# What is good for defeating insomnia? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2011, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433 "2011-11-29T09:17:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/21 "2011-11-30T02:01:54Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I am a chronic insomniac. Have been since I was a kiddle. > > My problem was not getting to sleep - that would always be achieved within 10 minutes of bed. My problem was staying asleep. I’d usually wake up three hours after I fell asleep, then after that I might lie awake for an hour or two then sleep again but wake again after an hour and need to pee, etc. All through the night. ( **shijinn** , insomnia won every night but it didn’t help. I once went three months on less than three hours a night. Nightmare.) > > In the last few months I have been sleeping straight through the night, up to 9 hours, every night. It’s a revelation. I wake up feeling refreshed! > > What has changed? I am living somewhere very quiet. I don’t drink coffee after 18.00. I have stopped drinking beer. And I have taped up my bedroom windows with cardboard. > > Of the four changes, the beer is the biggie. The few times I’ve drunk recently I’ve had shitty sleep, even in my new environment. Does it matter what time of day you drink alcohol? I know that I get insomnia if I am not sober at least 5-6 hours before I go to bed. So on days when I do do my drinking I have to do it in the morning, so I am sober by the afternoon. In college when I would try to drink at night I’d have serious trouble sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/22 "2011-11-30T02:50:33Z")
What works best for me is to just go ahead and skip a night’s sleep, holding out until 5-7pm the next day. Then I sleep 10-12hrs for 2-3 nights, and within a week or so am back on more normal sleep schedule. Unfortunately even when I do not have bad insomnia I can rarely get to sleep in less than an hour, and two hrs is not unusual. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/23 "2011-11-30T19:46:50Z")
Agreed on the exercise and lack of caffeine, coupled with earplugs and (if necessary) either an eye covering or light-blocking window curtains. However, the thing that’s worked for me most – to the point where I’m getting to bed faster than ever before (and I too am a lifelong insomniac)? Elavil, which is an old school tricyclic anti-depression med. I was put on it for a combo of depression/anxiety, and I take 50mg before I go to sleep every night. And for the first time, _ever_, I fall asleep like a SHOT. Like, I’ve woken up in the morning with my light still on, because I was reading/listening to music before I went to bed (yeah, it’s a no-no) and fell asleep so quickly I didn’t have time to shut the light. This is _heaven_ for me, because it’s usually the long hour or two from “lights out” till I finally transition to a not-very-deep sleep that lets my over-active anxiety go into overdrive. Now there seems to be none of that transition for me–I’m awake (but sleepy) one moment, asleep the next. (I’m not saying, btw, that the medication is so strong that I’d fall asleep in the middle of doing something or having a conversation; but if I’m lying in bed, feeling sleepy, I _will_ fall asleep, and damn fast.) I’m also not suggesting anyone start taking Elavil if you don’t have an underlying medical reason to take it. (Usual reasons are depression and panic disorder, as is the case for me.) But I’m just saying, sometimes there are unexpected benefits from meds. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/24 "2011-11-30T19:49:45Z")
> [@choie](#): > > I’m also not suggesting anyone start taking Elavil if you don’t have an underlying medical reason to take it. (Usual reasons are depression and panic disorder, as is the case for me.) But I’m just saying, sometimes there are unexpected benefits from meds. Yep–the Seroquel was like that for me. It’s _for_ my bipolar disorder, but it was the tipping point that allowed me to finally fall asleep, too. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/25 "2011-11-30T20:19:36Z")
One nice thing to remember–certified by scientific (no cite here) papers and my doctors – is that even when you are lying in bed staring at the ceiling, you _are_ getting some sleep-like effects, so you can try to break “I can’t sleep, I’ll be miserable in the A.M, and see, I’m still not asleep” loop of anxiety. It helps accepting into it sometimes. Also, besides screwing around with ant-anxiety medications or Seroquel (😕:eek::eek:) just pop a Benadryl or two. They have the same chemical as any of the fancy over the counter “sleep aids.” Just remember not to operate any heavy machinery. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/26 "2011-11-30T20:20:43Z")
I’ve taken up to five Benadryl at a time without having them make me even slightly drowsy. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/27 "2011-11-30T20:44:54Z")
For those of you who wake up in the night and fall back asleep, do you notice anything different about your dreams? I sometimes wake up at 3 and it takes 1-2 hours to fall back asleep. But when I do go back to sleep, I sleep very heavily and have a lot of dreams. If I sleep the night through, I can’t remember any dreams. I heard something recently on NPR and it’s been working for me. Lie on your back with your arms folded over your chest. You should have your right hand on your left chest and your left hand on your right chest. Close your eyes and move them slowly back and forth. When your eyes move to the left, tap your right hand on your left chest. When your eyes move to the right, tap your left hand on your right chest. Something about the criss-cross between left and right helps you get sleepy. Another way is to start at 300 and count backwards by 3. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/28 "2011-11-30T21:57:42Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > **OpalCat** PLEASE be very careful with drugs like that! They can work great when they work, but when they fail you will know Hell. My own bad experience has been with a benzo, and you mentioned temazepam, so I would worry about that. (Same with you, **Jaledin** with the xanax.) These drugs are seriously addictive. They can be safe and helpful for **short-term use** but they can snare you! You may find that you need increasingly larger doses just to get the same effect, and if you miss a dose you won’t sleep at all – or worse, you could start of have withdrawal symptoms – even between regularly schedules doses! If you simply stick with the same dose you are using, you could begin to have withdrawal. If you’ve been using for 4-5 months, I’m not sure if that would be long enough to start having these problems. (YMMV) > > I don’t know how all those other drugs (especially Seroquel) play. However much they may be helpful to you now, you need to worry what price you will pay in the not-so-distant future. I found out. I can speak from personal experience on this. I had insomnia problems a few years ago that lasted 1-2 years. My doctor first put me on Ambien. Worked great for the first month. Second month, not so much. When I took two pills, it worked just as well as the first month, but I said to myself “that’s the path to addiction”. So, when I went to see my doctor at the end of the second month, I described the problem and said “this stuff ain’t gonna work, long-term”. He put me on Restoril. Same pattern, good first month, starting to be useless the second. So, on the 4th month, when I went to see him again, we tried switching back to Ambien again. Worked like a charm, again. From that point, until I stopped having the sleep problem, it was 2 months of Ambien, 2 months of Restoril, repeat until I didn’t need them anymore. There was an underlying medical issue, which was also being treated, but what I was taking for that is irrelevant to the OP’s question. And it was several years ago. I just mention it to forestall “you should get checked for [fill-in-the-blank]” responses. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/29 "2011-11-30T22:10:47Z")
Fortunately I’ve been pretty stable on 60mg of temazepam (Restoril) for many years now without needing to increase the dose. That said, I do need to supplement it with other medications–it doesn’t work on its own (and never has). My insomnia is pretty damned persistent, though, and I have the double down side of having a very efficient metabolism (I’ve always needed to take a higher dose of any given oral medication to get the normal effect) and having malabsorption (due to surgery) which means that of any given dose of an oral medication that I take, I only absorb x percent of it–the rest goes right through me. ---
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/30 "2011-11-30T22:48:43Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > I heard something recently on NPR and it’s been working for me. Lie on your back with your arms folded over your chest. You should have your right hand on your left chest and your left hand on your right chest. Close your eyes and move them slowly back and forth. When your eyes move to the left, tap your right hand on your left chest. When your eyes move to the right, tap your left hand on your right chest. Something about the criss-cross between left and right helps you get sleepy. That’s the best and most insane idea I’ve ever heard. I’d have to practice this for a long time to remember all that. In case it isn’t clear, I don’t do jazzercize, though, so maybe coordination is an issue for me in a way that would make lithe aerobics instructors laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/31 "2011-12-01T01:21:31Z")
I can’t believe that nobody’s mentioned propofol yet. You guys are all a bunch of weenies. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/32 "2011-12-01T02:50:17Z")
I too, have had an issue with morpheus since childhood. It takes a long time to fall asleep, then I awaken every two hours. At least, that was the case until I was diagnosed with ADHD a couple months ago. I’m now taking [Adderall](http://www.drugs.com/adderall.html). For normal people, it’s a stimulant. It keeps them awake. For me, it shuts down the party in my mind and allows me to sleep all night. To me, it’s a wonder drug. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/33 "2011-12-01T05:24:22Z")
[moderating] Moved to IMHO. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/34 "2011-12-01T05:39:28Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Remember: Being tired is not the same as being sleepy. … could you explain? i can’t imagine, for example, farmers having insomnia. is it a health issue as a result of a sedentary, yet stressful lifestyle? are people taking drugs for this in lieu of exercise / a healthy lifestyle? generally speaking of course. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/35 "2011-12-01T18:56:58Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > I too, have had an issue with morpheus since childhood. It takes a long time to fall asleep, then I awaken every two hours. > At least, that was the case until I was diagnosed with ADHD a couple months ago. I’m now taking [Adderall](http://www.drugs.com/adderall.html). For normal people, it’s a stimulant. It keeps them awake. For me, it shuts down the party in my mind and allows me to sleep all night. To me, it’s a wonder drug. Hmmm…makes me wonder. About three years ago I started using pseudo on an intermittent basis to treat seasonal rhinitis. I immediately noticed that I not only felt more on top of things when I took it, I slept better as well. I’ve always had a subjective feeling in the back of my mind that if my rhinitis were to magically disappear tomorrow, I would still keep taking the pseudo. When I Googled it, I found that a lot of people with undiagnosed ADHD self-medicate with pseudo. How do I go about finding out if I have ADHD—go see a shrink or just a GP? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/36 "2011-12-01T19:54:31Z")
See a psychiatrist. You may need a referral from your pcp. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/37 "2011-12-01T22:31:41Z")
When I was in college, I used to stay up for 30 hours at a time, then sleep for 12. I ended up hating my bed because it was tiny, hard as a rock (standard-issue dorm furniture), plus I had two roommates to share the bedroom with and couldn’t sleep comfortably (which is to say, topless). Also, we didn’t have air conditioning in the muggy Midwest, ugh. So I slept on a futon in the living room for a long time and developed a really strong aversion to my bed (and beds in general). Even now, having a big comfortable queen bed in a bedroom to myself, my biggest problem is still making myself lie down. It helped a lot when I stopped looking at a clock. The number of hours of sleep I wasn’t able to get have been a big source of anxiety for me in the past. Looking at a clock every 5 minutes ensured that my already-shitty amount of sleep got even shittier. So, don’t do that! 2 Benadryl helps me get sleepy enough to get in bed, but I don’t like to do that often. Only after a few days of horrible sleep in a row. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/38 "2011-12-02T04:57:10Z")
[quote=“Namkcalb, post:3, topic:604433”] [li][Install this on your computer.](http://stereopsis.com/flux/) It reduces the amount of melatonin-supressing blue light your computer emits in the evening.[/li][/QUOTE] I love you for this. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/39 "2011-12-02T05:11:30Z")
The plurality opinions of the late Justice Lewis Powell. ---
**Author:** ![bookaholic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@bookaholic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bookaholic)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433/40 "2011-12-02T22:43:44Z")
I have chronic insom. I use weed. Works better than anything I have ever tried and after two sleep studies I have tried them all. Truth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-good-for-defeating-insomnia/604433.md?page=3)