Seems Like A Lot Of People Are Having Trouble With Sleep Lately...

[Guest LittleMissAllergy]

I sleep like a baby at home. Like a rock. The minute I hit the pillow, I'm out. I do have to still get up to pee like 5 times a night because of my bladder issues, but once I hit the pillow again I'm out in an instant.

BUT THEN COLLEGE HAPPENED.

For some reason, when bedtime rolls around, my exhausted feeling goes away and is replaced with a feeling of anxiousness when I'm here in college. I become super sensitive to noise, and the noise that my roommates make and whatnot REALLY agitate me and get me into this state where I can't fall asleep. I am SO sensitive to noises. It's really annoying. So I'd love to be able to just pop a few sleeping pills that'll knock me out, but my digestive system is hypersensitive to almost ALL foods, medicines and herbs...so that definitely wouldn't end up helping things out.

Anyone have any suggestions on natural things (*maybe* even a gentle herb) that can calm you down, make you sleepy, help you go to sleep...

Because I can NOT think straight and get my work done...my brain is soooo fogggyyyy....

Hope you all are well (and sleeping well too!)

[mftnchn]

You might search the forum for posts on insomnia or sleep issue because there is a lot of good information here about what worked for various people.

I tried melatonin, 5HTP, trypophan, cortisol (adrenal treatment), hormones, and finally Ambien which worked. However, more recently I started a supplement called Travacor, which is a neurotransmitter support, and suddenly I am sleeping much better. I was quite surprised. It is a vitamin/mineral mix.

Good luck!

[CaraLouise]

On thing that really helped me drown out the noise of my roommates in college was a high powered fan right by my bed. I would turn it on and the rhythm would be what I focused on. As with most college campuses it was pretty noisy and this helped me go to sleep a lot!

[blueeyedmanda]

I still need to take a sleeping pill at night which started last spring, but now that I am working out, I noticed I can sleep through the night without waking up which is nice. Before I would wake up multiple times and sometimes at 4 an toss and turn until 6:30 when the alarm goes off.

[Beagle]

I know what it is like to not be able to sleep, because of too much noise. I don't sleep well anyway, so I take melatonin to help me get the rest I need. My husband and his daughter also take it and it works fabulously. I take two to three mg per night and so does my husband. I buy 1mg tablets (it also comes in 3mg & 5mg) and for 120 it costs me just under $7.00. His daughter takes six mg per night, so it just depends on the person taking it.

Melatonin is a natural hormone & an anti-oxtidant (no other hormone in a persons body is both) produced in the pineal gland, located in your brain. The fact that it is also an anti-oxident means it helps build the immune system, not just aid in sleeping.

You will notice a difference the very first night. Some people require more than others, so exiperiment on what works for you. Oh yeah, there is no toxic amount of melatonin, so don't worry about how much you have to take.

Good luck & sweet dreams!

[Leslie C.]

I've recently stated taking something called Metabalance (prescribed by the Naturopathic that I see). I still wake up a lot at night, but I've noticed that it really calms me down during the day. My doctor said it will eventually help with my sleep after it has been in my system for awhile. Also, you may want to buy a white noise machine to put by your bed. It will help to filter out all those annoying things that wake you up. If you want the Metablance, let me know and I'll give you the phone number where I order it.

[Leslie C.]

Dear Little Miss Allergy:

I'm afraid I might forget to check to see if you responded, so here's the phone number to order Metablance - 703-554-1130. You will be calling the Spa at Nova Medical Group in Ashburn, VA. I don't think you need to be seeing one of their doctors to order it. I hope this helps.

[gfp]

Unfortunately almost anything you can take for sleep is strongly habit forming, herbal or not...

This doesn't mean people don't have imbalances need addressing but that even gentle herbs can be mentally addictive when it comes to sleep.

The tried and tested way is to set an alarm and get up at the same time EVERY DAY.... this will kill you for a week and be hard for another but the 'secret' is no secret. Its when we get up, not when we go to bed that's important...

The real problem with getting off to sleep is the fact its 90% psychological, the more you worry about it the worse it gets! Merely worrying you won't can prevent you sleeping!

Forcing yourself to get up at the same time will force you to get tired ....

White noise etc. is all well and good but just as addictive. I have a friend can't sleep without it after 30 years! I'm not saying there is any harm using it to drown out noise on occasion but if you use it EVERY night then it becomes a habit and you can't sleep without it even when its not needed.

[linuxprincess]

The tried and tested way is to set an alarm and get up at the same time EVERY DAY.... this will kill you for a week and be hard for another but the 'secret' is no secret. Its when we get up, not when we go to bed that's important...

I seem to have an issue with just turning it off and going back to bed then when I'm up for the day an hour or so later, I don't recall turning the alarm off. I often wonder if I even set it, but then the boyfriend will tell me that I just went back to bed once I turned it off. I've tried setting it across the room, but I still don't remember it and it doesn't seem to 'wake' me. I'm such a heavy sleeper with sever teeth griding - the people in my apartment suffer. It's loud enough for others to hear it in different rooms! Any suggestions on this?

[Sunrise85]

I know what it is like to not be able to sleep, because of too much noise. I don't sleep well anyway, so I take melatonin to help me get the rest I need. My husband and his daughter also take it and it works fabulously. I take two to three mg per night and so does my husband. I buy 1mg tablets (it also comes in 3mg & 5mg) and for 120 it costs me just under $7.00. His daughter takes six mg per night, so it just depends on the person taking it.

Melatonin is a natural hormone & an anti-oxtidant (no other hormone in a persons body is both) produced in the pineal gland, located in your brain. The fact that it is also an anti-oxident means it helps build the immune system, not just aid in sleeping.

You will notice a difference the very first night. Some people require more than others, so exiperiment on what works for you. Oh yeah, there is no toxic amount of melatonin, so don't worry about how much you have to take.

Good luck & sweet dreams!

Wow! Just went out and bought melatonin after reading your post. I took it last night, and it was the first night I didn't wake up all night! Slept for 6 hours straight! Woke up feeling very refreshed and excited I've been trying to figure out how to make myself sleep for ages, tried tylenol pm during college but it didn't quite give me a good nights sleep, just made me feel drugged and drowsy.

Thank you!!

[RiceGuy]

I have found vitamin B12 (a sublingual methylcobalamin form) to really help with sleep, not to mention skin, hair, nails, eyesight, mood, and loads of other things.

Research shows that methylcobalamin actually has a positive effect on the production of melatonin. If you aren't producing enough melatonin, it may be because of a B12 deficiency. Such a deficiency is common among celiacs too, and just as with Celiac, it is always better to address the cause of the problem, than to medicate the symptoms. Here's just one of many links I Googled up on the subject: Open Original Shared Link

[Nancym]

I seem to have an issue with just turning it off and going back to bed then when I'm up for the day an hour or so later, I don't recall turning the alarm off. I often wonder if I even set it, but then the boyfriend will tell me that I just went back to bed once I turned it off. I've tried setting it across the room, but I still don't remember it and it doesn't seem to 'wake' me. I'm such a heavy sleeper with sever teeth griding - the people in my apartment suffer. It's loud enough for others to hear it in different rooms! Any suggestions on this?

I heard an MIT student had this problem so she invented a clock that rings loudly and rolls off your nightstand so you have to get out of bed and search for it. Isn't that clever?

Open Original Shared Link

[Terbie]

I had a very similar problem when I went of to college and lived in the dorms.

What I found helpful was to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. Sleep in college is so erratic that it messes with everyone's sleep cycles. Once I started doing that, I slept much sounder. Also, getting outside and exercising helped me a ton.

I think a lot of the problem for me was that it was a complete environment change for me (quiet at home to loud in the dorms, good food at home to bad dorm food, low stress at home to high stress in college). It took me a year to adjust. I also moved to a quieter dorm and that helped out tons.

Oh and don't take tylenol PM like someone said in their post. I did that in college and got slightly addicted so it was hard to sleep without it. Plus, it contains gluten and is harsh on your stomach if you take it every night.