Sleep?!?! How do you do it?

Dave, I don't think physical tiredness is a problem for you...more "work" won't...work.

If you can't get mentally tired (try reducing stimulus and doing something "boring"), then you need to talk to a specialist. Sleep specialists are a thing, and most insurance will cover them.
 
I mentioned my similar sleep issues to my doctor and he prescribed me Ambien. I've been using it almost every night for a few years now. The good news, it works really well. Like you can be wide awake when you take it and be asleep within 30 min. I usually take it 20 min before going to bed and barely remember hitting the pillow. Bad news is that I feel like I can't live without it now. No other side effects that I know of except alcohol and it don't mix well.
 
I'll beat the dead horse and pile on with no drinking. For me, that significantly increases the likelihood that I will wake in the night and not be able to get back to sleep. That is the reason I've been up since 4:15 am today.

Have you tried magnesium glycinate? This works really well for me. I take 250mg in the morning with my regular vitamins, and another 250 about an hour before I want to go to bed. By then I'm usually nodding off if I'm on the couch.

When I first started it, the 250 in the morning made me sleepy for a few days until my body adjusted. You can probably just take 500 near bed time.

This is the one I use, from Costco


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Karate Monkey said:
If you can't get mentally tired (try reducing stimulus and doing something "boring")
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This is another good point, trading the screen for a book an hour before bed will probably help! If I was reading after taking the magnesium I'd probably be out even quicker.
 
I take a timed release Melotonin to keep me asleep. But to quiet the thoughts in my head to get to sleep I take a low dose Zanax (doc prescribed). It may sound weird, but I’ve had luck with a weighted blanket. And don’t forget a white noise generator or app for your phone, that also helps.

Ps.. I wouldn’t rely on the Garmin data, I used my watch for quite a bit and found that there were too many times it said I was asleep and I wasn’t…..and vice versa.
 
I too, experience the racing brain. I actually solve problems in my sleep. I get tired but not sleepy.
There is a half-dose Ambien that is effective for maintaining sleep. It is expensive. (I can fall asleep, just not stay asleep.
Sleeping alone may help. Listening to an audiobook with a sonorous reader voice at a low volume works wonders. It seems to corral the brain. Likewise, if I focus on things to be done I stay awake. But if I review in minute detail tasks I finished, I usually find sleep.
Good luck. This gets worse as we age.
 
Fire Lord Jim said:
I too, experience the racing brain. I actually solve problems in my sleep. I get tired but not sleepy.
There is a half-dose Ambien that is effective for maintaining sleep. It is expensive. (I can fall asleep, just not stay asleep.
Sleeping alone may help. Listening to an audiobook with a sonorous reader voice at a low volume works wonders. It seems to corral the brain. Likewise, if I focus on things to be done I stay awake. But if I review in minute detail tasks I finished, I usually find sleep.
Good luck. This gets worse as we age.
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I have a regular health plan and Ambien doesn't cost me much. I usually take half to 3/4 of a pill and that's usually enough. I like that I don't need a book, white noise, quiet or darkness to sleep. It almost always works within 30 min. No tossing and turning, no staring at the ceiling for hours anymore
 
Santapez said:
Stop with Melatonin. It'll fuck up your sleep patterns, I'm sure the dosage is way higher than your body creates and probably isn't even consistent in the pills you take.

It's a hormone. Would you take generic Cortisol, Estrogen or Testosterone in random amounts at the wrong times?

And not saying to take CBD, but do they actually test for that or just THC? Or is the amount of THC in the CBD enough to blow a test?
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The problem is that my testing is for a federal license and a federal organization. I cannot have even .0000 one of THC show up in my test. Any amount is a failure. All the CBD companies I have contacted none can guarantee zero THC.
 
dmc123 said:
I mentioned my similar sleep issues to my doctor and he prescribed me Ambien. I've been using it almost every night for a few years now. The good news, it works really well. Like you can be wide awake when you take it and be asleep within 30 min. I usually take it 20 min before going to bed and barely remember hitting the pillow. Bad news is that I feel like I can't live without it now. No other side effects that I know of except alcohol and it don't mix well.
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I have never tried Ambien, but not really wanting to take prescription drugs. I had a friend that would do Iron Man races, and he was on Ambien and despite sleeping his heart rate would race throughout the night, and the sleep was rarely deep sleep.
 
I will add that my big problem is winding down before bed. Generally once my head hits the pillow, I am out like a light. It’s getting to that point that I have trouble with.
 
As someone who doesn't sleep well (mostly due to our cats now)...

I stopped drinking. Period.

I changed my diet to eliminate added sugar/processed foods.

I stop eating at least 2 hours before I go to bed (usually around 6-6:30).

I make sure my workout is done 2-3 hours before bed.

My phone goes to DND at 8 pm. Unless it's my dad or husband it can wait until the next day. I don't look at my phone either. Read a book.

I sometimes wear earplugs (although the cats still step on me).

I realize not this may not be ideal for some but it helped with my sleep apnea and daytime drowsiness.
 
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I also suffer from sleep issues, last night was one of the worst yet. I'll finish reading this after my morning coffee cup of life.
 
FWIW Years ago I bought a tai chi video to help w/ my back pain. The first part of the video was about meditating and stopping the chatter, before continuing towards the tai chi movements. It took three plus months before I was able to stay awake through that first part. I'm able to replicate those steps most nights.
 
Dave Taylor said:
The problem is that my testing is for a federal license and a federal organization. I cannot have even .0000 one of THC show up in my test. Any amount is a failure. All the CBD companies I have contacted none can guarantee zero THC.
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Seriously? It's legal in half the country. What kind of license has zero tolerance?
 
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