Help with insomnia?
 

First off, I'm a bit of an insomniac. It's not severe, I can fall asleep at a decent hour and everything, but I wake up every hour or so and can't get back to sleep for another thirty minutes. I've tried new mattresses, various home-remedies, listening to music, static background noise (got the idea from Hunter S. Thompson), even self-hypnosis, but I can't keep from waking up. Normally it isn't a problem, but I'm taking some rough classes next semester, and I can barely stay awake during the day as it is.


Anyone have any advice, or should I just get medication, or what?

What kind of music have you tried? Calm music may not help you that much. It may be something of your diet, but I recommend you to try some medication. I don't know which, though.

I've tried just about every kind of music on my iPod, from smooth jazz to power metal, and I've had varying degrees of success, but nothing helpful enough to make that big of a difference.

It could be my diet, I hadn't thought of that...I eat fairly healthy, but I do drink an excess of soda...never right before I go to sleep though, and usually not after dark.

Check it out with your doctor. They might have some advice for you medically and pharmaceutically.

Cutting out the soft drinks may help, especially if they're caffeinated.

Doctors scare me...Really, I hadn't even thought of going to my doctor, but I think he's kind of lazy, and would probably just throw some pills at me and yell, "Now get out, I have other patients to swindle!"

I actually tried quitting all caffeine for awhile, but that actually made the waking up worse. I'll see about cutting back though.

[EDIT]
Going to bed now, actually...Got to be awake in about six hours to pick my brother up...little bastard =)

Caffeine wouldn't be the problem, it spikes your energy rather quickly; it's not a delayed response. I'd think that the sugar from sodas would be of more detriment than the caffeine. Try sticking with just water for a few hours before you go to sleep. Also don't eat for a couple hours before you go to sleep.

Try earplugs. Might be you're a light sleeper, and you get woken up by stray sounds.

When you wake up, what kind of state are you in? As in, would it be just as if someone else woke you up, or is it more sudden, as if from a nightmare?

When I wake up it's usually very sudden, but not in a nightmarish way, just one second I'm asleep, the next I'm wondering how to fall back asleep. :-/

I'll give earplugs a shot tonight.

Maybe you have constant nightmares that you don't remember? Also, check your inbox. It's 'bout the quote in your sig.

As someone with the EXACT same problem as you, I would suggest going to see a sleep therapist. They can do a sleep study on you and figure it out because, honestly, it can be just about anything. My insomnia stems from Restless Leg Syndrome, which is a nervous twitch in my leg that wakes me up at night. Basically I kick myself awake.

If you want to try some meds, you can try Melatonin which is the chemical your body produces while you sleep. It's an herbal supplement and can help a lot. Chamomile or decaf herbal tea might help you as well. I have this SleepTime tea that really calms me down before I sleep and really helps me stay asleep for at least a while. If you want to go hardcore meds, you can try Lunesta or Sonata or something, but I really would check with your doctor first. Some of the pills can make you dependent on them or have some nasty side effects like being drowsy during the day.

Also, how long have you been having the insomnia? I've been stuck with it for years and my body has pretty much gotten used to only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night max. It's not healthy, but at least I can survive when I need to, plus finals week is a breeze because everyone else is dying from lack of sleep and I'm perky.

If you're overweight, it might be sleep apnea, although you'd have to have another party verify that you stop breathing during sleep.

Either way, I say nut the fuck up and check in with your/a doctor no matter what you do. It couldn't hurt to have a professional opinion, while the medication recommendations of a forum might.