Natural Ways to Treat and Cure Insomnia

abel — March 20, 2007 @ 1:46 pm

hey thanx for the advise i am 15 years old and i dont want to take pills or anything like that cause it could be harmfull to me and thanx i will try these escersizes for better sleep and i need it

Uzo — September 9, 2007 @ 7:37 am

I find it hard to sleep and when i finally get to bed at 12.30, i wake up at 2am. i will try these alternative remedies as i have heard they work better.

Nicole — October 5, 2007 @ 8:46 pm

I can’t believe how many young people suffer from insomnia!! it makes you realise what stress they must be going through at school. anyway i’m 35 and don’t get to sleep until about 4am and then have to get up at 6.30 for my kids. think too much, worry too much, am used to getting up all night for babies in the past. will try the castor oil & meditation and see what happens!

Vishal — November 28, 2007 @ 8:58 am

Thanks for stopping Catherine. Meditation is indeed one of the most effective ways in dealing with insomnia. The reason it doesn’t appeal to the masses is because the results are not instant. We are used to quick fixes now and hence sleeping pills are so popular.

Vishal — January 6, 2008 @ 2:49 pm

Hi Marv,

One of the easiest ways to meditate it to be aware of your breath. Sit in a comfortable position and for first 5-10 minutes, take deep breaths. Take in deep breaths and exhale slowly, about the same time (or more) as inhaling. Imagine you are inhaling positive energy and happiness and exhaling stress and negative energy. With each breath, you are becoming more and more calm and relaxed.

After 5-10 minutes, when your mind is fully relaxed, just let go and watch your breath around the rim of your nostrils. Don’t try to do anything. Don’t concentrate or struggle. Just watch – incoming, outgoing, incoming, outgoing.

Thoughts will arrive, but be watchful. Don’t identify with them. Just make a note that you were thinking. The moment you watch your thoughts, they’ll disappear. And then again bring your awareness back to your breath.

You have to sit as long as you can without much discomfort. Preferably half an hour both in the mornings and in the evening.

Meditation before bedtime is also excellent but it should not be a substitute to your regular practice. The reason is you can’t sit for long to meditate when you are drowsy. You will fall asleep pretty soon.

Another important point to keep in mind is that your meditation practice is not just limited to these sitting practices. They are just preparatory exercises to make you more and more aware in your day to day activities. The goal of meditation is to be aware and to be conscious of whatever you do, each and every moment. Walking, bathing, brushing, eating. Just watch and be aware. Whatever you do, do it consciously and with complete awareness.

The moment you get up to the time you sleep, you have to make a persistent effort to be aware and conscious. And don’t expect anything out of it. The moment you expect, it’s not meditation. Meditation is just being what you are, how you are.

I suggest you read the book “Awareness – The Key to Living in Balance” by Osho to help deepen your thirst for meditation.

Also check out these videos, especially Awarefulness. Please register at the site, login and then watch the videos. Else, you’ll be provided with only excerpts and not full version.

Peace and happiness,

Vishal

Vishal — February 5, 2008 @ 10:03 am

Scientific researches keep on changing! You have to use your wisdom. Teenagers are more alert not only during night time but also during day time as their brain is more active than the adults. We must understand that we are not night animals. Our biological clock and circadian rhythm is programmed according to the sun. If you observe your body, it automatically gives you a signal of drowsiness between 9-10 pm, letting you know it’s time to wind up. But the present generation lifestyle (late night parties, discos, television) simply ignores the call and goes on. The result is heightened activity after the drowsiness wears off. Prolonged abuse eventually puts the circadian rhythm out of rhythm. So how can you expect to wake up early when you can’t sleep early at night?

So it’s not just exposing to sunlight in the morning but also listening to your body and winding down early at night.

Janice — March 3, 2008 @ 11:47 am

I am 12 years old and I suffer from severe insomnia. I usually get 2-3 hours a sleep a night. I’ll try these tips and hopefully they’ll help.

Vishal — March 27, 2008 @ 2:19 pm

Bananas may help, but if your daughter’s digestive system is weak, then it may cause heaviness and disrupt sleep. Our body stores all the minerals and vitamins it requires, so having a balanced and nutritious meals throughout the day helps more than eating a very nutritious meal only at night. Meditation is the best way to get peaceful sleep and health.

Vishal — June 9, 2008 @ 3:14 pm

I don’t know what to say Jaclyn. I’m amazed at the responsibilities you are shouldering at this age! I’m sure it’s the anxiety and stress that’s taking a toll on you. Please practice meditation and do some breathing exercises like Kapalbhati to clear the backlog of stress.

Ashleigh — July 9, 2008 @ 9:10 am

Hi. I’m 13. I have been under a great deal of stress and ive been sad alot. This has been resulting in me not sleeping.. These tips work. Because i cant take sleeping pills because im too young, But i definately use these tips all the time.
THANK-YOU.

Kristin — July 10, 2008 @ 11:29 am

thank you so much for these tips. i am going to try all of them. i am an insomniac. the latest i have stayed up is 12:00PM in the afternoon. i kno, pretty bad. i an going to try EVERY SINGLE TIP till i fall asleep ^.^

Vishal — August 13, 2008 @ 3:49 pm

Hi Cameron,

I’ll tell you about a simple but profound technique. It’s called 61 points relaxation technique. It’ll take 20-30 minutes. Doing it prior to sleep will guarantee you deep, restful sleep. Here’s the link:
http://www.swamij.com/yoga-nidra-method4.htm

Ryan — October 14, 2008 @ 10:37 am

Man, I’m 15 and I’ve tried it all. None of it works for me, Earliest I go to bed is around 3am, and even then im awake for half an hour to two hours before i sleep. Pills don’t work on me either.

Vishal — October 14, 2008 @ 4:18 pm

Have you tried meditation Ryan?

Ryan — October 26, 2008 @ 9:53 am

oh well i think ill be fine, im on 5 new prescriptions that are suposed to cure it all

Vishal — November 4, 2008 @ 4:29 pm

Aaron, the goal of meditation is indeed to relax. And the quality of sleep improves once you are relaxed. However, using meditation with a desire, like need to fall asleep, defeats the entire purpose. Here’s my sincere suggestion:

* Forget about sleep. Yes forget about it. Don’t think about sleep at all.
* Don’t do any mental work after 8 pm. Just relax. If you feel energetic, go for a short walk. Let the pace be relaxed and not brisk.
* Have dinner by 8 pm. Walking after that is double beneficial.
* Sit for meditation when you feel little drowsy. But don’t think about sleep.

It’ll take some time to reprogram your internal clock (as it’s been a long time) but it’ll definitely happen. Trust me.

The key here is to RELAX and slow down your mind.

Jayanth — November 21, 2008 @ 7:01 pm

Dear,
Sir,
Inititally i had depression i could not control my thoughts so i went to a physciatrist his therapy is like he induces energy .But once after going to him i lost my natural ability to sleep.It is now 1year since i am facing this problem.
I tried homeopathy medicnices and allopathy medicines but they were of no use .As homepathy being the best way to cure the problems am still using them .
My idea is to take homeopathy medicines so that i dont worry about sleep .Because i know i will get sleep.once i start sleeping i will parallely start meditation will that really help.
As far as my knowledge is concerned its only because of anxiousness about sleep i am unable to sleep .Will meditation solve my problem i have great will to meditate come out of this problem .
How much time does it take to restore normal sleeping pattern ?
please suggest me.
Will meditation help me?

Jess — November 23, 2008 @ 10:08 am

Meditation is definately the key. I’ve suffered insomnia (or bursts of it) rather chronically for many years. I began using meditation (creative visualisation) to assist me and others in sleeping and it does work. For the most part. You will find if you are overly anxious, you need to try the meditative breathing technique.

The first thing you need to do before trying anything meditative is ensuring your environment is suited to your sleeping needs.

For example, I require all of this:
- As little outside noise as possible, unless it is music or a fan (I use a fan as music keeps my brain too active) to drown out other noises such as the dog moving around in his basket or the wind moving a door.
- No light in the room. Pitch black. Thick curtains, lights off, led lights covered, or something to cover your eyes.
- Water by my bed. I’m OCD about this.
- Use the toilet before bed or you’ll wake up needing to pee.
- Clean bedding. Sheets, pillow case etc.
- Make sure your mattress is turned over regularly so you don’t suffer a sore back. I suffer back pain quite a bit.
- Make sure your room temperature suits you. Not too hot or cold.
- Shower or a bath before bed can work.
- Eating no more or less than an hour before bed. Perhaps a cup of chamomile tea before bed, banana or warm milk (but 30 min before bed. Not just before).

The list goes on I’m afraid. I’m dreadfully OCD about this stuff.

Once you’ve got all that down, you can use hypnagogia to get to sleep with your meditation. Close your eyes and either make up stories in your head…fantasy tales or whatever you like, but I don’t recommend anything scary or erotic or you won’t be able to sleep.

To see visions, make out the black space in your eyes when you close them. A black void. You may see swirls, colours, patterns etc, sometimes the odd fleeting image. Try and focus on these images as they transform into others. Form landscapes in your mind, make it as fantastical as you like. Trying too hard to make them will keep your brain too active however, so make an attempt to just follow the images’ natural courses. Eventually you may be flying through landscapes and such.

Eventually you may slip into a fragmented REM phase…but it should get you to sleep providing you are comfortable and nothing outside is going to jerk you out of your sleep. This sort of meditation is very fun for the most part as long as the images are not scary.

If they become scary, open your eyes and get out of bed. There may be other issues in your life causing you to see frightening things.

——-

This does work for me on some occasions. Not all, but it is certainly a method I encourage people to try, even if it is just making stories up in your mind’s eye.

You do need to sort out your sleeping patterns (circadian rhythm) and waking problems that cause your anxieties however or you will forever be struggling with sleep. I’ve found that occasionally using these techniques I can get a few nights’ good sleep, even if it is just 5 hours.

I could go on for hours about my experiences and hope they help everyone here, but I think this will do for now. Good luck and sweet dreams!

Jess — November 29, 2008 @ 12:10 pm

Morgan – exercising and doing homework just before bed is likely a cause. Stimulating your mind like that is going to keep it extremely active. Try having a bath with some aromatherapy (something nice smelling in the bath, or just a warm bubbly bath) after the homework – it’ll take 30 minutes of the time you’d spend lying awake anyway (since you obviously can’t quit cross country or homework). See if that helps! Better to get 4-5 hours sleep than none, even though at your age you need a lot more.

haseeb pasha — December 21, 2008 @ 10:23 pm

my good heaven best thing is to meditate or read any holy chants before goin to bed or while rersting it gives soothing effect aswell as induces sound sleep hopefully

Francheska — March 16, 2009 @ 6:10 pm

Hi,
I am 20 yrs old and I am suffering from insomnia I been through some of these tips but not are working… Its 8:50am and still no sleep…drinking sleeping pills and nothing been through 4 diff sleeping medications already, its been happening for a month already…. its also runs in my family….ima have to keep trying different meds till I find the right one for me…

Vishal — April 17, 2009 @ 10:08 am

Don’t stop meditating Kara. It’s not a cure. It’s a way of life.

Brooke — April 21, 2009 @ 7:26 am

I am 13 years old and ahve been having a hard time with sleep for the past year or so, i thank you for the tips i will try them. yes i took pills but when i stopped it got worse… Sleeping has become a scary thing to me i sleep so little

Stella — May 5, 2009 @ 8:02 pm

I am 15 years old, and i have been suffering from insomnia, on and off, for about a year now. thanks for
the tips, i hope they help.

Vishal — May 8, 2009 @ 10:11 am

Ethan: Who told you need 8 hours of sleep? The amount of sleep one needs varies from person to person. Don’t count the hours. Evaluate your sleep by the degree of freshness and energetic you feel when you wake up. If you fell energetic and lively in the morning, then you have had a good sleep. On other hand, if you regularly feel tired and groggy in the morning, then you need to evaluate your sleep patterns.

Just relax and sleep! You are just fine!

law — July 6, 2009 @ 12:17 am

hey,im 20 years old.thanx for the sharing.i cant sleep very well lately.its been 2 weeks i cant sleep before 4 a.m.i will try my best.thank you. . .

Vishal — July 10, 2009 @ 9:39 am

so please don’t waste your precious time, energy, hope and money (books) doing yoga or meditation.

scientist: From which planet are you?

Aly — July 25, 2009 @ 1:29 pm

I am 15 years old and i really barely sleep at all. At night, I seem to never be tired, but I get really tired during the day time, but when night comes again, I’m not tired. Its not so bad now because its summer and I don’t do much, but when its during school I have trouble staying awake during school plus I have soccer practice until 8:00pm which takes a lot of energy. My grandma says to drink warm milk before bed, but I have digestive problems so I can’t really do that. So, I will try meditating and hopefully I can sleep.

myranda — August 10, 2009 @ 12:30 pm

i have been suffering from insomnia all summer and i don’t know how much longer but i am 12 and i am really excited to use these tips and more!!!!! my mom thinks it is all in my head but she bought me pills but i ran out a long time a go and things just went back to bad thanks for hearing my comment!!!

Vishal — September 9, 2009 @ 2:59 pm

Taylor:

It could be possible that since you have stopped playing soccer, your body is not getting sufficient exercise that it used to get earlier. Try going for long walks instead and see if you can notice any difference.

Alex — December 2, 2009 @ 6:38 am

Hello i am 11 years of age i i have both sleep anxiety and insomnia disorder. it’s sucks to have this i have tried everything that doesn’t cost or having to go to a psychiatrist or what ever thir called anyways plz help me.

Danny — December 14, 2009 @ 4:06 pm

Well I am 16 and Currently Suffering Insomnia…It is my fault for taking a psychoactive drug called “Ecstacy”..Maybe this will teach me a lesson,but It would be nice to talk to someone unlike mom’s who dont understand…farewell insomniacs!

Sylorge — March 27, 2010 @ 8:30 pm

i’m 14 years old and i don’t know if im suffereing insomnia nowadays, i cant sleep (due to the activities i have to think) but i tried letting them go before sleeping but still, it doesnt work. i also have to eat heavy meals everyday (even in dinner) because i’m too skinny. i’ll try to eat bananas and see what can it do for me to go to sleep. thanks for the advices

mike — March 29, 2010 @ 9:50 pm

i have been suffering from horrible sleep patterns , i will fall asleep quick but once i wake for a pee or a drink of water thats it for sleep , my mind kicks in and takes over for all the rest of the nite toss and turn and jewels im 45 aswell and sleep pills dont work either its a viscious circle i want to end with the help of this forum and practicing new methods of falling asleep , and as they say the older a person gets less sleep it requires lol i dont beleive that so gl all and ill try my best with a new approach, mike

Tine — April 21, 2010 @ 7:13 am

Thank you sooo much for these tips! I do believe that I am suffereing from insomnia (and anxiety), but my mother does not believe me, so she does not feel worried enough to take me to a doctor. I am hoping that following these tips will actually help. thanks again!

Joe — April 28, 2010 @ 11:21 am

I have been having a sleeping problem for the past two days? Never before have I had any problems sleeping. I just started yesterday..layed down at 12:00 pm and was very restless and ended up sleeping at 4:00 am/ To night no luck in falling asleep…for the past 2 hrs…in bed moving around..Whats wrong with me making me very scared???

Vishal — April 28, 2010 @ 5:26 pm

Joe: Please read my comment:
http://www.relishinglife.com/6/natural-ways-to-treat-insomnia/#comment-19363

Alyson — August 16, 2010 @ 11:47 am

I’m almost 18 and have had chronic primary insomnia for a little over 9 years now. I will try these things listed above. Hopefully I will have some (good) results.

Vishal — August 18, 2010 @ 10:11 am

Dear Lathie,

I can only suggest meditation. Try to be more and more aware/mindful. Slow down. Yes, you need to slow down. The faster/mechanical you become, the faster the mind becomes. And it becomes almost impossible to relax then. The only solution to insomnia is slowing down. Not just physically, but mentally as well. Spend the evenings doing slow, relaxing activities like slow mindful walking, yoga or tai chi. And absolutely no to television/computers in the evenings or any activity that stimulates you.

When you make changes to your routine, don’t expect results immediately. Remember, insomnia doesn’t happen overnight. It usually happens over a period of abuse/disrespect to your body/nature.

And finally, stop thinking about insomnia. I know it’s hard but you have to realize that the more energy you give to a problem, the more it grows.

Sleep and happiness,

Vishal

Vishal — August 24, 2010 @ 10:15 am

Hi Jordan,

I’m 100% positive that it’s your schedule causing insomnia. Please check tip #2:

As far as possible, go to bed by 10 p.m. According to Ayurveda and research, it is easiest to fall asleep and the quality of rest is deeper if we go to bed before 10 p.m. You must have experienced it yourself. If you take up any stimulating activity like talking to a friend or watching an interesting movie after 10 p.m you may find your sleep disappear and also unrefreshing.

Shelley — August 31, 2010 @ 1:44 am

One question: do you think that severe insomnia can be cured through natural methods alone? I fear that when I go off of the marijuana, I won’t get sleep and then the lack of sleep will cause raised cortisol which may cause less sleep and so on. Is it ever advisable for someone to go on medication short-term? I just wonder how one can return to a state of balance if they are caught in that vicious cycle. I fear that I have lost the ability to have a normal, drug-free sleep. However, I know my fears are half of the reason I can’t sleep. Thanks!

Shelley — October 20, 2010 @ 2:28 am

Thanks for taking the time to respond! I just wanted to let you know that I have been off of the marijuana for 6 or 7 weeks now and I am able to sleep again. I think the drug helped at first, but over time it had a slightly stimulating effect…so, even when I thought I was sleeping, it wasn’t a deep, fitful sleep. I am now sleeping with little or no help. Occasionally, I will take some GABA and l-theanine to help me calm down…but this is once in a blue moon.

I now have more faith in my body to do what it is meant to do. I won’t go into my whole health history; indeed, there are definitely things that still have to be ironed out, but the good news is that I am sleeping and, with it, my health has improved tenfold.

I came across this quote this morning. It really speaks to me:

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

- Ghandi

Thank you again!

Shelley

thomas — November 12, 2010 @ 6:57 am

i am 12 years old and have had insomnia since forever and can not get to sleep record is three days awake no sleep and i always feel horrible i will try anything but i think i have tried all im about to give up someone plz help me i rly need it

John Cleeve — November 26, 2010 @ 8:44 am

I have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, When I try to sleep. I can sleep but only for few hours. 2-3 hours. I’m suffering for this Insomnia for 3 weeks, The worst this is It’s hard for me to concentrate, Even I try to listen on my school dicusion, It even affects my grammar.

Do you guys Know waht kind of Insomia is This? or do you have any suggestion to try to make me sleep? I tried everything but nothing works!

Sorry for my bad English.

John Cleeve — November 26, 2010 @ 10:01 am

Yeah I am so depressed when my computer suddenly broke.

Vishal — November 26, 2010 @ 3:47 pm

One of the biggest reasons that keep people from getting themselves relieved of Insomnia is the worry of Insomnia itself. There may be many reasons for Insomnia, but even after the original cause is removed, the worry about sleep really keeps the Insomnia going. So once you have identified what might have caused Insomnia, like in your case, being depressed/sad when your computer broke down, it’s very much vital to distract yourself or keep yourself engrossed in some work which you love (but not stimulating like TV, Computers, Video Games, Chatting) till your sleep problems gets solved. And it definitely will if you stop worrying about it.

All I can suggest you is to just forget about your sleep problems, follow the tips in this post and relax. I’m sure you’ll be OK.

John Cleeve — December 3, 2010 @ 12:57 am

Thanks for the help Vishal, But Until now I have Problem sleeping its getting worser, I followed everything on the Top but None of those helped me.

John Cleeve — December 8, 2010 @ 10:16 am

I Think That I have Anxiety because I have some symptoms of it,

alex havill — December 10, 2010 @ 6:25 am

Hey I read your tips and comment but I tryed exercsing few hours before but I do press ups and weight but doesn’t help is that becuase your body gets hyped up and wants to do more and not sleep ? Thanks

Heather — January 10, 2011 @ 10:27 am

Hi, Vishal. I’m 12 years of age and I’m having some issues with insomnia. I’ll have a regular night’s sleep the day before and have a restless one the next. I spend the day the same way; going to school, coming home and doing homework; other activities. I don’t seem to understand why I can’t fall asleep like I had the night before. Nothing I did was significally different from the previous day. I just can’t seem to fall asleep some days… usually when this insomnia takes over I stay up until about 4 am, having to wake up at 5 am. Although the strange thing is, is that I’m not tired at all during the day. Then the pattern of insomnia is constant for a couple days then is goes away again…then, it comes back yet again. I don’t know what’s wrong.
Any tips/advice?
Thanks.

Muni — January 10, 2011 @ 4:16 pm

Hi, my name is Muni, i’m 15 and I think I have insomnia.. Most likely ^^. The current time now is Monday ( no school )6:00 AM. I get up in the morning at 5:00 on school days to catch the bus. I get about 6 hours of sleep on school days, and having P.E. first period in the morning ruins the rest of my day.I know my body well enough to know that i’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight. So why try? My sleeping pattern is bad. I’ve read a lot of articles about sleeping and insomnia, and I will try these steps and tips. Thanks for the post.

alsky — January 28, 2011 @ 5:52 am

lots of great info on this site

Thanks

Mike — February 10, 2011 @ 12:25 pm

Im 15, and usually ill go to bed at 10, and ill fall asleep at about 4am, and wake up at 5 wont be able to fall back asleep till about 6:30 then i have to get up for school at 7. Thanks for the advice ill probably try most of whats on there

Vishal — February 11, 2011 @ 4:42 pm

Excellent tip Tricia. Thanks a lot for sharing

Vishal — February 15, 2011 @ 9:45 am

Hi Deepthi,

I’m sorry to hear about the pain you are going through. Can you do Mantra meditation? Just select any mantra like Om Namah Shivaya or the Iskcon Mantra (Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare). And chant it before sleep (slowly or mentally). Just forget about everything and keep your attention on the chanting. If you wake up in the middle, don’t struggle to get back to sleep. Just chant the mantra. Everything will be fine. Just have faith.

If you are keen on exploring Mantra Meditation, you can read this wonderful book called The Mantram Handbook by Eknath Easwaran.

Vishal — February 22, 2011 @ 2:27 pm

Hi Brina,

I’m deeply moved by your concern for your boy friend. I have few suggestions for you.

1. You said he calls you up in the middle of the night and apart from you falling asleep in the middle of the conversation, you have no problems with it. But I must tell you that you must let him know that your sleep is important too. If you start ignoring your body then you’ll have sleep problems too later.

You can give him a recording of your voice which he can listen to if he insists.

Better still, there are many inspirational audio books that can be downloaded to any mp3 player and listened to. Try checking out:

http://www.audible.com
http://www.learnoutloud.com

2) Both depression and insomnia are interrelated. You can get insomnia from depression and you can get depression from sleep problems. So it’s important to identify which came first. From your writings, I assume that a lack of self-esteem must have been triggering negative thoughts due to which sleep problems must have arised. Remember, this can’t happen overnight and it needs enough time (years) for the body to register these negative thoughts and create a sustaining environment for it to flourish.

So you have to find out if he had been having a low self esteem ever since. If that’s the case, then listening/reading to positive books, associating with positive/jovial people, mindfulness (meditation) will help tremendously in boosting his self-esteem. Being with nature also works tremendously.

Whatever the case, I would suggest him to read/listen to books like “Peace is Every Step” or “Miracle of Mindfulness” by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Vishal — March 5, 2011 @ 10:15 am

Dear Ramarao,

I’m sorry but there is not a single health condition in the world that cannot be cured through Meditation. Our body has tremendous energy to heal itself, provided you know how to receive the cosmic energy through the universe. And this is possible only through Meditation. If you can trust and have faith in the healing powers of your body and the universe, you can be free of all diseases and afflictions. It is only your mental conditioning that’s preventing you from receiving abundant energy from the universe. Isn’t it funny to realize that we human beings are the only creatures in this universe to suffer from insomnia/depression/anxiety/etc.? Have you seen any animal in it’s natural habitat suffer from insomnia? It’s just because they don’t think and go with the flow. They don’t worry about the next moment and they are in a state of total surrender.

So please meditate, surrender yourself to the infinite power of the universe and be healthy and free.

daisyrie — March 6, 2011 @ 5:25 pm

Hi Vishal..
is the chant okie even if i’m a christian??

josh — March 10, 2011 @ 8:51 pm

Im 19 and have been suffering from insomina for a good 6 years now. i also have bipolar and i found it really hard and so stressful getting to sleep. im scared of falling asleep. I usually hop in bed by 11pm put on the tv and try and drift of to sleep but when it gets to 2am i start getting restless and cant sleep. I want 2 be a pro footballer and i need normal sleep. this is a problem 4 so many people and all medications have side affects all of them! need help only getting 2 or 3 hours a sleep a night. mostly none. thanks guys

Icys — March 14, 2011 @ 1:23 pm

I think you should think about people who are afraid of falling asleep, like for example, a man thinks he is likely to have sleep paralysis but is very tired. I’m like that, and a handful of people I know are too.

Katie — April 5, 2011 @ 11:11 am

I’m 14 and I really need the sleep becouse I do two sports and am super buisy but when I get in bed I just cant get myself to fall asleep and i tried doing these things but reading a book or listening to music just made me more awake. Any sugestions?

Nasir — April 6, 2011 @ 1:53 pm

Uhm hello,thank you to whoever created these wonderfull tips for such insomniacs like me.i am only 13 yrs of age and i can hardly get any sleep because of insomnia but thanks to these wonderfull tips i have been sleeping wonderfully …thamks again buhh bye mow;)

Aubree — April 25, 2011 @ 9:31 am

hi:) im only 13 years old and i suffer from insomnia. i stay up late finishing homework every night and get to sleep very late, so when i do get the chance to go to bed early i never can fall under. i found these tips a few days ago and so far theyre working, so thank you so much! i hope theyll work every time. thx again! sweet dreams everyone!

james — May 18, 2011 @ 5:50 pm

i’m grateful to discover dis site,man….!i’m suffering from insomnia for about 4 days…i usually lay in my bed at 9 or 10pm but i usually sleeps 4am and wake up 6am. doing nothing.im really tired of this man !.i’ll surely try this meditation mr. vishal.and thank you for the advise….
good night and sweet dreams !….

Alan — May 20, 2011 @ 7:35 pm

Thank you for posting this for people suffering from insomnia to read. Generally, I have little difficulty falling asleep when touching the pillow. However, when that insomnia mood kicks in it becomes unpleasant and stressful. One one such an insomnia episode I went to the Hospital Emergency Room for relief and was only given Benadryl 25mgs to take. Benadryl made me drowsy, but I still had difficulty falling asleep.

Jenna — May 28, 2011 @ 5:37 pm

Katie, I’m not an insomniac but I do have trouble getting to sleep sometimes. For me it is because the doors to my room are french doors (they are all window), and although I put curtains up light still comes through. But the light doesn’t bother me… what does is when the lights in the living room are off and my room is darker. So it isn’t the brightness, but the difference from normal. You may want to try to figure out when your insomnia started and what changed then.
If that is not the problem, then you can try this:

Get up and walk around a bit, get a small drink of water before trying to go to sleep again.
Take out the nap!! That can make it so that you are not sleepy when it is time to go to bed.
Lavender and/or vanilla are supposed to be calming smells. You may want to make a lavender pilow. You can do this by going to a wholefoods store and buy lavender leaves or flowers. You can put that inside a clean tube sock with some rice to make a small lavender scentad pillow.

But most of all, find out what started your insomnia and then figure out how to relieve it from there.

Hopes this helps!

celine — June 9, 2011 @ 8:53 am

Hi vishal. I’m 16 and i hav been suffering insomnia since last year. Its not serious cause it comes and goes. Like if i can’t sleep for a day, it will last like a week or two. If i was able to sleep peacefully then everything is fine. Does doing activities like surfing the net hearing to music before bedtime effect sleep? It feels like it does. Anyway thanks for the tips I’ve been meditating and practising my breathing which helps me. But i have one thing. Nowadays During bedtime it seems a little hard to breath like stuffy nose or something i dunno so it makes me even harder to fall asleep.

Kawal — June 12, 2011 @ 10:30 pm

i am girl of 28 years and single. I am currently working in public sector.i am a pessimistic person n take stress a lot. i am suffering from insomnia for the last eight months and i am taking homeopathy medicine for it it is effective but i am afraid that i ll become habitual of taking medicine for sleep and there can be side effects too so please suggest me what to do

mikey.j.5 — June 27, 2011 @ 11:38 am

thx for the info! i suffer from a.d.(slight h.)d., tourettes, color blindness, and vitiligo. could all of these problems be stressing out my brain so i cant sleep?
i have a friend that i like that, incidentally, has insomnia, so we text eachother at night a lot! ill definitely suggest her over to this site!

Yashaswi — June 27, 2011 @ 5:47 pm

i havent slept for the past 48 hours- not one minute. ive tried meditation… but my mind keeps whizzing back to atleast 6-8 things at once.I find it IMPOSSIBLE to block them….. please help and explain the exact way” to let go of emotion and surround urself in silence….” it seems almost impossible to me….

Dashzinger — July 11, 2011 @ 12:32 pm

I suffer from insomnia and find it so annoying because I feel extremely drained during school yet in the night I cant seem to sleep at all. so thanks for the tips

Nikki — July 18, 2011 @ 3:16 am

Thanks for the tips! I’m only 12 and hav recently been struck with insomnia. Last night I was up till 4am the longest I’ve ever been up with insomnia. I really hope this helps-thanks, and any other advice is appreciated!

Lisa — July 23, 2011 @ 6:06 pm

It’s 5:40am and I’ve been awake since 2:30am. I won’t be able to fall asleep until 7am, maybe. I went to bed at 11pm. This is my insomnia pattern and it may last as long as three weeks, with me only getting a proper night’s sleep two days out of a week. I’m 45 years old and have experienced insomnia since I was about 5 years old. I will try to meditate again, but I can’t seem to get over the racing thoughts. Now, for the past three months I’ve been experiencing panic attacks soon after I wake up (2am-3am). You have no idea how horrible panic attacks are unless you’ve experienced it. Feels like a heart attack. I’ve been thoroughly checked out by a cardiologist and my heart is very healthy, so it has been confirmed that no, I’m not having a heart attack. Great, panic attacks that feel like a heart attack. Great, can’t sleep. Great, can’t meditate because the panic is too intense. I exercise regulary, and I’m fit and slim. I don’t know what to do anymore

Maddy — July 28, 2011 @ 12:33 pm

Im 12 years old, and I suffer from pretty bad insomia. Its around midnight and I still cant fall alseep. My mom has tried everything she can think of and so have I. I have tried reading, and an attemp at meditation, but I still cant fall asleep. I have ADHD/ADD, so meditation doesnt work no matter how hard I try to sit still. I dont eat salty or sugary things after 5 pm ( unless its dinner). Please help!

Mermer — August 3, 2011 @ 2:57 pm

thanks for the tips. 1′m 16 and suffer from insomnia and paranoia. i really hope they help. lately i haven’t slept at all. and i can’t swallow pill because of the paranoia so i’ve been stuck hoping i could just fall asleep. I’ve been to several sites looking for help and yours gives the advice simply and easily. i’m glad that this site is here. it really is helpful ^^

Ana — August 10, 2011 @ 6:41 pm

gahh im about to start 5th grade and im not sure if its insomnia but i havent been able to sleep over about 3 hours for days and my sleeping schedule has been MESSED UP. ever sense i started going to bed at 7am (my friend made me stay up with her and thats wat caused this >:/) i started being unable to sleep ever sense 5th grade got closer i jsut couldnt sleep. i tried going to bed at 10, then i woke up at 1:00 or so and then i couldnt sleep. i cant take this, im able to stay up about no more than 22 hours now so i think i can get through this SOME way but it wont be too easy, and this just sucks :/ i didnt try much but wat i did try didnt work apparently and i have 5 more days left D: i need helpppppp but ill definitely try the tips and stuff in the comments but for now ill just try staying up from about 8am to 10pm but this is so annoying D:

chronic insomnia — August 11, 2011 @ 11:37 pm

Hi,
I have read the article plus about 1/2 of the comments which make me bring up the following comments (sorry if this repeats what some other people said before).
My general feeling at this point from the reading is that you, Visha, have very strong belief in the power of meditation and a few other technics. I have never tried meditation such as you describe it. For some reason I thought that meditation was about making the mind busy with thinking while the body relaxes but it apparently isn’t like this at all. Anyhow I can see the logic in the meditation that you are talking about, especially when you gave the example of the animals that don’t suffer from insomnia because they just don’t think. It’s encouraging to see that some of the comments from some people indicate that it works for them. I also find it reassuring feeling that you, Visha, aren’t claiming to own the miracle recipe to all health problems. Does anybody know whether some reliable scientific study has been done that proves a correlation such as “People who practice 1/2 hour to 1 hour of meditation per day get a better sleep than others”? I have scientific background (maths physics and Software), I am 29 years old and being able to see such results would encourage me to try meditation. At this point I am not sure I want to try it because it seems to consume 1 hour of my time every day, which I feel is a lot!

I guess I am a chronic “light” insomniac. About every 3 weeks, I get overexcited in my brain. It actually is rather a pleasant feeling as for some reason I feel that I can come up with solutions or at least drafts of solutions to many problems in my life or in the life of others. I actually usually know a few hours before bedtime that I am going to have trouble falling asleep because I can sense my brain getting more active than usual. Then at bedtime (most of time at around 10pm) I would try to sleep (stay in bed for 1 hour at least). Cannot sleep OK I go out of the room and watch TV or go on the internet for 1 hour. Go back to bed. Either I can then sleep or I fail for another hour, in which case I repeat the procedure. In most cases I get something like in between 2 and 4-5 hours of sleep. Then it may repeat itself the next night (I can’t stop thinking, and again the feeling is most of the time pleasant). And then after 2 nights like this I pay the price the following 2 days where little things that I am usually OK with bother me a LOT more because of fatigue. I feel I become bad at doing things, my performance at everything gets low and it really sucks.

As for why my brain gets overexcited every 3 weeks or so? Most of the time I can identify the origin: after having watched a movie that I liked a lot, after going to a concert (classical music) that I enjoyed a lot, or sometimes with new things coming up in my life and I feel like I need to think a lot faster than usual in order to achieve a target (can be work related….). And then I get started thinking about all sort of things (and for each and every one of them have the feeling that I got a new idea to fix an existing pb and that I should try out “implementing” this idea). But some other fewer times I have no idea why my brain suddenly wakes up and prevents me from sleeping.

Matt — August 25, 2011 @ 5:54 pm

Hey my brother is 19 and has bad insomnia. He gets so worked up over not sleeping that he gets bad anxiety. He will freak out because hes not sleeping and it gets worse. he goes to sleep late like 3am on a good day. He is 19 and likes to party and hang out with his friends so he doesnt want to go to sleep at 10. pills dont work for him either. driving in a car seems to work. its a big hassle to my mom because he wakes her up at like 4-530 sometimes to go for a drive and she is losing a lot of sleep. he has a medical marijuana card for anxiety but does the weed make it worse? how can we get him to stop worrying so much about not sleeping because he makes it worse by thinking

Jimmy — August 30, 2011 @ 10:07 am

I’m 18 years old and it takes me about 2-3 hours to fall asleep, I’ve been lying in bed for an hour and a half and all I can think about is stuff that’s bothering me, I’ve tried the breathing exercizes and not thinking about anything but when I do that I’m too focused on having a blank mind that it doesn’t work, my body rejects pills so I don’t take them anymore, I’m out if ideas.

Vishal — September 4, 2011 @ 9:33 am

Have you tried doing some extra physical activity during your weekends?

Vishal — September 6, 2011 @ 10:35 am

Your electronics are very stimulating — and they are highly addictive.

Absolutely! Not just addictive, electromagnetic radiations from electronic devices affect Vata dosha, one of the prime factors causing insomnia.

Here’s a good read on holistic approach to manging insomnia:
http://www.alandiashram.org/school/school_html/articles/insomnia.html

Austin — September 26, 2011 @ 11:22 am

Hi there,
I recently turned 19 and am suffering from sudden insomnia. I jump to this conclusion because I had it when I was younger. Sorry for the bad grammar as I am actually writing this while I lay in bed with my iPod.
A little over a week ago I found myself tossing and turning at night. I thought it was due to the fact I had work the next day on a Saturday, but that is the only day I have needed to work since then and I still can’t sleep. I’ve tried slow music, heavy music, whispering relaxation videos, meditation, eating before bed and not eating anywhere near bed time, I’ve tried stretching and working out, and even self hypnotization. Nothing had worked.
Ill be tired before I go to bed but as soon as my head hits the pillow it’s like a whole new universe. My body just refuses the tone down. When I do finally fall asleep, hours later, I sleep for maybe 4 to 5 hours at most. When I sleep naturally I can sleep for 12 or more.
My next step is to visit a clinic and try to get some medical help because as a temp I could get a call any morning to go to work (they always call at 8 when they open). This is starting to seriously effect my lifestyle, what with always being exhausted.
I write this post because I’ve already tried everything in your thread and even what people have said in the comments. Is there anything at all you can do to help?

leanne — October 3, 2011 @ 6:40 pm

I’m 14 years of age and i’ve been suffering of insomnia for nearly a year. It has come to the point where I feel like i am being tortured. I get so fustrated and depressed at night that i stay up for hours crying. I’ve tryed so many things in the past but nothing has really worked, however I am slowly getting better. My insomnia is worst when I have exams at school. It not only makes me tol stressed to sleep but my insomnia has be thinking about sleep all through the day and this makes it difficult to studu without being fustrated. I feel very alone and helpless at night. i hate having this. My family doesnt really understand what i go through but Its really comforting to see how many comments there are on this page, it makes me realise that insomnia is actually quite common and can be curable with patience. I thank all of these sites and articles that continue to give me more tips and ideas that help me through the journey of finding a peaceful sleep i once had in me.

Vishal — October 14, 2011 @ 11:01 am

Hi Jean,

It depends on how long you have been taking pills and how fast your body can adapt. If you follow a good diet, exercise and do meditation regularly, then your sleep cycle should get back to normal soon.

Saba — October 18, 2011 @ 4:27 pm

I suffer from frequent episodes of Insomnia. Even when i am able to sleep, i wake up feeling tired and experience severe headaches. If i am not able to sleep, i get all stressed out and keep looking at the clock. Please help me!

Ram — October 22, 2011 @ 3:15 am

Sir,I am 77 yrs old.It is 22nd October,2011,3.26am and still no sleep.I have gone through the above suggestions and shall try a few.Let you know the results later.

Ela — October 28, 2011 @ 5:57 am

Hi, I’m 27 yrs old from the Philippines. It’s been 10 days now and can’t get any good sleep. I have read about melatonin so I tried it. It worked for me on the first night but now it doesn’t work for me anymore. I’m getting about 2-3 hours of sleep and I’m worried that I would look old. I also have an 8-5 job so I need to sleep. Help!!!!

Jessica — November 3, 2011 @ 1:45 pm

Hi,
I’m 21 years old and have been having sleep issues for the past few months. I stumbled across your site trying to find natural remedies or help since I would rather not resort to drugs plus the fact that medication is so expensive. But these tips really seem helpful and I hope they help me out.
Also, I was curious..my boyfriend snores a lot!! Could his snoring be linked to me not getting the sleep I should be getting? I normally never notice his snoring except for the nights I’m up til 3 or 4 which is about 4 days outta the week. But the nights I am able to sleep I don’t feel rested.
Do you think it could be a result of his snoring or my lack of sleep or both? I’m just trying to find the root of my problem.
Thank you.

sleepaholic-insomniac — November 5, 2011 @ 4:19 pm

i have noticed alot of the younger kids have ADHD…if they are on Ridalin or Adderall, this could also be the cause

sid — November 22, 2011 @ 1:50 am

the perfect cure for insomnia in BOYS — the 1000000% successful and the 100% drug-free cure —– is ,,,,,,,,,,,, EXERCISE YOUR PC MUSCLE ,,,, now whats a PC MUSCLE ?? its Pubococcygeus muscle ,, and the internet is flooding with how to exercise and train ur PC muscle,, do this at bed and 3 minutes is a maximum time i cud ever do this exercise without falling asleep,, try it ,, ,

What are some suggestions for insomnia without taking medications? | Sleeping Disorders — April 20, 2009 @ 10:25 pm

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