Sleep General

This is basically why I'm considering making a bodypillow for myself.

I've always slept hugging a second pillow, keeps me from slumping. Thinking I want to have something between my legs too.

i used to take 2 or 3 benadryls to sleep and stopped because morning grogginess.

i take only one pill, 25mg, that i snap in half right after brushing my teeth and usually i'm knocked out in half an hour. just woke up, pretty much same grogginess, just less, take smore time to get ready to start day/more coffee, but it works.

also, dreams can get weird or stop happening.

I watch a calming 'asmr' videos to get sleepy.
Most videos are pure garbage find some that help you.

I keep looking at my cable box clock.

Should I cover it tonight, so I'm not tempted?

Have you gotten tested for low testosterone? Also, you could try low dose mirtazapine with melatonin. The dose used for inducing short term sleepiness is 4-5mg.

Other than that, your condition sounds pretty serious.

>Then i got on heroin for about 5 years
jesus christ dude I can't imagine how people could ever be drawn to heroin. Stay clean brother. Your will is stronger than the vast majority.

I had trouble falling asleep for a long time. It'd take at least one hours and frequenly two hours or longer. My rhythm would constantly slip an hour or two forward, then I'd get sleep deprived when I'm forced to wake up earlier and the cycle begins anew.

A couple years ago I started changing my habits for sleep and doing everything I could to control the time when I could fall asleep. I got a sleep mask so I'd have perfect darkness while I slept which considerably reduced how much I woke up during sleep and prevented waking up too early during the bright northern summer. I started using SunsetScreen on my PC a few hours before going to bed which made fall asleep faster when I went to bed. I started using melatonin which made me fall asleep faster and sleep better. I'd read and listen to music instead of getting caught in my thoughts when trying to fall asleep.

My routine is taking 1.5mg melatonin one hour before I intend to fall asleep and going to bed and reading with quiet calm music playing in the background until I got sleepy. Then I put on the sleep mask and listen to the last tracks of my playlist and fall asleep. This takes 45-60min.

With this I've been able to successfully keep my rhythm stable and get adequate sleep every day. The key thing I need stay on top of is having the same schedule every day. I spend 9 hours in bed and probably sleep for about 8 since I wake up a couple times each night. I'd like to spend less time on sleep since it essentially costs me 10 hours everyday of which only 8 is actually sleep. I know a guy who could just close his eyes and be asleep in 5 minutes which sounds amazing to me. I wish I could have 2 more hours to do things every day.

Have tried multiple benzos along with antihistamines and melatonin, melatonin helps me set a sleeping pattern and nothing more. The other shit does literally nothing as in I can still perform fine motor skills without any effort after taking benzos, this is fucking garbage and never getting sleep is killing me and my gains. Gonna try to get some ambien out of a doctor and give that a go. Have tried everything from cutting caffeine to only being in bed when I'm gonna sleep. Shit is awful and I think it was the frequent 3-6 days in a row I used to spend awake that has destroyed my ability to sleep. Everything in my life has gotten better but sleep has gotten worse. This is honestly the fucking worst.

try a different sleep schedule. I had a major problem with insomnia till I tried other sleep patterns. 8 hour sleep pattern is ineffective as shit as it stands. I do 4-6 hour sleep at night wake up go to work come home sleep 2-3 hours. Wake up do what I need to do and go lift. I feel rested through out the day. The only times I'm sleep or groggy is when I'm nearing one of my sleep times.

Here is some more info about different sleep cycles
www collective-evolution com/2013/07/13/alternative-sleep-cycles-7-10-hours-is-not-needed/

Whats drastically improved was listening to podcasts at night. When I wouldnt have time to listen to them in the day I would play them in the dark when i tried to sleep and I noticed I would try listening to the same episode for a few nights but always fell asleep around 15 mins. Now every night I play a podcast whether I want to listen to it or not and boom guaranteed sleep. Before it used to be tv but now I cannot fucking stand a tv being on.

Likewise.
Been doing it for about 4 years now and it's great.
5 or 6 years if you count audiobooks.

I recommend ZMA. Great fucking sleep and great fucking dreams.

I do the same with quiet music and reading,

I had no idea sleep was this difficult. I always sleep 6 hours like clockwork and feel refreshed. Buy a fitbit or sleep tracker to check the quality of your sleep

See music I cant do. I tried but I end up actively listening to the songs, trying to think what they mean, wondering what gear the band used, why isnt that bit played live, and it goes on and on. However I discovered using music rather than a standard alarm ring wakes me up faster. I use this as my alarm.
youtube.com/watch?v=Dx2LgrwXxAc

I have a similar problem. I'm not joking when I say this but reading for half an hour before sleep helps alot. Not Veeky Forums or reddit, an actual book.

Inb4 not real insomnia
Melatonin doesn't work on me. Even zopiclone only puts me down for like 4 hours

Don't take pills for anything, ever. You want your body to heal itself.

That being said, what works for me:

Eat healthy
Eat a big fatty meal before bed time (I don't eat in the morning until late afternoon.
A warm shower helps me at night IF I need it.
When I go to bed, I always get up 8 hours later, no matter how tired I am. Its a way of telling my body "listen, this is when you sleep, if you don't sleep now you're going to be tired asshole."

That's about all I can think of now because I'm tired. Good luck OP.

>Don't take pills for anything maaaan let your body heal itself

>Dies of staph infection after brushing against sharp branch on way back from injecting steroids into buttocks at the gym.

I do pick the tracks I use carefully. I don't want too much bass or energetic drums in general. It should be calm music but melancholic. Ambient music is an obvious choice but I do use various kinds, like this one:

youtube.com/watch?v=l04yM7-BWbg

I change up the tracks from time to time but the last two that I fall asleep to have been the same for 3 years now. My final track is ambient:

youtube.com/watch?v=JTuYoAD4uPU

>I use this as my alarm.
>[YouTube] Boris - Flood 3 (embed)

That seems like a pleasant way to wake up. I don't want to jolted awake either. I use Sleep Cycle to track my sleep and its alarm is decently pleasant sounding too.

...

Dude Im stealing that ambient track that is gold. Well, I usually wake up within the first 30 seconds of the song so Im way up before the fuzz and drums kick in. I use that and Frankie M by Swans on work days (starting at 11:23 tho cause I do want to wake up with a jolt).

...

Used to do 0000-0800 every weekend as a student, wew lad good luck

My chiropractor told me the same thing

Also, fitbit (I have the blaze but others do it) tracks my sleep, wasn't all that useful but recently they updated it so now it divides it into phases so you see your REM

Fuck lads, If I don't get like 10-11 hours a night I'm fucked, I can't wake up and will be tired as fuck all day

I've been sleeping like a baby after i started taking 5-htp

witnessed

Dude wtf 10 hours thats ridiculous what time do you sleep? 8pm?

Nah, usually like midnight I'm a uni student luckily with no morning exams

Fucked when I enter the real world though

Well, you can move your rhythm to go to sleep earlier. It's not like you're forced to follow the sun with your sleep. Get a sleep mask to get perfect darkness regardless of how much light comes into your room.

P O D C A S T S
Used to be Let's Plays, now I put on the Sleepycabin podcast or sometimes some random youtube game review videos. I usually put in an earbud for this and turn the volume down so far that I have to really listen. Usually it only takes a few minutes to pass out.
But I also try not to take any late night caffeine and work out a lot to make sure I'm tired as fuck.
To be honest I don't get how you people can have problems falling asleep if you also lift - isn't your body completely wrecked most nights anyways?

While melatonin works for a bit, your body starts to get used to it pretty quick.

White noise works for me. I turn my fan on overnight and I go to sleep pretty fast. If you don't want a fan, there's white noise machines that you can get.

While a lot of people don't recommend it, maybe you should try listening to music? My friend listens to The Smiths when he wants to sleep and it works well for him.

History podcasts or math/physics lectures.

Not too loud and shut off screen on laptop. Does the job almost every time.

saw boris live once, pretty cool you posted this here

I smoke a bowl or vape some concentrate and take a 5mg melatonin when I need to crash out. I'm vaping an indica currently, it really helps me relax when stressed, helps with appitite, and doesn't leave me withbad anxiety and mental fuzziness like sativas do.

Only bad part is inhalents fuck your lungs up and edibles are expensive and annoying to make. Can only reccomend inhalents if you're doing at least 30 minutes of cardio at least twice a week.

PRO TIP, drive your tolerance up the wall so highs dont last very long, so you can get to sleep super easily and be sober by the morning.