I personally don’t think sleep medicine works at all (that’s just my input) I think learning how to sleep sober is the best way to do it.
I have so many methods I live by, a lot have to do with how you approach sleep, and how you handle your sleep.
Sleep is not a chore or a stressful time, so if you feel it is, that’s already an underlying issue to your sleep.
The body still functions while you’re asleep , and your diet, routine, and even thoughts before bed can literally affect how you sleep at night .
Sleep is straight up routine you have to build and get used to. Imagine it how we teach children to sleep , they hate going to sleep as youngins and pitch tantrums and cry before bed , because to them sleep is new , and stressful. You need to retrain your body to sleep which means not depending on certain things to make you sleep. Substance abuse usually leads to depending on that to help you crash and sleep, even if it’s an upper. I know from experience.
Anyways cherries produce natural melatonin in your brain , always eat a bowl of cherries before bed if you can.
I binge drink sleepy time herbal tea to help set the mood, I turn off over stimulating things before I sleep. No screen time, no intriguing tv shows/ videos until you at least get used to falling asleep again on your own.
Make sure you’re in a dark room, with minimum lighting. I use LED lights that slowly dim and shut off by 12 for bed time, sometimes a lamp, and I honestly relax.
Even if it’s a stressful thought running through your head , switch it over. Tell yourself you’re okay, you’re greatful for having a roof over your head , or even think how warm and cozy it is to have a blanket around you in a nice cozy bed.
Compliment yourself, count your blessings. Tell yourself , things are rough right now but they will get better, and that you’re doing your best.
Use breathing methods. One thing that really helps me is white noise on YouTube, there’s so many different types of noise you can pick from with preferences , that suits you with your sleep. You can use headphones, or play it out loud on your speaker beside you whether it is your phone or laptop. Don’t expect every sleep to be perfect but build a routine, go to bed at the same time, and get up at the exact same time.
Even if it was a sleepless night, get up and push yourself through the whole entire day, don’t sleep in and mess with your sleep cycle, and avoid naps during the day.
The sleep deprivation will help you be more exhausted on your further attempts to sleep. Like anything in life, it involves work and routine. I still get nightmares and thw odd sleep anxiety but it has gotten so much better since I relearned how to sleep.
I’m personally religious , so I pray to god before I sleep, and ask for help, thank god for everything I have, and repent of any sins , sometimes I read my Bible before I sleep or thank god before I sleep for my amazing life even if the day physically didn’t feel the best.
Bad thoughts come and go , sleepless nights come and go, but it’s like becoming sober, you need to find a way to solve the problem, and fix the underlying issue and realize it’s gonna be challenging at first until you get used to it.
Sleep and insomnia used to be my worst enemy, now sleep and I are best friends , and I go to bed pretty much the same time everyday and wake up everyday at the same time.
I’m a firm believer in that unless you absolutely need meds for sleep , like for instance let’s say you’re dying a serious disease that prevents you from sleeping, then stay away from the sleeping meds. Doctors don’t know what they’re prescribing to perfectly normal / pretty healthy people half the time and sleep meds can really mess up a normal person who actually just needs to work on their diet,routine, and healthier habits.
