Insomnia

I've been having bad insomnia for the past week. Its really starting to frustrate me. I'll lay in bed for hours tossing and turning until I finally conk out from exhaustion at 3 in the morning...when I go to bed at about 11 or 12.

I've been really stressed lately. I'm worried about not having a job yet and worrying about my life in general. I know I'm only 21 and I have forever to decide what to do "for the rest of my life" but I'm still worrying about it. I feel like when I lay down to sleep my mind won't be quiet. I am on zoloft for an anxiety disorder and I have something to take if my anxiety gets out of control, and I've been taking that...it helps a little. I'd rather just be able to sleep though, ya know?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I also have really bad insomnia and am on zoloft for an anxiety disorder... I switched from taking my meds at night to taking them in the morning, which helped the insomnia some, but this past week it's been really bad. I'm on vacation so I haven't been doing this (this week), but when I'm at home I've been sleeping with a little eye pillow filled with lavendar (apparently lavendar helps you sleep). Also, sleep on your right side (it squishes down your right nostril - breathing through your left nostril calms you down, the right nostril wakes you up). Drink a glass of water before you go to bed (I also keep a water bottle next to my bed). I find that this helps me calm down a bit when my thoughts start to race. Piano music is also very relaxing and nice (I would reccomend the cd "Lifescapes - Pachelbel," arranged by Dirk Freymuth).

I know more little tricks, but I can't think of them right now. I'll edit if I remember more...

** Note that I HAVEN'T been doing these things this week, which I suspect has been part of my problem (as I'm typing this, it is 3:56 am; the other night I couldn't fall asleep at all, and just stayed awake for nearly 2 days straight.) I usually get to bed at around 11-12 and fall asleep at around 1-ish. When I don't do the things I listed above, I end up wide awake and exhausted at 4:00 in the morning...

Good luck.

Sorry, double post...

Do you drink any caffeine at all?  You may be hyper sensitive to it along with the meds you are taking.  If you do, I would try to eliminate it, especially after lunch.

Have you tried to create a soothing bedtime ritual?  Something along the lines of reading something soothing (maybe even a childhood favorite) or listening to some "white noise" tapes.  Just a chance to wind down, and not think about today (or tomorrow).

Do you fall asleep, then wake up and toss and turn?  If you don't fall asleep within 15 minutes of turning out the light, try getting up, getting a cup of hot milk, do your "sleep ritual" and try again.  Don't lie in bed tossing and turning, that ruins the sense of bed being a comfort zone for sleeping.  Good luck!

one thing you should do is to get out of bed when your not sleeping in it. (so from that 11-3 period that your just tossing and turning, get out of bed. your just conditioning your self to not sleeping in bed, so do go to bed till you feel like your just about to pass out) 

dont exersise be for you go to bed (even tho you may be tired your body is then wide awake and can make you stay awake)

dont nap. this will make it harder to fall asleep earlyer 

look in to meds for sleep and anxiety either one can help alot

cut down on caffeine.

if you go to sleep with any lights (tv computer etc) or sounds try turning them off.

all of this is just basic sleep hygene. but i think your main problem is anxiety which is causing your insamia (could also be the other way or something compleatly diffrent but from what you said thats what it  most likely is.) so if you get treated for the anxiety (maybe the zoloft is not working for you anymore, or you need to switch, it usualy takes a while befor you can find a medication that works right for you or you need to change the amount) the sleep problems should start going away

I've been on zoloft for years and it helps me completely...so I know thats not the problem. I made some tea last night and read and I slept better than I had all week.

I already never drink caffeine, so I really think the stress is my big problem. I'm going to keep doing the tea and reading before bed until I feel better

I have friends that swear Tyenol PM is magic.  Doctor recommended, they say take one at bed time....and Good Night!  Try it...it can't hurt!

I've had insomnia for as long as I can remember, but I hate taking meds for it, I try and control it otherwise.

I don't do anything in my bed but sleep, and I have a before bed 'ritual' I never stray from or change. (brush teeth first, then wash face, etc.). I make it as dark and quiet as possible.

If my body is ok with 6 hours of sleep, I just take it. In general, I actually don't mind mild insomnia, because I'll stay up (I never stay in bed when I can't sleep). Somedays I honestly have no idea how people who need 8 hrs of sleep get things done.

I work out a lot. Its the biggest help. A 90 minute tough workout - I know that I'll sleep within minutes of getting in bed.

While not the healthiest suggestion, sometimes I'm desperate for sleep, so on one day of insomnia, I'll try and stay up as late as possible (sometimes 5am when I get up at 7am), I stay awake the whole next day just so I'm exhausted enough to go straight to sleep the next night. Of couse, sleeping every night is preferable, but sometimes insomnia makes me feel a little crazy and I really just need a full night's sleep.

I have a history of both anxiety and insomnia and know exactly what you mean when you say that your mind won't be quiet.  I've used acute anxiety meds and OTC allergy meds on occasion with some success, but I agree that its better to go a more -um- traditional route when it comes to falling asleep. 

I know it is supposedly disruptive and bad sleep hygiene, but I regularly fall asleep watching (more like listening to) episodes of TV shows that I enjoy but have seen many times.  I guess I've found that if I just don't give my brain the chance to wander at all, I'm more likely to fall asleep.  Also not an ideal fix, but its cheaper than taking klonopin every night :/

I don't know if this is also the case for you, but on top of having trouble sleeping just due to stress I used to have a kind of insomnia cycle that would start from time to time: I'd be stressed out due to a particular pressing set of circumstances or event, have trouble sleeping a couple of nights, and then become progressively more stressed out about the fact that I was having a difficult time falling asleep.  My sleep 'performance anxiety', paired with the pressure of whatever was going on in my life, made it all but impossible to fall asleep.  Now, I realize that instead of making intense (and totally futile) efforts to figure out how to fall asleep, it is more important for me to convince myself that it simply doesn't matter when I fall asleep and remind myself that even if I don't fall asleep at all I will still be able to get through the day (as I have so many times before).

I’m struggling w/the same kind of problem, so I don’t know how good my advice is but here you go:

1) Don’t drink caffeine after 2pm

2) Read something relaxing, instead of watch tv, before bed.

3) Keep a notebook by your bed and write down thoughts/reminders.

4) Exercise in the morning.

5) Put a plan together and start working on what is worrying you.  I.E.  Start to figure out what you want to do with your life:  Talk to people, do research.

6) If you are religious, there a lot of Bible verses that can bring comfort:  Prov 3:5-6, Jer 29:11, Eccl 7:14.

Good luck.

Everyone has given you pretty good advice, so I'll just add one more thing:  Have you tried taking melatonin?  It's a natural sleep aid, and it works pretty well.  You don't need a prescription, you can just get it at cvs or rite-aid.  It's completely safe and non-dependent.  I would definately try to avoid going down the prescription sleep-aids path.  They're very hard to wean off of, and can be dangerous (oh, those ambien trips...).