I have hideous problems with sleeping - but find sleeping tablets give me a hangover to the extent it can be difficult functioning at work the next day - so I have some other suggestions that might help you 🙂
- You could try valerian with passiflora - that's available as a tea, and that can be calming and soothing and might work for you. I think they are also available in tablet form, though I don't know the dosage - as are hops, if you don't fancy the idea of a hop pillow (or as well as). I seem to remember, though, that a) valerian is a long-term remedy, so you may need to give it a good old chance and b) that for some people, it actually works as a stimulant, so you may need to take it earlier in the day.
- If you can cope with lactose, try a warm milky drink half an hour before bed (or longer, if you're like me and tend to need to wee in the night if you have liquid to close to bedtime - that may have been too much information!) - and even better if you can add a spoon of honey, as the sugars in that help act as a sedative.
- If you can't bear Lavender, you could also try chamomile essential oil, as that's very calming: or Tisserand do a sleep mix that's in a roll on - it's about £4, and from Boots - and isn't too lavendery. If you could cope with lavender in a bath or shower preparation, you could try that before bed.
- Some people swear by magnesium and/or calcium supplements
- Bach rescue remedy do a night-time specific treatment
Some years ago now, I was referred to a sleep clinic, where they were very keen on "sleep hygiene"...
- Don't watch tv, use your mobile or computer for at least an hour before trying to go to sleep, and *definitely* don't have any of them in your bedroom: the light from the screen does something that stimulates you, and stops you sleeping. Plus, your brain will be stimulated by the moving pictures/flickering screen etc (it happens so fast we can't see it, but think about when you see a live computer screen on eg the news, and it's flashing all the time) and won't be ready to rest.
- If there's something particular that's bothering you - intrusive thoughts - write it down and put it to one side.
- Don't do anything in your bedroom except have sex or sleep: if you've tried to go to sleep, and been lying there for - say - half an hour (without obsessively checking your alarm clock etc) get out of bed, go to the sitting room, sit down quietly and try to read or listen to the radio. Once you start feeling sleepy, go back up to bed and try again. Repeat all night if necessary. It helps re-educate your brain that bed is where you go to sleep, apparently.
- No booze or caffeine after lunchtime.
- Don't sleep in - even if you didn't get to sleep until 6.30, you still need to get out of bed at 7 - even at weekends. And definitely don't take any naps - even if you're so tired you want to throw up.
I can't tolerate milk, but I have had some success with herbal teas, lavender oil (which I loathe, but tolerate for the sake of sometimes getting to sleep!) and Tisserand. There are a variety of different balms and rubs available, so it may be a bit of trial an error for you. I now have *excellent* sleep hygiene, but I have also realised that by and large, I'll have five or six (or more of I'm on the road) absolutely dreadful nights, then one where I'll get about seven hours, and then it starts again.
And it might be worth asking your doctor to refer you to a sleep clinic- if you're the type of insomniac who wakes up in the night, and then can't get back, there may be a physiological (is that the word I mean?) reason for it - like stopping breathing for a second or something. If it's a newer problem, and you're sort of aware what might be casuing it (like you're worried about something) it's worth asking for help through counselling to see if that can either solve the issue, or help you put it aside long enough to rest. And apparently, CBT can also be useful for some types of insomnia too. Definitely start pushing your GP for a solution, though, if you can't find a natural or OTC remedy to help: sleeping tablets can be horribly addictive, unfortunately, and don't always address the underlying issues for the insomnia, which is why they restrict their use so much - but there may be other things they can try for you.
It can be a sod (is that a bleep word?!) - especially when you get too exhausted to sleep, and are lying there racked and wretched: you have my best thoughts that you'll find something that helps you.
