A Problem I've Been Having Recently

[Vae]

So okay, this crap has gone on long enough. I just recently made a very large move a little over two weeks ago. My fiance and I just moved into our first apartment together and some of the nights I've been here, I've had a hell of a time sleeping. I don't know if it's the new surroundings and sounds outside or what, but I'll sleep 4-5 hours a night and then be wide awake during the early hours of the morning and then effectively a zombie for the rest of the day.

I'm thinking about getting a noisemaker to soothe me off, but in the mean time, what do y'all use to put you out? I'd rather not use drugs at this point because they make me even more zombie-like.

 

[aun_existe_amor]

You could try warm milk and a relaxing hot bath. Don't do anything mind stimulating before sleep like watching tv or reading. It probably is just your new surroundings keeping you awake. You'll get used to it. Good luck in your new home 🙂

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

A lot of people have trouble adjusting to new places. If it's the noise, you might also try ear plugs. I use the soft foamy kind (Earos) that you sqish between your fingers, pop in and let them expand to close off the noise. You can actually adjust their position for both comfort and degree of noise reduction. That way, you can back them off a bit as time goes on so you gradually get used to the sounds around you and can do without after a couple of weeks or so. Good luck!

Ann

 

[Storm_Cat]

This is not a drug!

You can get this at any pharmacy or GNC...it's called Mellatonin (sp?). It is a natural supplement to a chemical our body is supposed to produce on it's own, but as we get older it diminishes. I have some friends that take this and report that it helps them immensely. You take one before bedtime.

Do some Googleing on this for whatever questions you have about it. It's out there!

 

[Illtcklu]

So okay, this crap has gone on long enough. I just recently made a very large move a little over two weeks ago. My fiance and I just moved into our first apartment together and some of the nights I've been here, I've had a hell of a time sleeping. I don't know if it's the new surroundings and sounds outside or what, but I'll sleep 4-5 hours a night and then be wide awake during the early hours of the morning and then effectively a zombie for the rest of the day.

I'm thinking about getting a noisemaker to soothe me off, but in the mean time, what do y'all use to put you out? I'd rather not use drugs at this point because they make me even more zombie-like.

Well Vae, there are many reasons. Yeah a new place could be it. but here are other possibles:
Is your place moldy or dusty?
Is there a main road nearby?
Does your refrigerator whine( this actually was true in my case)?
Do you have allergies?

Does the place creak alot?

These are also possiblities Vae.

 

[Vae]

Y'all are going to laugh at me.

Some of the problem is that I live in an apartment complex and an apartment faces the main road of it, so we hear a lot of car alarms, trash trucks, etc. That doesn't bother me -- my fiance and I used to live next to train tracks and when the train would come by it would shake the house.

As I was lying in bed, awake for three hours last night, I realized what my problem is: the bedroom is too fucking QUIET.

I'm used to sleeping in a room that has a computer whirring, a TV on low and the AC/heat vent going. I'm used to a little soft, whirring noises like that. I'm living in a part of the country where it's pretty warm, but not too warm, so we don't have the AC or the heat running. We don't have our computers in the bedroom anymore so that's gone and we haven't set up our TV yet. The only noise that's there is my fiance's light snoring which has never been a problem. So I think I need to have some more noises like that and I'll be out like a light.

Thank you for all your help, y'all. I'm gonna try the Melatonin (after I research it some -- I just don't want to be groggy in the morning). The ear plugs sounded neat, too, Ann. Hopefully I'll get some more sleep soon! 🙂

 

[Illtcklu]

Try Tylenol PM. Otherwise I'd stay away from medicines. Also try turning on the radio, really soft. Background noise.

 

[Mimi]

Personally, I have to sleep with a fan on. Middle of winter, sub-zero temps, doesn't matter. No fan, no sleep.

I'm too distracted by little noises when I try to sleep, and if it's too quiet, every little whisper or rattle or groan is amplified beyond tolerance. So a fan drowns all that out and gives me one solid white noise to focus and soothe me.

Mimi 🙂

 

[steph]

Melatonin is supposed to be good. I sometimes take a HALF of tyl PM so I don't feel like crap in the morning and I LOVE my white noise machine~it plays 5 but my favorite channel is the rain~very relaxing. I'm a lifelong insomniac~even as a baby, I can relate.
XOXO

 

[Mitchell]

Vae, Iam sorry to hear about your sleep issues. Iam a certifed insomniac. I have probably averaged four or five hours sleep a night for about the past 15 years, LOL!
You might try a hot drink, such as warm, soothing, decaf tea. It might help relax you, and wont have any caffine to stimulate you before bed, and keep you awake.
Also, I dont know how much light gets into your bedroom, but I was also thinking maybe try an eye mask. I personally dont have one, but I love to sleep in a very dark room, and I know that some people use eye masks to block out any sort of light.
I hope the suggestions everyone has posted help you. Insomnia sucks, trust me, I know. Good luck, and pleasant dreams!

Mitch

 

[Goodieluver]

I use melatonin tablets if i slept too long in the day and need to go to sleep at a normal time

that or i get drunk so i pass out

 

[Bound2Switch]

never underestimate the power of chamomile tea with warm milk added. Warm, soothing and makes you sleepy. Try it...

 

[MrMacphisto]

According to a friend of mine, Ambien works wonders...

 

[darkscar]

lol i uswaly play music when im going to sleep, im talking 80's rock type stuff not the mood music

 

[Butterfly wings]

Take a nice long hot warm shower. Well showers for me wake ME up insted of put me to sleep (funny how that works). But it might be able to help you get some rest and adjust to your new home and settings. Either that or do like the others suggested already and play some light soft mood setting music to help you close your eyes and sleep.

Good Luck. 🙂

 

[isabeau]

Redmage told me to buy ginger tea and catnip (not from the pet store, from the health store) brew them together, strain it, make your own tea bags. he says it acts as a natural stimulant to make you sleepy. and you said you might get a noise machine? i have a sound machine that plays many different sounds. my favorite is fallling rain, sometimes i mix it with thunder. or you can leave the tv on i have done that on occasion

isabeau

 

[Vae]

Thank you all! There's been suggestions here that I didn't think of (eyemasks [*coughblindfoldcough*], chamomile tea). We'll see how it goes tonight. I was having the same problem last night... but that's because my fiance's nose was clogged and he was snoring so loud it shook the house. So not usual. 😀

 

[Redmage]

Redmage told me to buy ginger tea and catnip (not from the pet store, from the health store) brew them together, strain it, make your own tea bags.

A few small corrections?

I recommended that you buy chamomile and catnip. You can get them at herb stores, along with empty teabags that you can load and seal with a hot iron. Chop and mix the dried herbs together in a blender, and then put 1-2 teaspoons into each teabag and seal them.

This mixture is a natural sedative, not a stimulant. It should put most people to sleep.

 

[isabeau]

A few small corrections?

I recommended that you buy chamomile and catnip. You can get them at herb stores, along with empty teabags that you can load and seal with a hot iron. Chop and mix the dried herbs together in a blender, and then put 1-2 teaspoons into each teabag and seal them.

This mixture is a natural sedative, not a stimulant. It should put most people to sleep.

o oops. i knew i got it wrong. sighs. thanks Redmage for the correction...

isabeau

 

[Vae]

Since a couple of people have been asking if I've been sleeping better since I post this:

I am! I was taking Tylonel PM to knock me out at first and then using earplugs whenever my fiance's snoring got out of control. I only took the Tylonel twice, because I didn't want to need it every night (that crap is kinda expensive and I'm cheap!). What ended up happening, after that, was I was sleeping 4-5 hours a night again and thought, "This is fucked. What's the problem?"

So he and I discovered the whole situation was mental. He's sick right now because our window seems to have a slight draft and he's got a little cold from it. When we lived back up north, we had to have our bed against the wall. Now our bedroom is... absurdly large, but we pushed the bed against the wall. Now he doesn't feel a draft... and I, for some reason, have been sleeping like a baby. Apparently, I needed things to be a certain way for me to sleep through the night. I had to have the clock on my side of the bed, him against the wall and me on the free edge. I don't know how my body can tell the difference, but every since we did that, I'm sleeping like the friggin' dead.

Now how screwed is that? 😀 I'm still using earplugs when he snores badly, but I'm good now. Thanks for everyone's help! It all helped me. 😀