Any remedies to fall asleep?

Not the healthiest option by any means but it always seems to do the trick for me- one Benadryl and a glass of red wine!

Gravol works for me - but I take it at least an hr before bedtime - there is a slight drug hangover the next day, but it's tolerable.

I've tried melatonin but if you don't take the correct dosage (which is diff for everyone) it's either worthless (too little) or you feel like crap the next day (too much) You really have to be willing to find out the correct dosage for yourself, which could take up to a week.

I recently read that the glare from TV and computer screens inhibits the production of melatonin, so it was recommended to turn off these devices at least a half-hour before you want to go to sleep, and do something quiet, like read, meditation, yoga, etc.

Like Anders, I've had little luck with melatonin even at a minimum dose, as it made me groggy the next day. Likewise with such products as Benadryl and Tylenol PM.

What I really need is a way to STAY asleep, which you can tell from the time of this post.

Good luck to everyone in their pursuit of sleep.

I am so with everyone. I can fall asleep, I just don't stay asleep. Melatonin helps me to fall asleep, but doesn't keep me asleep. I found Tylenol or Advil PM help me the best. It's just the Benadryl that makes you sleepy, so you really can take just that.
I was so desperate, my doctor gave me Ambien to take if I really needed it now and then. I too it twice, and felt totally crummy the next day, like I had hangover. So enough of those.
People say using a computer right before bedtime is a problem, so that could certainly be it in my case!! Not ready to stop though.

I am very physically active...I bike, run, walk, do Zumba. Sometimes more than one of those a day....you think I'd sleep like a baby, but no way!

I suffer from sleep apnea and before I got my apnea cpap machine the longest that I used to sleep without unbroken sleep was 4 minutes at a time. I was exhausted all the time. I am much better now but still not "normal" - lmao in more ways then just sleeping I guess you could say.....oh well normal is overated LOL.

nutty1 wrote:.........I am very physically active...I bike, run, walk, do Zumba. Sometimes more than one of those a day....you think I'd sleep like a baby, but no way!

The whole cycle of falling sleep, staying asleep, and waking up refreshed is all in our heads. I can be dead tired, fall asleep like a baby, and then be wide awake and "ready to rock and roll" at 3 a.m. or so. A few days in a row like that and I am ready for the "rubber room." In other words, it's all psychological.

deedreamer wrote:I suffer from sleep apnea and before I got my apnea cpap machine the longest that I used to sleep without unbroken sleep was 4 minutes at a time. I was exhausted all the time. I am much better now but still not "normal" - lmao in more ways then just sleeping I guess you could say.....oh well normal is overated LOL.

One of my sons has obstructive sleep apnea and the CPAP machine has been of great help to him. He used to fall asleep at his desk, and my biggest fear was that he would fall asleep in his car or on his motorcycle on the way to work.

As for normal, on my last car I had a bumper stick which said "Normal is a cycle on my washing machine."
Lots of wisdom in that little saying.

I'm also one of those people who have no trouble falling asleep but am often awake by 3 or 4 am.

I take an herbal called Valerian (Root), which seems to work pretty well; no morning-after effects for me like Melatonin. I buy it at CVS or Walgreen's.

I used to wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep. My gynecologist had the answer: calcium with magnesium right before you go to bed. As she put it, you should take calcium anyway, and the magnesium will knock you out. The combo is cheap, and sold as a generic at any drug store.

Now, how has it worked? I wake up about 1/3 as often and stay awake about 1/4 as long. It's not perfect, but it's a huge improvement. Now twice a week I wake up and toss and turn for about half an hour instead of waking up every. single. night. and staring at the ceiling for 2 hours. I've recommended this to friends, and it works for most of them, though not all.

Sasha - I take my cal/mag in the morning, I guess I should be taking it at bedtime. I just find i'd likely forget it and wouldn't want to get out of bed to take it.

Ativan works nicely for staying asleep, and doens't give me the drugged out feeling the next day - but it's addictive so I don't like to take it too often, only if I get overtired and it seems to 'reset' my sleep patterns for a couple of nights afterwards.

I am unable to take calcium supplements for medical reasons. However, sounds like a great idea.

Xanax also works well for staying asleep. We've had our granddaughter here for three weeks (she goes home today) so I've not wanted to take anything at night in case she needed us. It's also addictive, so I take it only when I absolutely, positively needed, and then only a very small dose.

Hope all who are troubled by sleep disturbances will have a good night tonight.

I've been having luck drinking tart cherry juice in the morning and evening. You can order the concentrate online and mix it with water for a nice beverage that helps with melatonin and sleep. It was also recommended to me to block all light sources (and to leave the light off in the bathroom if you need to use the toilet in the middle of the night, possibly from drinking too much cherry juice before bedtime ) and to make the room as cool as possible.