleep, I usually don't even lie down because I'm just not tired. It seems very frustrating to me. Hopefully your advice will help me out, I appreciate it!

Try to get your body ready for sleep with a nightly foot massage, plus stretching and deep breathing. I have been told that there are a series of Chi Gong moves designed specifically for sleep. There are some videos available on You Tube.

Hmm I've never heard of doing that before but I will have to try it thank you!

Hi Lulu, I (feel that I) am an extreme insomniac myself. Not sleeping most days per week that I am conscious of. First of all, while it is terrifying know that you are not alone: I like you do not feel tired, yet know I need sleep. As this insomnia thing is new to me - it's quite scary and makes you feel dread, or wanting to cry because you are scared (at least me).

But there are some important points. Firstly, except in extraordinarily rare cases, insomnia won't kill you. And while it can bring long term health effects, you can mitigate those with diet and exercise. You may also end up finding a medication combination that works. In the meantime, try to clean up your sleep hygiene and hopefully wait it out. Definitely talk to a doctor.

You're not alone at all I go through the same thing every night. I think I'm not sleeping but my wife says I actually slept a bit. I guess I'm so exhausted I don't even realize I fell asleep

I find sleep sounds help most of the time. i found a great app called relax melodies and I listen to the white noise or urban rain. The 3am birds wake me up. it drives me nuts and this helps. I keep netflix streaming on my tablet. Something I seen a 100 times. and the sounds help me focus and fall asleep.

Look up healthy sleep habits....apply these to your routine. Set sleep and wake schedule.. Exercise every day, get your goal up to at least 30 min. Cut caffeine down and none after 3pm. make lists of things to do that are on mind, etc. Keep journal of emotions, stressors, track syptoms of anxiety/other illness, and write down your nites- like what time you got in bed, time you fell asleep, times and duration of waking, dreams, wake time for day, any naps during day. This could be useful to you and to a dr or therapist.
Ive heard melatonin works , magnesium supplement can help sleep. Probiotics are good for everything and may help. Have you tried fish oil? Do a little research and you might be able to find a more natural way like vitamins or supplements that could help.
If youre desperate, for a short fix ive been told taking 100mg of benedryl will put you out. Worth a try.
Warm shower before bed, hot decaf tea, ASMR (on youtube), help me.
Read up on dbt and cbt. It may or may not help. Ive recently heard of something called cbt sleep therapy...worth a google.
If youre not sleeping and not tired, you might want to talk to a dr. Could be anxiety, hyperactivity disorder, or something else.