babe12477

I'm dreading the thought of having to go to sleep. Just the very anticipation of it is making me feel like I'm going to explode! I can distract myself for a little while but then the anxiety comes back again shortly after. I don't know what to do, and every night I have the same dreams about night clubs and long bridges. These dreams have been reoccurring for about a year and a half. My thoughts race when I try to sleep and I can't get them to slow down - I just don't know how. Any advice?

Nonsensical

I wish I had some 100% surefire answers for you, but I have only come across this thread because I am wide awake in the middle of the night. I have been dealing with insomnia for decades. I have learned a lot of tips, tricks, tactics and strategies, but there are still times I just can't sleep.

I used to have trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep. Now it's just staying asleep that sometimes gives me trouble. That is what I am dealing with tonight. I got to sleep just fine. In fact, I was forcing myself to stay awake for about the last hour before bed. A good night's sleep for me is 6 hours, so I don't like to get to bed too early or else I am up too early.

Some things that work for me:

Not drinking. You can't count passing out as getting sleep. After a binge it usually takes me about a week to get my sleep 'right' again. That made it difficult for years, because after 3, 4, 5, 6 nights of poor sleep the judgment is fouled and passing out seems to make more sense than powering through. I have learned over time that it is better to power through, but it's tough.

No TV in the bedroom. This was a huge point of contention with my wife - who could sleep standing on a ladder. She really likes that damn thing on all the time. The stimulation is too much for me. The bedroom has to be associated with peace, quiet, rest and sleeping in my mind, and the TV interferes with that. After years of fighting about it I have prevailed.

Melatonin has worked for me, but not every time. I found that the later I take it the groggier I'll feel in the morning. If I am going to take it I take it before 10. But I almost never take it because I almost never have trouble falling asleep any more, and I can never predict when I will have trouble staying asleep.

Prescription meds - nearly the same result as melatonin, except that I would also be constipated. My doctor said I am the only person he has ever had complain about that,and it's not indicated in the literature, but I am convinced it was the Ambien. (Benadryl is also sometimes prescribed,and it definitely causes constipation.)

Keeping a routine. Same bedtime at night (within a half hour). Same pre-bed rituals - bathroom, hygiene, hanging up clothes, etc.

CPAP. I have obstructive sleep apnea, so I sleep with that alien machine stuck to my face. It took some getting used to, but now I can't sleep without it.

Reading. Probably the same as keeping a routine. I always get in bed and read. My brain now associates reading in bed with falling asleep so strongly that I barely get a few pages before I can't keep my eyes open. Sometimes this is a bit disappointing because I might really be enjoying a book and get in bed a little early to read - and I can't stay awake!

Hopefully there are some things in there for you to try. Best of luck!

Joybot

I have constant dreams about a haunted house I used to live in when I was a child. It manifest itself in different ways but it's always that damn house and I'm sick and tired of seeing it in my nightmares.

Do you know why you're always dreaming about night clubs and long bridges? can you elaborate some more on it? What goes on in the night clubs when you dream about it and do you fall off the long bridge when you reach the end of it?

Kayla50

I have insomnia and have been prescribed Trazadone 300mg (which I think is the highest dose they will give you). I have taken it for over 8 years and it really helps, but I still wake up around 2 to 3 for my bathroom breaks. Insomnia sucks. I feel for you!!!