need tips on ways to help me fall asleep

[justanotherhater]

I've been having the most stressful couples of weeks that I've had in a very long time. Both in my personal life, and university studies.

I've just been exhausted but I can't fall asleep, I would literally feel dead tired, unable to move, but can't fall asleep.
Does anyone have tips on ways I can unwind and fall asleep easier at night?

[Sonia]

Take a hot bath/shower, drink some sleepy time tea, read a book or watch tv right before you try to sleep.. if none of that works I usually take half a benadryl. It's the same ingredient that's in ZzzQuil (a sleep aid) but cheaper.

[loopyloo]

Have you tried any relaxation/meditation CDs? I used to have one where this person with an amazingly soothing voice would talk over this background of Japanese garden noises. I'd be asleep in ten minutes every time I listened to it. Have a search on the podcast section on iTunes for 'relaxation', 'meditation' and 'sleep'. There are tons of free ones on there.

[KittenKaboost]

I've heard trying to go to bed the same time every night helps. And build a routine of things that you do before you go to bed, things like Sonia and loopyloo said.

[nothinggold]

Melatonin. Natural hormone your body makes to make you fall asleep. It can be hit or miss for people if it works. It doesn't work that great for me.
Try to cut off your caffeine intake a good three hours before you go to sleep. Drink water, caffeine free tea, or even a glass of wine. I find a glass of wine or a beer makes me feel sleepy if I'm just having one to wind down. I'm not saying get wasted or even tipsy, just have one glass or beer and drink it slowly.
But with that being said, do not mix alcohol and sleep aids.
When all else fails, tracks of rain and trying to focus on nothing help me sleep.

[brittneypants]

Some things that help me: Sleeping masks, alcohol, baths, slow deep breathing. I find that melatonin helps me get a deeper sleep but doesn't really make me tired, but it can't hurt.

[mameha]

Since it's stress related insomnia, be sure to not let the insomnia itself make you even more anxious. There's a 'learned' insomnia where the frustration of not being able to sleep prevents you from sleeping (which I've had quite frequently, it's not pleasant). Just keep reminding yourself that you will be able to resume sleep normal hours and skip bad habits like checking the clock.

[justanotherhater]

Thanks, everyone. It helps. I'll try all your suggestions, and see what works for me.

[crazycandy]

i suggest not drinking anything with has caffeine. such as:-
tea
coffee
fizzy drinks
energy drinks.

instead have water, herbal tea etc.

if its link with your personal life, have a talk to them (the people that effect u) so that they don't add more unnecessary stress or that they can be more understanding. as for uni just take it a day at a time.

if u still have trouble sleeping, i suggestion going to your GP. they can give u some medicine that can knock you out, until your body is use to the regular sleeping pattern again.
don't go through it alone and take care

[Ilsa Lund]

if I can't sleep, I drink a glass of wine and do a touch up of my room so that it's nice and clean in the morning. You can also wear fuzzy socks because if you're cold, it's harder to go asleep.

[hollaatmegurl]

Okay, I might be the only person on GG who is into ASMR stuff, but I would seriously consider giving it a try. ASMR is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and it's basically a tingling feeling you get in your scalp and then it like moves through your body. Think of what it feels like when someone plays with your hair, it's like that. There's a crapload of videos on youtube for it, my sister and I used to make some (but haven't in a few months).

There are a lot of triggers for it, some people are triggered by nail tapping, or facial massage role plays (like the motions of moving their hands very close to the camera, wiping at it like you're receiving a massage), watching actual massages (most people are triggered from massages that have smooth, fluid, light movements), whispering, etc. If you want, I can link you to some favorites of mine that target varying triggers to see if any work for you, but ASMR has helped a LOT of people with their insomnia.

[Gremlin]

I think one of the best things you could do for yourself is developing a number of sleep "triggers". Things that you do or experience before going to bed or falling asleep to trigger tiredness and need to sleep. Different things work for different people but what I do is light a really nice smelling candle, turn off the lights, sit up in bed (but under the covers) and play white noise from an app on my phone. The dim lighting, the smell of the candle and the sound of the white noise as well as sitting up in bed and closing my eyes (not lying down straight away) makes me extremely tired and all i want to do is roll over and fall asleep.

[B!tchplz]

I find sleeping after a shower is helpful as well as clearing my mind and not thinking of anything

[justanotherhater]

Okay, I might be the only person on GG who is into ASMR stuff, but I would seriously consider giving it a try. ASMR is Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, and it's basically a tingling feeling you get in your scalp and then it like moves through your body. Think of what it feels like when someone plays with your hair, it's like that. There's a crapload of videos on youtube for it, my sister and I used to make some (but haven't in a few months).

There are a lot of triggers for it, some people are triggered by nail tapping, or facial massage role plays (like the motions of moving their hands very close to the camera, wiping at it like you're receiving a massage), watching actual massages (most people are triggered from massages that have smooth, fluid, light movements), whispering, etc. If you want, I can link you to some favorites of mine that target varying triggers to see if any work for you, but ASMR has helped a LOT of people with their insomnia.

Can you link me to some of your favorites? I'm really interested.

[Angie V]

This doesn't work for everyone, but I put on headphones and listen to podcasts or BBC world service at night and it makes me fall asleep easier because I can focus on someone else speaking instead of my own thoughts. My favorite podcasts are Stuff You Should Know, RadioLab and This American Life. But some people can't sleep with that because they are so focused on what is being said during the podcast so idk, you can give it a go if you'd like. I used to be just like you in that regard, though. But now I fall asleep much faster.