#1

I stopped taking Advil pm because it’s clearly not good for me long term. Falling asleep isn’t the problem but staying asleep is. Suggestions please!

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#2

Environment mitigation

  • Ear plugs
  • Eye mask
  • 66 degrees
  • binaural beats
  • brain entrainment to generate alpha and/or theta waves

Supplements

  • Melatonin
  • Magnesium
  • Potassium
  • Gaba
  • Resistant starch at least 6 hours before bed

Preparations

  • No water after 7 PM
  • Dim lights after 7 PM
  • Wear amber glasses after 7 PM to reduce blue light exposure
  • PEMF (search forum for examples)
  • Get outside in bright sunlight for 30 minutes to 1 hour on waking in the AM
  • Exercise before 6 PM

Read - Why We Sleep by Mathew Walker.

Make certain you have comfortable bed.
Lie down on it.
If you move to cross your legs, it suggests your body doesn’t find it comfortable.

Get a proper pillow for how you sleep (back, side).
If you sleep on your side, a pillow between your legs can reduce strain on your back.

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#3

You’ve already received excellent advice! This is my challenge in life, but my sleep is so much better than it used to be.

Rapa has definitely helped my sleep

A few months ago, the good folks on this forum got me to start melatonin, as alpha mentioned, and it really does help. I’m taking one that is immediate release and then delayed in order for it to hopefully cover me at 3am when I’d normally wake up. (I only know enough to be dangerous and others can give you more exacting advice).

Blackout curtains and a cold room are a must for me.
My room struggles to get cold enough, so I bought the eight sleep mattress topper to keep my bed cold. It’s pretty pricey, but this was life changing for me!

I don’t have trouble falling asleep either, but what has helped me is not eating for several ours before bed, barely drinking (argh!), and going to sleep super early so that when I am up for a while in the middle of the night, I still have enough time to get at least 6 or 7 hours in.

Also, if I am up and can’t fall back to sleep, I’ve discovered if I listen to a podcast of a dry nature (science/business), by focusing on something and trying to listen, I am not stressed about being up, and it also sorta lulls me to sleep because my mind isn’t racing.

If you need more, trazadone is a drug you can take before bed that will definitely help. Unlike ambien etc, it is not giving you unhealthy sleep.

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#4

I’ve been using the hearthmath biofeedback device for about 6 months & I’ve gone from often being stuck awake in the night to having it be a not often thing. I also added trazadone & the other things recommended, so I don’t know what has made the difference, but my guess is that it’s the calming from the biofeedback.

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#5

400mg of gabapentin plus 10mg of melatonin work for me. I only use gaba 2 or 3 a week but when I do it’s lights out. On the off nights I use 50mg of melatonin with 400mg of magnesium glycinate. Works well also.

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#6

I micro dose mirtazapine if I want to sleep 8h+ in one row;

https://www.reddit.com/r/insomnia/comments/1bhgfs2/microdosing_mirtazapine_finding_the_minimal/

#7

Having to get up to pee, sometimes more than once, is the problem for me.

#8

How many mg do you use? I’ve been prescribed Mirtazapine also for sleepless nights, but even on 3.5mg I will sleep through all my alarms and am still feeling groggy after sleeping 10-12 hours.

Ah I now see the Reddit thread addresses the same issue. Microdosing seems very interesting, but dissolving it in water as is suggested, is less optimal. Personally I try to use it only sporadically.

#9

Agree with many of above suggestions.

In addition, Glycine 2-3 g and Ashwaganda 600-900 mg 1-2 hrs before bed have helped me stay asleep and have fewer night time awakenings. My deep sleep time was also lengthened with those based on tracking with 8-sleep tracker. Got those suggestions from Peter Attia’s podcast.

One more suggestion: I used to go to the bathroom 1-2 times per hour whenever I felt the slightest urge. I believe that that trained my body to be very sensitive to any urge to urinate. Now, instead, I go a little less frequently during the day, and have trained my body to be used to feeling a mild urge to urinate without immediately running to the bathroom. My belief is that that has allowed me to sleep longer at night without getting up.

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#10

No alcohol (or as little as possible and none several hours before bedtime)

THC gummies

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#11

Just have to ask, do you have any symptoms of sleep apnea? Because it is a major sleep disruptor, especially for men.

#12

I am surprised when people make claims about ashwaganda. I took it for over three years and could not identify any benefits whatsoever from taking it.

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#13

Glycine made it harder for me to fall asleep and reduced deep sleep. Practically, no supplement has consistently worked for falling asleep or staying asleep. Medications that work most of the time:

  • Mirtazapine ~3.75mg
  • Doxepin (only sleep maintenance 6mg)
  • Quviviq 50mg
  • Gabapentin 300mg

So, one of the above, not mixed together! In addition to this, slow-release melatonin 2mg as close to bedtime as possible.

I don’t like mirtazapine and doxepin because they interfere with morning workouts. Quviviq is the best and safest in terms of side effects, but it doesn’t always work.

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#14

Excellent point. That is the kiss of death for me. Learning to take my bedtime supplements by aprox 7pm so I’m not drinking late has helped a lot

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#15

I use one eight of a 15 mg tablet, I cut with a scalpel, so about 1,9mg. I then get 9-10h straight sleep, but I have to take 200mg caffeine after I wake to have a clear mind. That’s why I use this only in the weekend.
On week days I use trazodon 12,5 mg to get to sleep. If I wake up in the middle of the night and I have difficulties to get back to sleep and I have another 4h to sleep, I take another 12,5 mg trazodon

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#16

I misremembered the strength of Mirtazapine; I have been taking 1/4 of a 15 mg tablet, so it’s about 3.75 mg

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#17

Trazodone works for me too, but my nose gets completely blocked, and my mouth dries out, so I can’t use it.

#18

My doctor recommended I try trazadone along with my THC and i had such severe dry mouth I could hardly open it! I only took 1/4 of a 50 mg pill with about 2.5 mg THC. Never again.

#19

I had a bad reaction to trazodone. Only medication I’ve ever had a worrying reaction to. It had many symptoms of serotonin syndrome, but I’m doubtful of this. I later found it’s contraindicated with even small doses of Lithium, so something to be aware of.

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#20

Also 2 of the more important things for me.

During the 90’s I was on the road for 4 days a week for 6 years and became an expert at blacking out a hotel room LoL!

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