Need help to overcome insomnia, it's ruining my life?

Background info

I'm 16, male, and have had insomnia for what feels like nearly two years. It is non-stop and happens in different ways. Some nights I go to bed at 10pm and simply cannot fall asleep no matter what, a few weeks ago I was up till 4am in the morning (no sleep whatsoever), slept in accidentally and was almost late to a math exam (which could have resulted in failure). Or, I go to bed at 10pm, get to sleep around midnight, but then wake up at 3am the next morning and cannot fall asleep again no matter what. Like right now, it's 5am and I can't sleep so I'm typing this.

My eyes are always red and aching, I have very dark black rings under my eyes, the lack of sleep is worsening my moods and making me feel depressed. I'm always tired, always exhausted and fatigued. My parents and friends have commented on my eyes, "wow you need more sleep". It takes me over half an hour to get out of bed most mornings because I'm so tired. I can't concentrate on any schoolwork and during class and I'm always exhausted during the day. At night, I feel slightly more energetic and struggle to fall asleep.

I'm on the computer alot, don't play any sports and rarely exercise. I've noticed that my window and blinds are almost always closed, and never open at night, so my room mustn't have much fresh air. Right up until bed I'm on my computer, which is 2 monitors, one of them bright LED. I also have my TV (in room too), on sometimes for Olympics. This extra brightness from screens could be preventing my brain from preparing to sleep, thus prolonging how long I lie awake at night.. but it shouldn't cause me to stay up for hours past midnight if I'm turning everything off and going to bed at 10pm. And it shouldn't cause me to wake up at 3am and not sleep the following morning. So what is it? Less computer is not an option this day and age.

What I'm doing

Another main reason for this could be my sleeping pattern, it has been out of control for the past year. Now I'm trying to fix my sleeping pattern - I've been waking up at 7am every morning, and trying to be in bed by 10pm. I'm going to try and exercise more by jogging every few days a week, in the morning, hopefully this will help. I'm going to leave my window open to help ventilate my room at night (I've been closing window to keep cold air out, because its winter and really cold at night/morning here). And I'll open blinds completely throughout the day to let sun in, and close them fully at night. I'm getting a new bed, I've been sleeping in a very old uncomfortable one for years now. What else do you think I can do to help me sleep more and get rid of the insomnia?

Less computer is not an option, but I'm doing my best to control the lighting. At bed (usually 10pm), I turn off all electronics at the power points - there is literally no lights in my room, with blinds closed its pitch darkness. Then I brush teeth, get cup of water, go to bed. Usually lie awake stressing over everything in my life for hours. Stress is another problem, it keeps me up all night and worsens my mood and insomnia, which leads to depression, which leads to more stress and less sleep. All of my problems come back to lack of sleep and stress, and it's making my grades worse and family and friends are noticing how tired I am from my appearance. So yeah, please help with above paragraph - what else can I do to get more sleep, and what do you think will solve all my problems?

Do you have a firm idea of how much sleep you need? Trying for 9 hours might be too much. It sounds like you are taking a number of sensible steps to help with this, I think the exercise is particularly important, and a fixed wake-up time no matter when you go to sleep.

If you haven't already installed it, software like http://stereopsis.com/flux/ will dim the brighness of your monitors over the evening, so it's not so jarring to go from bright to night. I use it and love it. If you have overhead lights in the room, try not to use them in the evening and use 40W or less lamps. I'm sure you're clued up about caffeine and so on, but just in case, avoid coffee, coke or chocolate after noon as it can take hours to clear your system.

Brains do need some wind-down time. It might help to read for an hour before bed, between 10 and 11pm. No electronics, or if you must use an eReader, make sure its settings are as close to paper as you can get. I wouldn't suggest horror, thrillers or anything too educational. The aim is to relax, to slow your mind down with thoughts that are heading in a linear path, but dictated by someone else. You may still lie awake a while after that thinking about the plot, but hopefully this is a more peaceful way to drift off.

There's other advice for tackling stress and you might want to look into that, but in connection with your sleep, I would suggest some kind of Rule that you will NOT think about your life while in bed. Every time you notice that kind of thought, in line with meditation techniques: "thank it for trying to help you, but say that it doesn't help you sleep, so please come back in the morning." Over and over again, the worst that happens is you bore yourself to sleep. If you can't stop yourself, get out of bed, make a list of the things that are worrying you on paper. Then go back to bed. Your bed should be a "haven", this is a way to avoid associating it with the worries.


[Edited to add: You're taking many positive steps, and I hope one or two of my suggestions are helpful, but there are other causes of insomnia, including physical ones, that you may want to look into if none of this helps. Above all, don't worry about it. You're just going to keep trying things until you find something that works, it's boring, but you'll get there in the end. Worrying is adding to a vicious circle. It's not needed.]

It is all good advice. I especially like your idea of exercise. I found jogging to be a fine way to wind down my thoughts and destress from the day. It will also put some sunshine on your skin to help set your biological clock. My sleeping disturbances started in college as well. I was working and taking a full load of courses. I was too tired to party so I didn't drink.

Try taking your mind off things by meditation. By definition, meditation is the lack of thought. It is easier to learn than you might think, and I benefited quite a bit from it. Try mindfulness meditation. There are a lot of types of meditation, but mindfulness is the one with the clearest descriptions on the internet. It costs nothing, and you can get improvement in 2 to 3 weeks. It takes a little practice to get good at it.

I suppose I should ask -What is going through your mind as you lie in bed for 5 hours waiting to sleep? Are you experiencing racing thoughts? It is fairly common. Other than the meditation, there are simple distractions that might help. Try some classical music or a noise generator. The sound of the ocean or even white noise helps some people.

It will take some experimentation to find out what is right for you. Each person is unique. If you need more suggestions, we have plenty. Try these suggestions and let us know what is happening. We help you further if you need it.

GaryM

When I was in school I had problems falling asleep because I hated waking up early in the morning. Being locked in a schedule drives me crazy I need freedom. So just the thought of having to wake up early would view anxiety and I could not sleep. I know this is true because I never had any problems on the weekends.

As for you you mentioned some obvious problems. Not exercising at all is a big problem. Our bodies were not made to just sit around all day. And when you do that you don't tire yourself out enough so your body does not need that much sleep cause it gets all the rest it needs during the day.

If you are to lazy to actually exercise than at the least take a walk in the evening. You are 16 years old and you are not exercising is bad. Right now your body is growing and exercising will help developed strong bones and muscles for the rest of your life. People that have major probs with weight when thy are older, is because they never developed their body correctly and now it is to late. No matter what they do it will always be hard for them to control their weight cause the damage they did when growing. And here is a hint, Woman like lean strong men, not flabby dough boys. And having women in your life does great for stopping depression.

Stretching will help reduce your anxiety. And keep some paper and a pen by your bed. When a thought enters your mind write down and get it out of your head.

Dear Dawn Rain
You may listen to this audio. It will relax you a lot before sleeping.

*mod edit - off topic*

By

Hey,

You sound just like me not too long ago. I had troubles falling asleep even as a child and in high school it got worse, by the time I was 20 I even had panic attacks at night. Full-blown insomnia and I laid tossing and turning for hours every night, except when I was so finished that I just passed out in bed. That was every 5th to 7th night. Today I'm 33 and finally know what I need to do, but the underlying problems are still there, ready to mess it up if I don't stick to my method. I wrote a blog post about it: http://unarraryed.blogspot.se/2012/09/f ... -well.html

First of all, I'm sure you've read all the "generic advice" out there like take it easy with coffee after 3 o'clock. You said you started exercising which can help. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helped me with the "generic" part of the sleeping problems, I took an online treatment for $80 and it gave me valuable insight and some pretty clever methods. Wikipedia has a great summary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_ ... r_insomnia

Second of all, in my case there was some personal issues which I had to figure out for myself. In short I have mild manic tendencies which was stuck in a positive reinforcement loop with the insomnia. "Terrible sleep last night! No problem, just work really hard all day and I'll be tired in the evening!" Well, when evening came I was full of energy and didn't even WANT to sleep or so I told myself. I sat at the computer, read books, hung out with night owl friends... And once I had my head on the pillow, my head was spinning.

In short, I had to learn to relax between all the stuff that happened during the day. And especially in the evening, if I watch an exciting movie just before bedtime I know that that will keep me from sleeping - every night there's a tough decision to be made. And I only have a coffee per day, before lunch - when I experimented I realized I was really sensitive to caffeine, even a small cup at two pm could keep me up at night.

And trying out a method one or two days won't make ANY difference for guys like you and me - you've got to stick with it, give it a few days, create the conditions for good sleep.

So, my advice to you is, know yourself. Get some help from professionals if you can afford it, CBT makes the most sense in this case. You said that dropping the computer is not an option, well I'm telling you that it might be a big part of the problem, that you don't spend the evening relaxing. If sleeping doesn't come easy for you, then a trick or two like working out may not be enough, but for sure be part of the solution.

Good luck!

I agree that you are taking good steps. Exercise is good but avoid it in the evening, if possible. It wakes up your nervous system (which is why it's fantastic in the morning.) There are studies that say computers and TV's mess with your sleep. Try turning them off at 8:30 or 9 pm. You might also look into some medication. Melatonin is natural and has worked wonders for some people (talk to a doctor before you start though.) The only other one I know about is Amitriptyline. This DEFINITELY requires talking to a doctor because the side effects can be nasty and dosage varies depending on the condition that is being treated. Prescription meds might work, but they can be addicting. Try listening to classical music. Make sure there is no light in your room. Try meditation or yoga. There are also some herbal remedies that work (St Johns Wort has been very effective.) And keep on a regular schedule. Good luck!!!!

vballplayer20

This is exactly the same problem which i faced last month.so i know your feelings,A person suffering from insomnia feels discomfort and cannot sleep properly. i search one site from search engine that resolved my issue.so you can also get help regarding this problem.hope you will find best to yourself

http://www.healthcosmic.com/how-to-over ... order.html

This is what I have been doing for awhile with success.. DON"T JUDGE ME LOL!!...

When I go to bed I focus on my pineal gland and wait for an eye to appear ( it always does) Its hypnotic for me.. I just go with it

LoL motomack I gotta try that one of the third eye