Any unconventional insomnia remedies

@curly_kate, you don't drink caffeine in the late afternoon or evening, do you? People who can drink coffee without problems when they are young, sometimes develop a sensitivity to it as they get older. So that would be the first thing to change.
And you might want to think about getting a script for a sleeping aid, too. People run screaming from them, but they do work. Maybe you could plan on taking them for two weeks, to kind of reset your body's schedule. And those who have chronic pain that keeps them awake or wakes them up shouldn't feel bad to have to take a sleeping pill to get their needed sleep. (hopping off my soap-box now)

A week of camping? Yeah, that would do it for me but tricking DW into camping would probably mean I'd be sleeping in the garage after we got home .

A sleeping pill for aches and pains, @so lucky ? Do they work for that??

The MD offered me some kind of narcotic but I declined. I figure if I really need more sleep, I'll get it in spite of anything I do or don't. I'm just a little off top dead center.

Steve

The camping article was so interesting. It doesn't surprise me, but I'd figure it would take longer than a week. I don't have any caffeine past noon, and I've taken ativan to help me sleep. It worked at first, but then got less effective. Plus, I always felt so groggy the next morning. The naturopath gave me pharmaGABA, valerian and passionflower, and I've slept the past couple of nights. I don't even mind not getting sleep some nights as long as it's not weeks at a stretch, like it has been in the past.

You're right @curly_kate , hearing others talk about their sleep troubles makes me feel a little better about mine. I could probably count on my fingers the full night's sleep I've gotten in the past 10yrs. I've never found an over-the-counter that I could 'out sleep' and I can't stand that groggy feeling. I find that if I put the TV on one of the 'baby' channels it helps. The mindless colors/babble doens't hold my attention like history or nature programs do. Also, finding (and sticking) with a bed time routing helps.
I like the idea of watching the sun go down, that makes sense. I might try that one.

digitS' said:

A week of camping? Yeah, that would do it for me but tricking DW into camping would probably mean I'd be sleeping in the garage after we got home .

A sleeping pill for aches and pains, @so lucky ? Do they work for that??

The MD offered me some kind of narcotic but I declined. I figure if I really need more sleep, I'll get it in spite of anything I do or don't. I'm just a little off top dead center.

Steve

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I think if the aches and pains wake you up, a sleeping pill would help you sleep just enough sounder that you would sleep through them. Even with a sleeping pill, I still wake up a few times through the night, but I almost never have any trouble getting back to sleep.
I read or heard somewhere that it takes about 1.5 hours to go through a normal sleep cycle, so it probably wouldn't be too debilitating if you wake up as often as every 1.5 hours all night long. As long as you can get back to sleep. But if you are waking up every half hour or so, that's sure not restful!

Also, some white noise is very helpful to me.

If you are a tea drinker, there is a Mexican tea called Siete Azahares (Seven Blossoms) that contains Linden, Valerian, Passion Flower, Manita, Tila Star, Spearmint, Peppermint and Lemon Balm. That works well to help you get sleepy.