[Insomnia] How to LET GO ?

[Schizophonia]

Another shitty night where I couldn't really get back to sleep until 4/5 in the morning, after swallowing a whole packet of belvita and 3 clotiazepam, only to end up waking up 5 hours later tired.
I followed the recommendations of my sleep doctor but it's useless, I can't let go, the ideas, the euphoria, the rumination fuse again and again in my head.
I can't even yawn anymore, I want to turn around all the time and check my phone or internet every 5 minutes and get upset that I can't sleep.

This is getting very complicated, has anyone else here had this kind of issue?
The doctors didn't help me except give me benzodiazepines and basic recommendations.

[integral]

Hey man sorry to hear that. I went through 10 years a severe sleep deprivation in my 20s that was then 100% resolved so maybe I can help. 

The major change that happened is to stop caring if you sleep or not and just accept wtv sleep quality your going to get. Now in the state your in that advice is not going to really help as your sleep confidence is very low with anxiety and dread just thinking about going to bed. But you want to shift the focus on living life and not care about sleep. 

Looking at the ingredients in belvita its high in things that could potential stimulate you so avoid foods that over stimulate. A good bed time routine is to eat your last meal 2-3 hours before bed and make that meal very large and filling, eat a huge meal. This will change your hormones and sedate you. If your desperate and its the middle of the night try eating a bowl of white rice as this can slow down brain function and knock you out. Look for foods that make you tired not stimulate, also avoid heavy foods like meat and eggs as it can stimulate because the body has to work hard to digest it and finally avoid fasting as it can be very hard to sleep while hungry for some. With a few good nights of sleep your sleep confidence will be restored and you can enter a period of no worries. At some point the insomnia could return, on and off, that's a typical pattern. 

So again you got to stop caring about sleep and you'll get the sleep your looking for. 

There are a lot of things that can help you that I didnt mention because personally when I was in the thick of it with a over active mind nothing really worked except eating a huge meal 2-3 hours before bed.

Edited May 14, 2023 by integral

[Michael569]

Have you tried listening to a story? Maybe a book on Audible. For example, if you are a Harry Potter fan, listening to this in the evening can be pretty chilled, the Audible versions are narrated by Steven Fry, one of the best audio books. 

CALM, the app also has lots of night time stories that help take your mind away and help you relax. 

Do you think it is a stress issue? Do you feel a lot of unresolved tension in the body? 

I assume you're doing all the obvious things: eliminating light sources, dark curtains, sleeping mask, staying away from caffeine past 2 pm. Some hot brew of chamomile before bedtime can help. 

Alternatively the last hour walk around your house with something like this on your earbuds. This stuff works really well for me 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Michael569

[integral]

@Michael569 Thats a great point, theres a beautiful spiritual calming anime called Mushishi that can be listened to audio (dub) only at night, it puts the mind into a altered state imagining and dreaming with the story. I would listen to it in bed when struggling. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by integral

[Asayake]

Idk if you've tried this but worth trying is slamming down tons of carbohydrates & sugar about an hour before bed. The blood sugar spike will help crash cortisol and help you pass out. 

[Schizophonia]

12 hours ago, integral said:

@Michael569 Thats a great point, theres a beautiful spiritual calming anime called Mushishi that can be listened to audio (dub) only at night, it puts the mind into a altered state imagining and dreaming with the story. I would listen to it in bed when struggling. 

 

14 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Have you tried listening to a story? Maybe a book on Audible. For example, if you are a Harry Potter fan, listening to this in the evening can be pretty chilled, the Audible versions are narrated by Steven Fry, one of the best audio books. 

CALM, the app also has lots of night time stories that help take your mind away and help you relax. 

Do you think it is a stress issue? Do you feel a lot of unresolved tension in the body? 

I assume you're doing all the obvious things: eliminating light sources, dark curtains, sleeping mask, staying away from caffeine past 2 pm. Some hot brew of chamomile before bedtime can help. 

Alternatively the last hour walk around your house with something like this on your earbuds. This stuff works really well for me 

 

Ty, I'm going to try these videos before bed. Right now I'm listening to Mozart, doing pretty well I think 

[Schizophonia]

12 hours ago, Asayake said:

Idk if you've tried this but worth trying is slamming down tons of carbohydrates & sugar about an hour before bed. The blood sugar spike will help crash cortisol and help you pass out. 

I already tried and it didn't work

[integral]

32 minutes ago, Schizophonia said:

I already tried and it didn't work

belvita? Have you tired white rice? 

[Superfluo]

@Schizophonia Try bioenergetics exercises or Reichian breathwork. Check on youtube searching for "Devaraj Sandberg", he has lots of videos on bioenergetics exercises. Some of them increase your energy levels, other decrease your energy levels.

[Schizophonia]

1 hour ago, Superfluo said:

@Schizophonia Try bioenergetics exercises or Reichian breathwork. Check on youtube searching for "Devaraj Sandberg", he has lots of videos on bioenergetics exercises. Some of them increase your energy levels, other decrease your energy levels.

Ty, I will see ?.

 

5 hours ago, integral said:

belvita? Have you tired white rice? 

I tried with oatmeal porridge and lots of sugar

 

20 hours ago, Michael569 said:

. 

Do you think it is a stress issue? Do you feel a lot of unresolved tension in the body? 

 

No, it’s rather a kind of OCD, and probably cortisol (circadian) issue.

Too awake/euphoric on afternoon, too sleepy on the morning 

[undeather]

Do you suffer from any diagnosed psychiatric disorders?
 

[Michael569]

2 hours ago, Schizophonia said:

No, it’s rather a kind of OCD, and probably cortisol (circadian) issue.

Too awake/euphoric on afternoon, too sleepy on the morning 

I found Sachin Panda's - Circadian Code book helpful on that front. 

[Roy]

Exercise every single day, no exceptions.

It might not solve the issue, but it will brute force improve your sleep.

Edited May 14, 2023 by Roy

[integral]

53 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

I found Sachin Panda's - Circadian Code book helpful on that front. 

I like this approach the only criticism ill say about it from doing it for years is psychologically your in a OCD organisation state. So your going to obses over every detail and make sure your routine is perfect everyday, watching the clock that your eating at the perfect times, getting enough sun (timing sun exposure), drinking 2 litters a day... all very carefully, at exactly 6:30 you'll dim the lights and at 8:30 youll close the lights and go to bed like a robot even when your not tired, take your melatonin and every night pray you'll sleep as you lie down in fear of the next 10 Torturous hours of your life. The next day even if you sleep or not you'll wake at the same time and do it again. You'll have 24/7 anxiety that you made a mistake in the routine.

Why this is an issue is it gets in the way of letting go and not caring so much about sleep and just living life. So if we give someone living in a mental prison a sleep hygiene routine or any rigid routine to follow it makes the situation worse. Its also very natural to recommend changes to sleep hygiene but with OCD anxiety minds its unclear that is going to help. 

Edited May 14, 2023 by integral

[LSD-Rumi]

I don't know, I have never had a problem with sleep even in my darkest places, I just forget about everything and just sleep.

[integral]

2 minutes ago, LSD-Rumi said:

I don't know, I have never had a problem with sleep even in my darkest places, I just forget about everything and just sleep.

Where you depressed? It might be one of the reasons depression will make it easy to "give up" and just sleep. While if hes not depressed and his mind is brimming with new ideas at night its hard to shut down. 

[LSD-Rumi]

3 minutes ago, integral said:

Where you depressed? It might be one of the reasons depression will make it easy to "give up" and just sleep. While if hes not depressed and his mind is brimming with new ideas at night its hard to shut down. 

I had every mental disease on earth, lol.

[Michael569]

15 hours ago, integral said:

like this approach the only criticism ill say about it from doing it for years is psychologically your in a OCD organisation state. So your going to obses over every detail and make sure your routine is perfect everyday, watching the clock that your eating at the perfect times, getting enough sun (timing sun exposure), drinking 2 litters a day... all very carefully, at exactly 6:30 you'll dim the lights and at 8:30 youll close the lights and go to bed like a robot even when your not tired, take your melatonin and every night pray you'll sleep as you lie down in fear of the next 10 Torturous hours of your life. The next day even if you sleep or not you'll wake at the same time and do it again. You'll have 24/7 anxiety that you made a mistake in the routine.

Why this is an issue is it gets in the way of letting go and not caring so much about sleep and just living life. So if we give someone living in a mental prison a sleep hygiene routine or any rigid routine to follow it makes the situation worse. Its also very natural to recommend changes to sleep hygiene but with OCD anxiety minds its unclear that is going to help. 

Yeah it can turn to that if you allow it, that's a fair criticism. 

The way I see this book is that it is a set of different tools and things to keep at the back of your mind, as you go through the day, to do, if you can. I don't think doing the whole thing 100% is too practical, I agree with you on that. It should be a pick & choose a method, like a buffer of choices. Over time you'll see which work and which don't. 

But it is the small things people can apply (many of which they would have never heard about before) 

But just as with any health book, you can take it too far and turn it into a dogma or a bible...that's for sure. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Michael569

[Rigel]

Make sure you breath through your nose. See how slow you can make it. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Rigel

[EugeneTheSage]

I also have this issue. I often have strong inspiration and rewatch the idea in my head again and again which hinders me to sleep. I also have tinnitus and head pressure which I discovered is caused by  trigger points in neck muscles and chew muscles.

Also I have sedentary lifestyle.

What helps me is an enough amount of exercise and if I know I won't be able to fall asleep this night I don't try to and listen to IAwake binaural beats: Audio Serenity, Strong Medicine, Heartwave meditation, Profound meditation. After an hour I usually fall asleep without a problem.

https://www.iawaketechnologies.com/free-tracks/

Also a simple thing such as not using your phone 3hrs before bedtime.