Insomia (trouble falling asleep)

[Bernard]

The topic of insomnia appears semi-frequently on epilepsy forums. Since sleep is so important in maintaining a high seizure threshold, I thought I'd post an all natural tip for falling asleep that I find effective when I am keyed up and have trouble falling asleep. It's called progressive relaxation and you can read a pretty good description of it on this cool site for insomnia.

[POSITIVEPERSON]

I went to a herb seminar and you all need is honey to go to sleep.
I have been useing that since the seminar instead of melation.
Each person is different,one person might need a teaspoon another
might need more. But it does put one too sleep naturally.

Positive Person

[Bernard]

That's an old school technique, but may not work for anyone who is allergic to honey or sensitive to dietary sugars.

[Tilei]

I have found that crackers and a glass of milk seem to work extremely well for me. Especially on nights that I sleep for 45 min and then toss & turn for 15.

Some nights I have used an infusion of catnip tea with honey(or sugar) to calm my nerves to sleep. Catnip grows pretty much wild throughout my garden beds. I'll pick 1/2 cup of fresh leaves and pour boiling water over the top of them. Let them steep for 15 min., strain, sweeten and drink. It doesn't really put me to sleep, but helps calm the nerves. Catnip isn't just for cats. :wink:

Other things I have done, especially in summer. Is to take an evening stroll between dusk and nightfall. Lately the lightening bugs are coming out and there is just something very calming in seeing them lightup the night.

I have done it during the winter time, but I tend to not really like the cold. Funny though in the winter during December it is nice just to walk and see the Christmas lights on houses and trees in other peoples front windows, snow falling and blowing around.

I've heard that for most people having a bedtime routine really helps.

[Bernard]

The Today Show aired a segment on using biofeedback to learn a technique for falling asleep:

possible cures for insomnia

[skillefer]

For me, it's a warm cup of milk. 1/2 an hour later, I'm ready to sleep.

[RobinN]

For me it is breathing and visualizing that I am melting into my bed.
Oh.. and waking up at 4:45 everyday does help.

[epileric]

I gotta agree with Robin, I never slept better than when I had to get up at 4:00 AM for work.

It's been a long time since I had warm milk with honey. Reading this thread gave me a craving for it before bed.

[brain]

My granddad used to tease me
about the "old sledgehammer"
method ... whack yourself in the
head!

But if that were possible, most
likely the sledgehammer would
be broken!

[alivenwell]

I like to listen to relaxing music before I go to sleep.

[RobinN]

1. Sprinkle just-washed sheets and pillowcases with lavender water, and then iron them before making your bed. The scent is proven to promote relaxation.

2. Hide your clock, so that its glow won’t disturb you and make sure there is no light coming from other sources including your windows as this will seriously impair your body’s ability to produce melatonin.

3. Choose the right pillow -- neck pillows, which resemble a rectangle with a depression in the middle, can enhance the quality of your sleep and reduce neck pain.

4. Paint your bedroom sage green, or another soothing color, which will provide a visual reminder of sleep.

5. Move your bed away from outside walls, which will help cut down on noise.

6. Kick your dog or cat out of your bedroom -- studies have shown that they snore!

7. Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes before bedtime; it increases your core body temperature, and when it abruptly drops when you get out of the bath, it signals your body that you are ready for sleep.

8. Keep a notepad at your bedside -- if you wake in the middle of the night with your mind going, you can transfer your to-do list to the page and return to sleep unworried.

9. Put heavier curtains over your windows -- even the barely noticeable light from streetlights, a full moon, or your neighbor's house can interfere with the circadian rhythm changes you need to fall asleep.

10. Eat a handful of walnuts before bed -- they’re a good source of tryptophan, a sleep-enhancing amino acid.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...ted-sleep.aspx

[alivenwell]

What about those of us who have trouble waking up in the morning? I'm a deadhead and need to set several alarms. I have found that by varying my sleeping environment or alarm (I have a rude alarm that says funny stuff), I will wake up easier.
Should I have somebody open up my bedroom curtains to increase lighting?

[speber]

I like to listen to relaxing music before I go to sleep.

...for me I become attracted to the music just like watching TV....I just can't turn it off!

now on the subject of WKING UP THE DEAD HEAD...

If you can find some ANNOYING MUSIC....AND get it to start playing SLOWLY as in a fade in to the full listening volume so it won't cause a 'startle seizure'...then you will probably get up!
There are ways to make the 'fade ins' occur...I am just not sure what device you need for a player that would let you play your own music files.
Is there an mp3(iPod-ish) player that has an alarm function?

If so, I'm on board!


Speber

[alivenwell]

I have one alarm that has the ability to play a CD. I'll have to record something on it that may be effective as you suggested. The rude alarm starts to make me laugh as I wake up more. It gets gradually ruder and ruder as it continues to play. It starts off with a really nice voice about how it's time to get up, then starts to say slightly nastier things, and progresses to a full blown fire engine sound. Of course, I live next to a highway, so I've kind of tuned them out since we're always hearing sirens.
The verbal jokes are what get me going. I'll have to search for some funny cds or funny material.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Believe it or not, I have an ipod and mp3 player as well, but I haven't used them...so unlike me! I did transfer a bunch of music to the mp3.

I find some country music annoying. That might be the trick. My cell phone has an alarm in it and I can download something to that as an alarm sound. I use it all the time as a med reminder.

[morgan86]

anybody here have nightsweats??? i think mine r getting worse. i missed a dose of my meds the other day and woke up soked... it makes it nearly impossible to fall back to sleep when i have a problem sleeping anyways.... i cant figure out where on this forum to ask questions like these..

[Bernard]

anybody here have nightsweats???

Have a look here:

Night Sweats - Sleep Apnea

.... i cant figure out where on this forum to ask questions like these..

Try searching for keywords related to your question first. If you don't find anything, create a new thread -> click the red Epilepsy Forum link at the top of the page, select the most appropriate forum room from the list (ie. click on it) based upon the descriptions given and click on the new topic button at the top of the resulting page.