Insomnia

rich993

Hey there,

I'm sorry to hear that you've had insomnia for years on end - it runs on one side of my family, and I've seen the devastation it can bring to people's lives. In the case of someone very close to me, it even put a marriage on the brink (by making the couple in question much less patient with each other!).

Firstly, I'd love to hear what revelation you had that helped you sleep better. We could all benefit!

As for the blue light mask, I would highly recommend NOT buying it. At least not to sleep at night.

There's a simple reason why...

Blue light tells your body when the sun is up. It's how you set your "body clock." In the good ol' days, we spent most of our time outside, exposed to bright sunlight (which has a lot of blue light). We got it when the sun rose, and it went away when the sun set. Then we only had moonlight and fires to keep the dark away.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to fall asleep when staring at a fireplace fire? That's partly because there's very little blue light in it. The other reason is that the flickering light is quite hypnotic, and induces relaxation.

Scientists have mathematically modeled the effect of light on your circadian rhythm, and found that a dim blue light is as effective as a much brighter white light at resetting your internal clock. That's why it's especially important to avoid them at night. Blue-enriched lights in offices and schools have been proven to improve alertness throughout the day.

If anything, I'd recommend wearing that mask in the MORNING when you wake up.

In the West, we tend to think of blue as a relaxing color. That's probably why the mask makers picked it. But relaxing is not (quite) sleeping.

As for the Withings system, you can do something similar much more cheaply. Just find one of those $2 sleep sensor/alarm clock apps for your Android or iPhone (like Sleep Cycle) and then turn on a bright light when your alarm rings. They wake you up in your lightest sleep phase - but much more cheaply.

Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you about any good sleep plugs. By design, they have to seal your ear canal from the environment, trapping air and earwax, which makes most people (including me) feel uncomfortable after wearing them for too long.

However, I think there is a better solution.

Last year, I lived next to well-trafficked train tracks and train station. Sometimes at night, massive trains would grind to a screeching halt right in front of my apartment.

In the beginning, it was terrible. Eventually, I improved my sleep quality and then I got used to it.

By making my sleep deeper, the noise became a non-issue. With noise, it turns out you can get used to a shocking amount of noise and still sleep.

Just think about kids falling asleep at a loud concert. In many places around the world people sleep in very noisy conditions. Eventually, you can acclimate. But not if your sleep is bad.

happywallace

Hi Rich

Thank you for your advise, I won't be wasting money on those sleep aids I'd read about.

I had been seeking advise from friends for a couple of years, a trauma that had happened in the night when I was a teenager was revealed. I had totally forgotten about it (now in my 50's) I think I was anticipating something bad to happen but didn't know it. It explains why I was too tired to keep my eyes open to read but too alert to fall asleep. Still need to get into a gd sleep cycle

gigaa

I have struggled with insomnia from a young age and honestly, my insomnia was mostly caused by my own obsessive thinking and blowing situations up to the point where I thought I was going nuts. Anyway some tips that helped me.

-cognitive behavioral therapy-always give this a go before medicating if your insomnia is strongly mentally induced.
- as it has been pointed out, exercise helps immensely. Make sure to hydrate a lot as well.
- make sure that your bed is only used for sleeping, naps, and sex. The more time one spends in bed watching tv or what not, the less the brain associates the bed with sleep. Hence, breaking your sleep cycle wide open. This can be fixed with melatonin.
NOTE: Melatonin is not a remedy for insomnia. Very large misconception. It actually resets your sleep cycle instead of inducing sleep. This is precisely why it works so well with jet lag.
-diet is going to play a huge role in overall mental health. Make sure to take a multivitamin and I even supplement with lots of omegas as well as different fibers.
- set a sleep schedule and stick to it. Take melatonin before bed for one week and if you stick to your schedule sleep will eventually come.
-herbal supplements and amino acids. I can't stress this strongly enough. Especially with the aminos. If you are going to start supplementing with amino acids, take them on an empty stomach 20-30 minutes apart from one another to maximize absorption.
- LAST BUT DEF. NOT LEAST.....(drumroll plz)...

5-HTP!! This stuff has done me so much good it's almost unbelievable. Works better in my brain than any other anti anxiety or antidepressant. I take it three times daily, and my brand also includes b vitamins to help with absorption. It has helped my balance my mood and has helped with sleep so much. Doesn't make me tired during the day, but helps me sleep at night. Make sure you don't combine this with a MAOI as you could risk serotonin syndrome.

If I can think of anything else, and I probably will, I'll post more later on.