# Why is it so hard to get to sleep **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-to-sleep/539276 "2010-05-13T05:41:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-to-sleep/539276/21 "2010-05-17T08:50:27Z")
“I recommend this (melatonin) over diphenhydramine/benadryl because that will have a dehydrating effect…” I agree, “this-that” not well stated and a bit confusing - especially if you are in need of sleep. 🙂 What I meant is I recommend trying melatonin over the diphenhydramine. (diphenhydramine is sold under trade names like benadryl or unisom, it’s also contained in tylenol pm) [Melatonin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin) is the generic name of a naturally occurring compound. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-to-sleep/539276/22 "2010-05-17T12:38:57Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > What do I do to get to sleep. > > And why is it that if I am watching a movie and I am tired, I can barely keep my eyes open and I seems to faze out for a few seconds at a time, but I press on until the end of the movie. And then when I get to bed and try to sleep I can not do it You don’t mention your age. In my younger days, I could pretty much close my eyes, sleep lightly for 6 hrs and wake up totally refreshed. Lately it hasn’t been so easy. A couple things. Some exercise in the early evening may help. It doesn’t have to much, maybe a brisk 15 minute walk around the block. I use generic ambien (not CR, unfortunately). I limit myself to 3-4 times a week and must say I look forward to my “ambien nights”. When that first yawn or nod hits, I hit the ambien. A half hour later, I couldn’t continue watching the movie if I wanted to. You might try just not pressing on with the movie after you first begin to fade. Or maybe you have? ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-to-sleep/539276/23 "2010-05-18T06:08:12Z")
Drink more. Alcohol works, but I find when I really can’t sleep, I’m really stressed or dehydrated. Big glass or 3 of water and back to bed, if I’m still awake after 20 minutes I get up, I don’t care where I have to be or what I have to do. Just get up for a bit. If its stress I read, read and read until the book falls on my nose. To me nothing is worse than having to be up and do something after a bad nights sleep, tossing and turning and getting aggravated that I couldn’t sleep. If I only get a few hours but made a few hundred pages in a good book, I don’t really notice that I didn’t sleep. Another thing that works for me, when I’m doing that flippy floppy crap. I think about something I enjoy thats boring, in real time. Riding a bike, in real time in your mind, to me its enjoyable, but its boring as hell to think about, and puts me out fairly quick. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-to-sleep/539276/24 "2010-05-18T06:26:20Z")
[This](http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=525147) post is one of the best short posts I’ve seen about sleep. I personally follow most of his guidelines, althoug Paul Graham (pg) is not a professional doctor/scientist/sleep researcher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-to-sleep/539276.md?page=1)