Tylenol PM

[Oneslowz28]

Occasionally I am forced to take Tylenol PM to make myself sleep. I have a pretty bad case of insomnia every couple of months and some times will stay awake for 48 hours plus feeling dog tired but not able to actually go to sleep. I had to take 1 pill last night after being up for 34 hours with out sleep. I took the pill around 11pm and finally went to sleep at 1 am, then I woke up around 4 couldn't fall back to sleep, published an article to the front page and then was able to dose off again. I woke up at 7:30 feeling groggy, kinda like you would after waking up from being knocked out at the dentist office. Now I can not drink enough water. I just drank a glass of OJ and then a whole glass of water and I am still feeling thirsty.

This is why I hate taking any kind of pill. I hate the effect they all have on me. :(

[farlo]

tylenol pm doesnt keep me asleep, i like sominex, its otc and helps me get a good nights sleep, when i cant normally.

[jdbnsn]

I must admit that I've been taking benadryl for years to get to sleep but was shocked to recently read a study showing that in a controlled double-blind study diphenhydramine had nearly no effect on sleep. So evidently, any somnolence you experience on these meds is placebo (but I still need my placebo to sleep :) ) Turns out that there are much more effective approaches to getting good sleep and as usual they are more environmental than medical. Also, many people who have anxiety about their sleep actually spend much more time asleep than they realize. Hours drift by and the people think they've been awake when infact they did doze off.
Things that have been shown to be most useful in curbing insomnia include:
-keeping a regular sleep schedule, this seems to be #1 most effective
-keeping your room as dark as possible, no light during the night but sunlight during the day is important (the reason teenagers tend to sleep all day is because they live in the basement)
-ambient "white noise" such as a fan are good, interactive noise like television or music is bad because it causes your brain to tune in
-don't have a clock within viewing range, turn it away if it must be close
-of any light polluting your sleeping space, blue light tends to be the worst (good news for the red-light district)
-bed should be used for sleep and sex only, don't lie in bed and watch TV, sit up preferably on a couch or chair
-try to avoid caffeine after 1PM
-avoid alcohol and nicotine in the evenings
-and as always, exercise is very helpful (even shortly before bed)

[Zephik]

I leave my fan on during the night for one reason alone, it's so I can sleep. It drowns out all other noises. To me, it's more silent than silent. Without it I hear things randomly all night long, which either wakes me up or keeps me awake.

Exercise never works for me. It takes too long to expel all of my energy. I'll be at it for a good hour before I feel physically tired, but my mind will be even more awake than before so then I have to rest and go at it again.

The only thing that works for me is complete and utter darkness with my fan going. Even then, sometimes I just lay there for hours because my mind won't rest, although turning the fan on the highest setting to create more noise seems to help with that a bit. Focusing on the sound so I don't think also helps.

[chaksq]

Good suggestions jdbnsn, I also find that if you have been having sleep issues and haven't been following those methods for good sleep it is helpful to rearrange your bedroom furniture. At least that's worked for me a few times. Good luck and good night.

[Zephik]

Good suggestions jdbnsn, I also find that if you have been having sleep issues and haven't been following those methods for good sleep it is helpful to rearrange your bedroom furniture. At least that's worked for me a few times. Good luck and good night.

I think it was Benjamin Franklin that did something similar to that. He had two beds that he slept in and they were always neatly made before going to bed. He'd alternate between the two every other night or something. It kind of goes along the same lines of reorganizing the room.

[Luke122]

I've noticed that I've had some trouble sleeping in the last few months. Last night I slept in the guest room, and slept GREAT. The only difference is the bed in the guest room faces east, rather than south. I always thought it was an old wives tale about the direction you face impacting sleep, but I'll buy into it now. I'll be rearranging my bedroom tonight. :)

[Mark_Hardware]

ever try melatonin? its a natural supplement

[Drum Thumper]

I'd make a comment here about exercising in the bedroom, but I won't, if you know what I mean... :D Gotta keep it G rated and all.

[Liquid_Scope_99]

The only thing that works for me is complete and utter darkness with my fan going

Thats pretty much me too i had a problem sleeping because i would stay up till 3am on weekends then try to go to bed @ 10:00 on weeknights that dosent work.
The last i had that thirst problem you have i was when i found out i was diabetic .
I could not get enough to drink i was not sleeping well eithier im not saying that is what it is but getting it checked cant hurt .sominex works better to me too the doctor gave me a depression medicine that also helps me sleep

[Oneslowz28]

Well I know I am not Diabetic. Heart Dr. would have told me that by now. If I get on a routine and keep with it I sleep fine, but if I break that for even one night its game over and I wont sleep right for weeks.

[jdbnsn]

ever try melatonin? its a natural supplement

I have tried melatonin, and it didn't help me at all. It didn't hold up well in the research either, I'd say off hand that any help from melatonin is the same as benadryl, purely placebo. I don't buy into the application of the label "all natural" in the marketing of drugs at all, I see it misused all the time to convince folks that it is somehow superior to other medications. The truth is, most medicines are natural or based on a natural compound. And the pills in an "all natural" remedy are just as processed as the digitalis for your heart. With the exception that they have not been proven to be effective in any valid scientific scrutiny and are often not backed up by the FDA meaning they are not held to any standards of purity and manufacturing controls. In the financial world, real medicines are not nearly as profitable as natural supplements for a wide range of reasons. That being said, I doubt there is anything in melatonin that is harmful, I just doubt even more that there is anything helpful.


If I get on a routine and keep with it I sleep fine, but if I break that for even one night its game over and I wont sleep right for weeks.

This is my biggest problem too, I suck at keeping a good sleep schedule and a single day throws me off for ages.

[Zephik]

What is the cause of this anyways? It's a pretty irritating thing and it doesn't seem natural?

[jdbnsn]

What is the cause of this anyways? It's a pretty irritating thing and it doesn't seem natural?

of what, insomnia?

[Zephik]

Sure. Whatever causes people to get symptoms like this, where it's difficult to fall asleep even if the conditions are perfect or if you mess up one night then you're screwed for ages.

Like me for example. I can lay in bed for hours and not do anything, but my mind never shuts off. It's so annoying and I'm not sure what the cause of it is? I guess it could be that I'm just not expelling all of my energy day to day, but even when I'm physically tired I can still be wide awake.

I guess there are probably many reasons depending on the person. Like my father, he's the same way, but even when I tell him why he still doesn't get it. He eats and watches TV before bed. Kind of obvious really. lol

[jdbnsn]

Yeah, there are lots of causes for insomnia. Some of them include medications, chemicals like caffeine, a plethora of psychological conditions like stress, depression, anxiety, some diseases, and the list goes on and on. I think the most common reason is a combination of psychological stress of some kind, the advent of moving a television into our bedrooms, and caffeine. Long term genuine insomnia is pretty rare, most cases are because people aren't following the patterns that are ideal for their sleep (which can differ a little from one person to another, but most of the stuff we talked about earlier will help most people.

[billygoat333]

I sometimes will have problems with sleep as well. I blame it on the fact that I work all night, and sometimes sleeping during the day just gets too hard. lol then i get so tired, I cant fall asleep.