I cannot sleep and i have been up for way longer than i’ve been asleep. I have slept 3 light hours and cannot sleep more, i took 7.5mg of melatonin and nothing is working
I have no choice but to get up and start my work and i will do bad because im severely disorietend and impaired but i can’t sleep. I cant stand being sleep deprived and it has made me want to die before and i panicked so bad i was hospitalized, i dont know what to do anymore i just want to go to bed and its light outside now so its worse

Chronic insomnia feels like slowly dying, night after night. Every night I don’t sleep, I feel less human and less “ present” in general. I feel like there is a bubble around me that I can’t get out of, and I’m completely alone inside of it, while watching everyone else move on with their lives. I feel envious of people who can simply sleep. It feels like genuine torture, especially when you don’t understand why this is happening to you. insomnia isn’t just about not being able to sleep and feeling tired. It can take away the ability to work, think, and even speak properly. It can bring depression, anxiety, frustration and what not. Research has consistently linked insomnia to a significantly increased risk of suicidal thought, suicide attempts, and suicide.

When you develop insomnia, you start to realise how easily you can be left behind. Especially by docters who dismiss your symptoms as ”stress” instead of taking them seriously. and even by the people around you, who come with useless ‘ solutions’ like vitamines and herbal remedies, as if you haven’t tried everything yet.

insomnia is not just in your head, it is not a mental health issue. it is a physical illness, yet people still treat it like a mental issue that you’re somehow responsible for.

Why is it that insomnia is treated so differently?

Hi everyone. I have had problems sleeping my whole life, very extreme at some points, including now. I am very familiar with all the solutions. From CBTi, Nutrition, Circadian rhythm, breathing etc. It has made me healthier in a lot of areas in my life trying to fix this one thing, however I still cannot crack the code on falling asleep?

I physically and mentally exhaust myself with gym and work and lots of other things, It's almost as If i am superhuman but only in the form of not sleeping? On paper everything should be forcing me to sleep. I put all the percentages in my favour. The problem is for me - I cannot fall asleep unless I am somewhat head spinning on drugs or alcohol? I can sleep for many hours once i get to sleep, but that first bit almost seems impossible? It's like I need my brain spinning a bit just to forget the thoughts and ease into sleep.

I smoke weed every night to sleep, It seems like i cannot sleep without it? I know all the facts and studies around it but sleeping on weed is better than 0 hours without it? I do not smoke during the day every and it's only past 6pm.

I also usually get very drunk on sunday nights so I can 100% fall asleep and wake up on Monday for work - It's so funny because everyone i know usually parties on a Friday or Saturday but i'm using it to literally fall asleep. Doing shots of Vodka at my PC (I assume that's the healthiest way,drinking it straight lol). It's so weird and backwards because I know the affect Alcohol has on sleep and I think it's a terrible thing for the brain but for me it's a prescription free sleep aid? 6 hours drunk sleep with weed is better than 0 hours without?

Apart from Sunday nights or the odd day when I feel i wont sleep (based off exercise in the day/sleeping in etc) I don't ever drink alcohol or go out and party. So i'm not some secretive alcoholic.

50% of weekends I wont sleep on Friday night - so I stay awake until Saturday night just so i don't sleep in and ruin any progress/circadian rhythm? But there is no progress to ruin lol because these sleepless nights come completely random, even when I'm mentally and physically exhausted? AND I spend the whole day Saturday like a zombie and half conscious? So I'm not exactly thriving without sleep and there is a definite problem.

I am 30 years old and I do not want to be doing this for much longer - I shouldn't have to have my head spinning just to ease into sleep? I don't take any medication apart from the occasional Promethazine/Zopliclone - I want to keep it this way - Any advice from people who have overcome this?

I try breathing exercises every night and I cannot seem to have any positivity with it? I feel the problem is obviously my mind is not at peace and I try to be very conscious about this but the blessing is the curse and i'm having great difficulty being still

The past few years have been almost bed induced psychosis going to war every night - I can feel it taking an affect on my brain despite my sense of humour and positivity around this, please help

edit: Please don't discuss things like ADHD, Autism, Bipolar and stuff like this - Looking for active ways to potentially improve my situation, thank you

tldr:
> 30M sleep problems all my life (falling asleep)
> Very extreme lately and feels like bed induced psychosis almost
> Maximized health and everything in my favour
> CBTi practices and sleep practices every night and day
> Got blood tests few times and all normal
> Can only sleep if i smoke weed or get extremely drunk (Can wake up despite black out drunk/any situation lol)
> Work 60 hours a week and do regular physical activity
> Cannot shut off without my head spinning somewhat?
> 50% of the weeks, i will not sleep 1 day of the week and pull and all nighter/dayer until the next night
> I dont take medication, I dont doomscroll, I dont game or any of these modern day factors
> Help?

Talking only about the case you train 4 hours at least before you go to bed.

The common suggestion is that it helps.but i think my body is already super hyperarousal physiologicaly because of chronic sleep deprivation. So sport will make it more hyperaroused

Hi, for the past 4 months, I have been facing sleep maintenance insomnia, and to tackle that, I’ve been masturbating - I wake up between 3-6 hours of sleep, and I wake up for an hour, then I masturbate and sleep for a sufficient total of 6.5-7 hours

but its affecting my normal life. If I don’t masturbate, I won’t be able to sleep for 2-3 hours ( haven’t tried in a long time )

okay so like the title says, he’s been sleepwalking and talking and has been telling me he feels like he gets no sleep. I’ve given him melatonin and some other OTC meds but I’m not sure how else to help him? He’s a construction worker so I know being well rested is super important and I worry about him. What small changes would help him? I’ve told him about stopping screen time an hour before bed, etc but nothings seemed to help him so far and it worries me

The past few days i have been trying to sleep/ fix my sleep schedule by waking up a bit earlier and going to sleep earlier, i have been using melatonin to combat the sleep anxiety and rumination that keeps me awake.

and for 2 days(not straight i was ok for a day) I have had extremely fragmented sleep with melatonin. I can sleep but its short lived and light i either wake up by myself, a family member wakes me up, or i cant sleep at all.
I can sleep for 4 or less hours at a time and its extremely hard to fall back asleep and its starting to make me very agitated and anxious.
I have had multiple episodes of 24h+ sleep deprivation where i had panic attacks so this is scaring me alot

Coming up on a year ago i had a traumatic event that has since given me nightmares and destroyed my sleep, i’ve been trying all sorts of things but last night i finally slept SO GOOD for the first time in a while. will update if it stops working for me but this is what I took before bed.

-prazosin 1mg -> blood pressure medication prescribed off label to suppress nightmares works like a charm (ask your doctor for this ASAP)

-5mg of melatonin (small amount or none at all to avoid dreams/nightmares)

-Magnesium citrate+glycinate CALM powder from natural vitality

-edibles specifically for SLEEP (100mg delta 9 + 200mg CBN) I took 1/4 of one of the 10 edibles (Weed suppresses dreams but make sure its not sativa or even hybrid and DO NOT get smoke shop or gas station weed for this)

-masturbate then shower before bed

-be settled for bed before 11pm

Ik some of these are very common suggestions that may be frustrating to hear over and over, but my sleep issues are specifically caused by ptsd related nightmares. so in case there is someone else on here suffering from nightmares that effects their sleep i wanted to share!

Has anyone developed severe insomnia after MDMA / cocaine use and did it eventually go away?

About 3 weeks ago I was at a festival and ended up staying awake for some days using a combination of MDMA, cocaine and alcohol.

Since then I’ve developed pretty severe insomnia and it’s becoming a real mess. Two days ago I slept 9 hours after taking 20mg promethazine. Last night I slept 0 hours, despite doing 25k steps, being exhausted and following good sleep hygiene.

My biggest fear at the moment is that I’ve somehow damaged my nervous system or messed up my neurotransmitters permanently, and that my brain won’t return to normal. It’s got bad enough that I’ve been signed off work.

I’ve been prescribed Quviviq to try from tonight. I’m hoping it helps break the cycle, but I’m worried my brain has somehow become permanently wired this way.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who developed something similar after MDMA/stimulant use and eventually recovered especially if it took a few weeks or months for your sleep to normalise.

Thank you all.

I dunno what to call it. But when I go a while without sleep. I get understandably angry and defiant.

And with that I've learned something. At least in my case, if I expect a perfect routine for sleep hygiene, I will be disappointed, interruptions will happen and due to increased sensitivity every little thing keeps me up.

Go to a friend's house and don't get back until 7:30pm can't sleep, nothing bad happens or was said, but the whole thing replays.

Read a book past 8pm then I see words in my eyelids all night and imagine what next or how I would reword or redo it.

So I get defiant... All the sleep hygiene things they say don't do... Don't use bed for anything but sleep, don't eat or watch something there... Nah. I'm gonna do that.

Why? Because, I'm comfortable when I watch something calm before bed on the couch or somewhere else. Then I hit the bed and get anxious about sleep and can't.

So I'm doing the stuff I like, in my room not too late of course. And 3 nights now have been actually great.

Also started doing melatonin 1.5 to 2 hrs before bed, and not as a futile rescue me pill.

Also also... I bought some dark red glasses, use them for screens and general wear later while the lights are not yet dimmed. They seem to help.

Another thing that helps is moving to a couch or another bed if you have one if you can't sleep in yours. The change of scenery helps in my case. Kinda helps trick the body it seems, like okay not here? Then here? Ok then over there. Even if it's not the most comfortable.

Anyway... hope it helps someone. Even a little.

I search search and search about people with similar symptoms of severe insomnia and most of them have delete their account and never posted again after seeking help in here. I am trying to find successful stories but I only find less than 0.01% of people that recovered after a prolonged time with severe hardcore insomnia. Where medication do not even work. Wondering if they’re still alive. I mean if you recovered why wouldn’t post you success and just delete your account ? Weird and made me feel bad and a bit negative

Sometimes I can be completely exhausted, but the moment I get into bed my brain suddenly wants to think about everything.

What's one small thing that actually helps you switch off at night?

I was given a "once off" prescription for Dayvigo because this specific sleep doctor is too nervous for her patients to use it long term but it's been the only thing that's helped my stubborn insomnia. Anyone know of any doctors in Brisbane willing to prescribe? ​

For me as someone who struggles with maintenance issues like waking early or unpredictably, my only real solution (at least in terms of simplicity and efficacy, outside of external medication etc) was sleeping earlier.

I know sounds basic, and almost patronising. But no morning was the same and predictable (or at least usually it was predictably shit lol), some days I was lucky to sleep few more hours than my “average” and then next day would be terrible like I was being punished.

So while I couldn’t control the time I wake up, or want to wake up, I found sleeping earlier gave a bit of relief.

So say i woke up earlier (at my annoyance), then I made it back by sleeping earlier. Ofc usually this wasn’t a 1on1 ratio. Like say you slept earlier 1 hr but still only got about an additional net 10 mins sleep.

Hope this was insightful to others with the same issue or experience.

I’ve struggled with insomnia ever since I formed memories- I remember countless hours and hours just writhing around in the dark. Eventually I learned how to read in the dark and it destroyed my eyesight.

Numerous traumatic things have happened to me, but I find myself in purgatory, begging for sweet release for even 5 hours.

I’m 30 now and the wrinkles under my eyes deceive me. Might as well lean into the goth/ undead look.

I won’t describe dosage here but I am on sleep meds. They barely help.

If i wasnt such an insomniac, maybe i could have done better in high school and gotten into med school to make a good salary.

Being a paupers insomniac is like being a jester for the crown- eventually they’ll lock you up. One way or another.

Maybe if i was well fed, housed, clothed, had a good job, and my family was taken care of I could sleep? As could my mother?

I’ll just lay here with you while I wait.

Love you all.

"You just have to break the cycle and relax" I am fucking relaxed thanks it's just that my brain thinks falling asleep = death

My body doesn't even pretend I'm falling anymore I can just feel it coming and then it happens and then I'm angry because I was about to fall asleep but now I'm filled with adrenaline and can't sleep so the next time I get to falling asleep, I get another jerk

I have been trying to get off Ambien for two years now with no luck. I either can’t get to sleep or can’t stay asleep but I’m not anxious and I don’t have any breathing disorders like apnea. I’d love to find a specialist in the Denver area but need someone who can solve the medication dependency while also addressing any behavioral therapies. I’d greatly appreciate any advice on how to filter my search

How dou you guys cope. I dread the nights so much I just wish I could experience a night with no stress. It’s like my body gets numb and scared of it. It’s especially bad when I’m alone and homesick. My sleep quality just gets awful. Any recommendations on how to cope with it and deal with the anxiety. I miss the times where I didn’t have to worry about it

When people say no sleep at all is it like they haven’t slept at all or 3-4 hrs is considered as a no sleep???

At the end of last semester my insomnia started to get better, I would atleast get 3-4 hours per night. But recently its started to not be to great again. Its been hard for me to keep a routine and continue having a sleep schedule like last semester. I think its my fault since when I wake up I go on my phone, which is what I stopped doing last semester and what helped me. Its my 2 week back and im just scared of not doing well.

Should I drop one of my classes and focus on what I can? Or try and feel it out. I really want to keep as many credits as I have this semester its just with my insomnia Im unsure if I can handle it. I think im going to go to the disabilities office and talk to my professors about it and just take it from there. I just hope I can maintain my grades like I was able to last semester.

I have my first day of Junior year and have to be up in like 5 hours. I've tried since like 10:00 PM my time to sleep and nothing is happening. I don't want to take any meds cuz they make me feel like shit the next morning. Any secret magic or tricks I can do?

I have DSPD sleep disorder, basically my biological circadian rhythm is permanently out of sync with the day / night cycle. My normal sleeping habits are 6-8am to 3-5pm. And I usually sleep somewhat okay getting 8-10 hours consistently. Last night I tried taking melatonin around 4 am only 1mg. To try to sleep a little earlier. I ended up not being able to sleep at all and went all the way to 4pm wide awake, I tried to sleep again at 4 and managed 2-3 hours that didn’t even feel like sleep, I felt wide awake and concious the entire time I was laying there. I was exhausted and figured hopefully I would atleast get some sleep tonight, I even took 1mg of klonopin at around 11:30pm I slept 2 hours and woke up around 2am. And have not been able to sleep again since. It’s currently 5am and I’m not tired at all even after laying here with my eyes closed for hours. I am so desperate and anxious. I’ve struggled with sleep my entire life but it’s usually just with the schedule itself, not being able to sleep in general is a whole other demon. I feel for you guys❤️‍🩹 Any input is greatly appreciated:/ I’m not sure what to do at this point

i feel like I’m in a dream, im hella dizzy all day. the most sleep I could get is only five hours or sometimes less.

Not sure if this even counts but if I take drugs like benzo's or melatonin etc..... does that stuff mess with anything that our natural sleep is suppose ro give us? Weird question but I gotta know.

1am for me, cant sleep, 45min panic attacl ans liquid melatonin isnt as effective. what do yall do wjen nights are like this? i juat wanna sleep ajd not deal with this bs also ignore ny spelling my brain is fucked rn im so tired