Every since I got back to the dorms I haven't been able to sleep much. I've been getting maybe 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night and tonight I've gotten none!! It's almost 4am now and I'm just awake as ever. I don't know what the problem is but I know this can't be too healthy of me not getting any sleep like this. I just don't know what to do about it right now though. It's just driving me crazy!!
Wish

awwww...wish....I am so sorry to hear that

my husband has always been insomniac (and our son's seem to have inherited it too!)

anyway, just recently my husband has been drinking a cup of Natural Calm at night and really sleeping well

It is magnesium citrate powder that one dissolves in hot water and drink like tea.
we get ours online from www.iherb.com cos it is cheaper there than in healthstores, but I do know that The Vitamin Shoppe group of stores carry it too

there are other natural sleep aids, like melatonin etc but if you are on meds, you need to check with your doc bf using any of them

my son finds that soaking in a hot bath with 2 cups of epsom salts dissolved in the water is really relaxing and it helps him sleep...dont know if you have tubs at college tho...usually only showers isnt it?

anyways...sure hope this passes for you.....

Actually last night I ended up taking three melitonin because I couldn't sleep and I still wasn't able to sleep very well. The college doesn't have bath tubs only showers and so taking a bath isn't an option. I feel so drained today, but I'm staying up so that maybe tonight I can sleep better. Thanks for trying to help me!
Wish

Wish

maybe try getting some of that Natural Calm and see if it helps

my husband says it has had the best effect on him ever in terms of total relaxation and then peaceful sleep, and being that it is magnesium, it is healthy too.
If you do take it, be sure to start with the 1 teaspoon dose and work up to 3 teaspoons only if you need it. Being magnesium citrate, it can have a slight laxative effect and so u dont want to take more than u need

re the melatonin...interestingly for some people the higher doses actually cause them to be edgy and wakeful!! My son takes 0.3mg at night (300MICROgrams) and sleeps well on it. Anything more and it has a negative effect and leaves him groggy next day. My husband cant take melatonin at all.

Hi Wish! I'm sorry that you're having such a rough time with your sleep. Unfortunately, that is a problem that I'm very familiar with. It seems to happen to me in regular patterns, and there are few things worse than lying there in bed at night for hour after hour and not being able to get the sleep you crave.

I agree with Chemar that if they work, herbal remedies are always the best and safest. There is one kind of tea called Sleepy Time that often seems to help me when the problem is less severe. But when it gets bad, the only thing I've found that seems to be totally reliable is a prescription sedative called klonopin. That always gets me to sleep, and I sleep uninterrupted for up to eight hours. I personally dislike taking prescription meds, so I try to only use this when I really have to, and never for more than a few nights at a time. But it does work, and any side-effects it has are much less debilitating than the awful exhaustion that comes from accumulated loss of sleep.

Hope you feel better soon...
Idealist

Chronic insomnia can contribute to a whole host of problems so don't postpone getting it treated. If the natural meds don't help try one of the three newest meds for insomnia...Sonata, Ambien or Lunesta. What makes these meds different from the sleeping pills of the past is that they actually improve sleep architecture(SA) SA is the natural cycles of deep sleep and REM sleep (dream sleep) Deep sleep contributes to healing the body and REM sleep helps consolidate what we learn during the day into long term memory. Chronic insomnia throws off SA and and is the major contributor to depression relapse, not to mention anxiety, poor concentration, delays in physical healing, auto accidents etc. Alcohol may help some get to sleep but it throws off the SA and causes you to awaken frequently. Over-the-counter meds such as Excedrin pm all have benedril in them and also disrupt the SA. Benzodiazapines such as xanax, ativan and klonopin enhance gaba, a natural tranquilizer in the brain and can help one to fall asleep, but frequent use can change SA in a negative way. Occassional use is okay. The meds I mentioned above are approved for chronic insomnia and even long term use. There are also some good sleep hygeine tips that you can find on the internet. Google insomnia/sleep hygeine. Also, google sleep architecture or sleep cyles In my practice I treat chronic insomnia very seriously because of the way it disrupts quality of life. I hope you wil to. Talk to your doctor and be open and insistant that he help you.