Non-Melatonin natural sleep aids/Melatonin kill anyone else?

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Rebel_Nowe
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26 Aug 2011, 6:05 pm

Lately I have been having really severe insomnia. The past week has had me between 2 and 4 fitful, separated hours of sleep a night before waking up between three and five in the morning. I have some melatonin, theanine, b6 stuff, but I have never been able to take any melatonin of any strength without feeling it through half of the next day. I know that AS is associated with decreased melatonin production, but I've also heard that decreased absorption may be associated as well, causing the melatonin to stay in your system too long and keep you sleepy. Does anyone have more information about that? Anyone with similar experiences?

Also, what are some other effective, natural sleep aids that people have tried? I've also never found a real sleep medication that gave me restful sleep or that didn't stick with me all day, so natural things are probably my best bet until I can get on a serious anti-anxiety (hopefully soon).


I've been taking Hyland's Calms Forte before bed. It helps me get to sleep, and I can't recommend it enough for stress and anxiety, but it doesn't last through the night. I have some Hyland's Insomnia and Bach's Rescue Sleep in the mail. I really trust anything from Hyland's, but does anyone know anything about that rescue sleep stuff? I can report how well they work for me, if anyone is interested.



Megz
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26 Aug 2011, 6:35 pm

I've been drinking this herbal tea with valerian, passion flower, licorice root, spearmint, chamomile, skullcap, cardamom, cinnamon, st. john's wort, rose hip, and raspberry leaf. It doesn't knock me out like benedryl does, but it makes my relax to where I can fall asleep more easily than if my mind was racing like it usually is. That tea is a completely effective anti-anxiety for me. It's Yogi Bedtime tea if you're interested. I bought it in the natural food section of Kroger.

Edit: and I still feel calm and relaxed (not my natural state lol) when I wake up 8 hours later.



safffron
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26 Aug 2011, 6:51 pm

Magnesium supplements help me sleep better. (Don't take the oxide version.) There's a lot of information about it on the Web.



flamingshorts
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26 Aug 2011, 9:23 pm

Recently started trying meditation to see if it did anything for me. Have found it helped me get to sleep and sleep better.



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26 Aug 2011, 9:29 pm

I've had sleeping problems my entire life. Valerian root smells and tastes horrid, but that cured my sleeping problems when I was on it. I woke up refreshed and in my normal happy mode. My mom gave me a teddy bear stuffed with lavender that helps too, and I used to have like three lavender pouches stuffed in my pillow. Then there's that Sleepy Time tea that's been super helpful. And working out during the day for just 20 minutes can help you sleep soundly.

And of course, a glass of milk never hurt.

My brother's on melatonin. He takes twice the recommended amount and is only 70 pounds (doctor approved) and he's wide awake during the day.


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26 Aug 2011, 9:38 pm

Rebel_Nowe wrote:
Lately I have been having really severe insomnia. The past week has had me between 2 and 4 fitful, separated hours of sleep a night before waking up between three and five in the morning. I have some melatonin, theanine, b6 stuff, but I have never been able to take any melatonin of any strength without feeling it through half of the next day. I know that AS is associated with decreased melatonin production, but I've also heard that decreased absorption may be associated as well, causing the melatonin to stay in your system too long and keep you sleepy. Does anyone have more information about that? Anyone with similar experiences?

Also, what are some other effective, natural sleep aids that people have tried? I've also never found a real sleep medication that gave me restful sleep or that didn't stick with me all day, so natural things are probably my best bet until I can get on a serious anti-anxiety (hopefully soon).


I've been taking Hyland's Calms Forte before bed. It helps me get to sleep, and I can't recommend it enough for stress and anxiety, but it doesn't last through the night. I have some Hyland's Insomnia and Bach's Rescue Sleep in the mail. I really trust anything from Hyland's, but does anyone know anything about that rescue sleep stuff? I can report how well they work for me, if anyone is interested.


I'm wondering how to self medicate myself like that.

Ultimately, I'd like to get to the stage where I can just naturally fall asleep at 11pm.

Currently I'm not taking melatonin, I have a feeling it was contributing to migraines... I'm wondering if migraines have something to do with hormone levels... I might use a reduced dose.

You could try a smaller dose of melatonin, and you could try using or eating something in the morning to get serotonin levels going. I take a little bit of St. Johns Wort now and then. Coffee can do it to some extent. I'm very leary of caffeine, it's a hell of a drug, most people don't know. I tend to overreact to drugs though.


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mglosenger
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26 Aug 2011, 10:36 pm

Melatonin works for me, and gives me very vivid dreams, but yes, it also lasts long into the next day and just isn't worth it overall. I also seem to develop very high tolerance very quickly.

Personally I find that not eating for a few hours before sleeping and being in a cold room help the most. If I've eaten within the last 2-3 hours, I won't be able to sleep. Hot rooms are harder but not impossible.

And of course the longer I stay up the more easily I fall asleep :)

I've never found any foreign substance particularly effective.. the strong ones work but linger too long, and the weak ones wear off too quickly and then I'm more awake than before. That said, I've never had what I would call insomnia, except when withdrawing from certain substances, but that's another story :)

I suggest avoiding food, even not eating anything after dinner, and trying a cold(er) room.



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26 Aug 2011, 11:48 pm

I've heard that a weighted blanket can drastically help with insomnia for people with ASDs.
I've not tried one yet - my materials for making one haven't arrived yet, but you might want to do research into deep pressure related sleep "aids" as well.



glasstoria
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27 Aug 2011, 12:20 pm

I've had problems not falling asleep at night, and have tried Bach's Rescue remedy and magnesium as well as tyrosine and theanine (or l-theanine) supplements.

One thing that helps ALOT for me is taking a hot bath or shower before I want to go to bed. I find it relaxing.

I would love to try the weighted blanket idea, I have always stacked blankets up for myself to sleep under, but the heat of 5 blankets in summer is impossible to deal with most of the time despite the benefits. Does anyone have a weighted blanket they recommend from a certain store or brand? I haven't researched this yet because I dont think I could afford it since I dont have a job really.



Tuttle
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27 Aug 2011, 1:31 pm

glasstoria wrote:
I
I would love to try the weighted blanket idea, I have always stacked blankets up for myself to sleep under, but the heat of 5 blankets in summer is impossible to deal with most of the time despite the benefits. Does anyone have a weighted blanket they recommend from a certain store or brand? I haven't researched this yet because I dont think I could afford it since I dont have a job really.


If you're making one yourself, you can make one for as little as $50. There are instructions online.



blueroses
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27 Aug 2011, 4:16 pm

safffron wrote:
Magnesium supplements help me sleep better. (Don't take the oxide version.) There's a lot of information about it on the Web.


Me, too. (Magnesium is also great for controlling anxiety and some studies have shown a link between magnesium deficiency and sound sensitivity. So, if you have sensory sensitivities, too, it could be worth exporing just for that.) Also, taking B vitamins and eating whole, natural foods instead of processed foods seems help me. (I think I'm somewhat sensitive to certain food additives).

The thing with me is that no matter what I take, I will not be able to sleep if I am tense. For me, insomnia is often a response to stress and/or depression. So, I have to try my best not to let stress get to me, avoid my natural instinct to be a hermit and try to have some social ties in my life and exercise every day, even if only a brisk half-hour walk over my lunch break. Getting a little sun during the afternoon hours, just enough to keep my D3 levels up seems to help me with warding off depression, too.



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27 Aug 2011, 5:05 pm

I tried 5-HTP capsules for a few weeks, I gave up as I was experiencing severe nightmares which were of the most depressing nature. :cry:
I also lacked energy the following day and found it hard to focus on anything other than the previous nights dreams.

I have returned to my faithful St. John's Wort and Ginko Biloba with the occasional Ginseng. I have a new sleep inducer being Badger Sleep Balm.



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24 Sep 2011, 3:47 pm

CosmicRuss wrote:
I tried 5-HTP capsules for a few weeks, I gave up as I was experiencing severe nightmares which were of the most depressing nature. :cry:
I also lacked energy the following day and found it hard to focus on anything other than the previous nights dreams.

I have returned to my faithful St. John's Wort and Ginko Biloba with the occasional Ginseng. I have a new sleep inducer being Badger Sleep Balm.
Further to my post above, I have had a few bad weeks of hypertension and had my Ramipril dose increased by my GP a fortnight ago. I then started to have terrible palpitations and still experienced high blood pressure.
I have since discovered that St. John's Wort reacts badly with Ramipril so I have immediately stopped the St. John's Wort and after 2 days I feel a bit better.
I will be wary of such interactions in the future. :cry:



Rebel_Nowe
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24 Sep 2011, 4:11 pm

The combination of the Hyland's insomnia and Bach's is doing amazing things for me. The hyland's puts my mind to sleep and the Bach's puts my body to sleep. Together, they have changed my life. Between the two of those, I can reliably sleep through the night for the first time in years. I've only had one or two nights of repeated or prolonged awakenings while using them at least every night before work. Neither on its own is quite enough, though.



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24 Sep 2011, 4:36 pm

Melatonin never worked for me. At least not by itself.


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cathylynn
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06 Nov 2015, 11:32 pm

1/2 tsp powdered ginger in warm sweetened milk helps me.