Hey everyone,
I’ve been dealing with insomnia for a while now, and it’s starting to affect my daily life. I find myself tossing and turning at night, sometimes for hours, before I can finally fall asleep. Even when I do manage to sleep, it’s not restful, and I wake up feeling groggy.
I’ve tried various methods like limiting screen time before bed, drinking herbal teas, and even trying to stick to a sleep schedule, but nothing seems to be helping.
Has anyone else experienced this? What strategies or habits have helped you manage or overcome insomnia?
Comments
📣 Reminder for our users
>1. Check the rules: Please take a moment to review our rules, Reddiquette, and Reddit’s Content Policy.
>2. Clear question in the title: Make sure your question is clear and placed in the title. You can add details in the body of your post, but please keep it under 600 characters.
>3. Closed-Ended Questions Only: Questions should be closed-ended, meaning they can be answered with a clear, factual response. Avoid questions that ask for opinions instead of facts.
>4. Be Polite and Civil: Personal attacks, harassment, or inflammatory behavior will be removed. Repeated offenses may result in a ban. Any homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist, or bigoted remarks will result in an immediate ban.
🚫 Commonly Asked Prohibited Question Subjects:
>1. Medical or pharmaceutical questions
>2. Legal or legality-related questions
>3. Technical/meta questions (help with Reddit)
This list is not exhaustive, so we recommend reviewing the full rules for more details on content limits.
✓ Mark your answers!
>If your question has been answered, please reply with
Answered!!to the response that best fit your question. This helps the community stay organized and focused on providing useful answers.I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
I’m an insomniac here in Belgium. I sometimes go to bed at 11 p.m. and sleep at 5 a.m.
The only thing my doctor prescribed is a pill that works well for me.
Do you know if you’re a snorer? If so, you might have sleep apnea? Worth looking into if you do snore at least. My CPAP machine has changed my entire life! And now those other sleep hygiene tips (like no phones before bed, consistent sleep schedule etc) actually work!! Talk to your PCP and see if you can get tested. Good luck OP! I totally know what you’re going through
I got melatonin for my son. He found that it really worked well for him (it didn’t work for me).
Take 5mg of Melatonin with 500mg of Magnesium (Glycinate) an hour before bedtime. The Melatonin will put you to sleep, and the Magnesium will help keep you asleep.
Per Gemini:
>Magnesium and melatonin are often taken together to improve sleep, with magnesium promoting relaxation and melatonin regulating the sleep-wake cycle, and both are generally considered safe when taken as recommended.
Here’s a more detailed look at magnesium and melatonin:
Magnesium
>Role in Sleep: Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a role in muscle and nerve function, and some studies suggest it may improve sleep quality.
>How it helps: Magnesium can help relax muscles and the brain, potentially leading to a more restful sleep.
>Food sources: You can obtain magnesium through foods like nuts, seeds, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
>Supplementation: Magnesium is also available in supplement form, with magnesium glycinate being a common form.
Melatonin
>Role in Sleep: Melatonin is a hormone produced by the brain that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
>How it helps: Melatonin helps your body know when it’s time to sleep, and melatonin supplements can help regulate sleep patterns, especially for those with jet lag or shift work.
>Supplementation: Melatonin is available as a supplement and is often used to help people fall asleep faster or stay asleep.
Magnesium and Melatonin Together
>Synergistic Effects: Some people find that taking magnesium and melatonin together can be more effective for improving sleep than taking either supplement alone.
>Safety: Both magnesium and melatonin are generally considered safe when taken as recommended, but it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting any new supplements, especially if you have any underlying health conditions or are taking other medications.
>Dosage: It’s important to follow the recommended dosages for both magnesium and melatonin, and to start with a lower dose and gradually increase it if needed.
>Side Effects: While both magnesium and melatonin are generally safe, high doses of magnesium can cause gastrointestinal issues, and melatonin may cause daytime drowsiness in some people.
>Interactions: Magnesium and melatonin can interact with certain medications, so it’s important to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any potential interactions.
Absolutely you’re not alone in this. Insomnia is like a vicious cycle, and it’s tough when even the usual advice doesn’t seem to work.
One thing that really helped me was learning how much our racing thoughts impact sleep. I didn’t realize how much unprocessed stress I was carrying into bed with me every night. I started using mental health tools like Calm and Aitherapy. Especially that website helped me a lot. It guided me through understanding patterns in my thinking and how they might be keeping me wired at night, even when I was physically tired.
Another trick: instead of just trying to fall asleep, I started giving myself permission not to sleep—sounds weird, but it took the pressure off. I’d listen to calming stories or ambient sound, and just focus on resting rather than sleeping. Often, that shift in mindset helped me drift off without even realizing it.
Happy to share more if it helps hang in there, it is possible to get through this.
Speak with your physician about gabapentin.
I created what I call ‘plug in dreams’ … so I have certain scenarios which have no association with any place/person/memory and will plug them in. For example… a dog agility course. No dog I know is allowed, crowd not there, no objective but to follow a course and let a dog/goat/cat whatever to go around it with you. The easy start and determination to not let any outside life in, will help sleep REM come