# Trouble sleeping... any ideas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 27, 2000, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041 "2000-07-27T13:12:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2000, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/21 "2000-07-27T23:53:46Z")
Enroll at a gym, and start working out. It worked for me. Although though my intention for enrolling was not to help me fall asleep, that was just a side effect. But I found that on days where I worked out, from 5pm to 6pm, I would be considerably sleepy come 9:30 to 10:30, instead of my usual midnight or 1am routine. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/22 "2000-07-28T00:05:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*Yes, lee, the male brain gives a hormone after orgasm that makes men sleepy, believe it or not. > \*\* That does not explain why it helps me to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/23 "2000-07-28T14:18:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arken \* > \*\*I was referring specifically to Melatonin and St. John’s Wort (the latter of which can actually be dangerous… it can cause heart problems and it can nullify the effect of birth control pills). > > \*\* Isn’t that the opposite of a placebo effect - first you say they do nothing it’s imaginary, then you post to say that they can be dangerous! Fi ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/24 "2000-07-28T14:35:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Isn’t that the opposite of a placebo effect - first you say they do nothing it’s imaginary, then you post to say that they can be dangerous! The placebo effect is the effect you think that it is having to help you. The REAL effect can be dangerous. Look, you can truly believe that chocolate cures headaches and if you eat chocolate, your headache can go away due to a placebo, but that doesn’t stop the chocolate from helping to rot your teeth and adding a few pounds. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/25 "2000-07-28T14:44:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lee \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > > \*\*Yes, lee, the male brain gives a hormone after orgasm that makes men sleepy, believe it or not. > > \*\* > > That does not explain why it helps me to sleep. \*\* I’m assuming from that comment that Lee is female? Or from the planet Tharg or something… Anyway - the master has spoken: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_183.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_183.html) [QUOTE] _Why do men feel sleepy after sex?_ \*\* > [@](#): > > Still, when Kinsey goes on about “a [postcoital] calm, a peace, a satisfaction with the world,” … most men and, for that matter, most women know what he’s talking > about. It’s just that whereas women see this tranquil state as a chance to cuddle and talk, guys tend to look at it as a cure for insomnia–sometimes literally. > \*\* Now since we were talking about masturbation, unless Lee likes long, involved conversations with his/her/itself (sorry Lee! I did check your profile…), the cuddle & talk option is out, just leaving the calm/peace relaxation → tendency to go to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/26 "2000-07-28T14:49:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arken \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Isn’t that the opposite of a placebo effect - first you say they do nothing it’s imaginary, then you post to say that they can be dangerous! > > The placebo effect is the effect you think that it is having to help you. The REAL effect can be dangerous. Look, you can truly believe that chocolate cures headaches and if you eat chocolate, your headache can go away due to a placebo, but that doesn’t stop the chocolate from helping to rot your teeth and adding a few pounds. \*\* I was just pointing out that first you dismissed all herbal things as placebos (ie do nothing, acting only on psychological grounds items) & then called them dangerous - that you were being a tad inconsistent. But unless we want to get this thread tshifted to great debates, we’d better lay off the “do they/don’t they work” question! I started RSI recently & was caught eating large amounts of chocolate yesterday - I claimed I was researching whether it had a positive effect on RSI…don’t think anyone (me included) believed me though! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/27 "2000-07-28T22:36:14Z")
Get yourself an HP laptop and wait for it to boot up. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/28 "2000-07-28T23:04:23Z")
I often find that after I drink a fifth of whiskey, I am not awake for very long. Give that a shot. Seriously, I have tried melatonin, and had varying results. Yes, it did make me sleepy, but (as pointed out by **Stephe96** ) there were some nightmares. Not waking up in a cold sweat kind of nightmares, but I did notice an increase in the bad dreams. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2000, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/29 "2000-07-28T23:05:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arken \* > \*\*Don’t listen to these herbal people. All they’re getting is placebo effect. Multiple studies back that up. > > If you want to sleep, go to your doctor and ask for Trazidone. It is a low-grade anti-depressant and half a pill makes me sleep like a baby. I wake up feeling refreshed, not groggy, and it isn’t habit-forming. > > Great stuff, not available through National Enquierer mail-order ads, _and_ it’s been scientifically tested. \*\* Another vote for Trazadone. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/30 "2000-07-29T08:41:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arken \* > \*\*I was referring specifically to Melatonin and St. John’s Wort \*\* Arken, Melatonin isn’t an herb, it’s the stuff that sloshes around in your brain when you sleep. Taking it puts your brain into sleep-mode. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2000, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041/31 "2000-07-29T11:10:29Z")
One milligram of Clonazepam. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trouble-sleeping-any-ideas/27041.md?page=1)