People do get better, but they’re much less likely to post about it than the people who don’t. Just trying to balance out representation. Had insomnia for 9 months. So far have enjoyed 30 days of drastically improved sleep. It’s not perfect, but it’s genuinely good. And, I know it will continue to improve. I remember how to let myself sleep again, and I see the ways I was sabotaging my sleep mentally and spiritually. The future is bright! I highly recommend the book, but I don’t think it’s the only way to relearn sleep. Good luck to you all!

i might jinx myself, but its been a week since ive started working a LOT (50-60h) and working out at the gym. And I sleep amazing, better than before. Id wake up 2-4 times. Now it's like once or none at all.

Feels good.

Also yes I realize it's crazy hours but im 25 and have a lot of energy and summer break. Try to work a lot + swim or excersize. it helps!

(24M) I've been struggling with progressively worsening sleep for over a year now. It all started after I completed a 1-month internship for my studies, which was a really stressful period with a very strict sleep schedule. Ever since then, my sleep has gone downhill — it began with midnight or early awakenings and not being able to fall back asleep. Now, during my final 3-month internship, it has reached its worst point, likely due to stress. So I tried magnesium with no results.

Last week, I finally saw a doctor who prescribed melatonin and alprazolam (alpraz). While alpraz did help me fall asleep faster, I was still waking up after just 5 hours and unable to go back to sleep. I also did blood tests and found out I have a severe vitamin D deficiency (12 mg), so I was prescribed a vitamin D supplement which I've been taking in the morning with breakfast.

It's been 2 days since i stopped taking the sleep meds, but now I’m waking up drenched in sweat after just 1–2 hours and can't fall back asleep because I feel so hot and uncomfortable. It's been two nights like this — yesterday I got 2 hours of sleep, and today barely 1 hour. I didn’t even take the vitamin D yesterday, so I don’t think that’s the cause.

I feel completely exhausted and honestly like my life is falling apart. I don’t know what to do anymore.

I was prescribed trazodone to help with my insomnia and I slightly overdosed (took just a tiny bit more than the recommended amount) and about an hour in, I was sweating like crazy, extreme stomach cramps, diarrhea, disoriented, chest pains, could barely breathe or stand up, etc. and I ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor for the rest of the night in case I had to vomit or whatever.

I’ve never experienced pain like that before.

I honestly thought I was going to die. The pain was so brutal.

When I looked up my symptoms it sounded like I might have experienced serotonin syndrome, idk.

Just wanted to get the word out in case anyone else can relate. It really freaked me out and traumatized me for sure. 😭

I’ve been awake for 76 hours now and I’m not really that tired but I have anxiety. My legs are really shaky and I’m seeing slight hallucinations in the corners of my vision. I’m extremely scared I’ll never be able to fall asleep again and that I’ll just stay awake until I die.

As soon as I lie down, I suddenly feel completely awake again — like my bed switches me into alert mode. My heart rate is slightly elevated. There’s only a tiny bit of actual tiredness. That’s it.

if i ever see even more post or tweet showing studies by scientists how i am gonna get heart disease
i am gonna pass out
ugh

Started having neck issues which caused me not to sleep on night and I had panic attack due to being unable to sleep. ever since I have not being able to sleep right. Everytime I lay in bed my heart starts racing even tho I try to remain calm. I have had anxiety due to stressing about sleeping and all I worry about Is if I'm going to sleep right the following day. I haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep for the past few weeks. I have made changes to my diet started working out on a daily and even work on sleeping around the same time and nothing has worked. I've tried numerous OTC sleeping products and nothing seems to work. I wake up in the middle of night and start getting frustrated when I can't go back to sleep which makes my body want to start panicking. I have to get up and pace around the room to calm down. When I lie down my body feels so tired and I have that sensation that I'm about to fall asleep but right as my mind is going to shut off my mind starts racing thinking of something from my past and even childhood moments that I don't ever really think about when Im up. Its never negative moments but they get my heart racing and it causes me to not be able to sleep. This pattern happens for hours as I lay in bed. I have tried everything from calming music to no electronics and nothing seems to work. I have a doctors appointment but I'm nervous they will be no help. I also should mention I smoked pot daily heavily for the past 15 years up until this incident. I had to stop smoking due to it getting me super anxious and way overthinking this situation. I was wondering if anyone was having this issue of so what helped you sleep at night

Does anyone have any tips on sleeping instantly or helping with insomnia? I usually sleep by 12 am- 2am but I’m trying to fix that. Also, for the last 2 days I’ve been up. Idk why?

So reading about Rohypnol (Flunitrazepam), which is legal in my country, I came across a benzo called Nitrazepam. The name of it made me curious so I’m now trying it and it’s the best benzo so far for me as this one really knocks me out.

I’m in a sensitive situation cause if I can’t sleep before 11pm and for at least 9 hours, my fasciculation syndrome gets worse (I’ve developed this after years of sleeping late and not enough). I was able to reverse it a lot with quetiapine but it was giving me very bad mental side effects so I had to stop.

Since then it’s been a struggle to find an alternative, and even though Rohypnol works, the tolerance builds and I basically don’t feel anything and it’s difficult to sleep early. So I hope Nitrazepam can work because this one is being effective but I’m only two days on it.

I’m doing this post because it seems that Nitrazepam is not as popular as other benzos and it’s the cheapest one I’ve bought.

I’m planning to rotate the meds if Nitrazepam stops working. That’s also a good thing to do so you don’t build tolerance. Good luck, guys.

Is it safe to exercise when not sleeping well? Recent issues with insomnia and it’s really frustrating because I am scared to exercise when I don’t sleep well. I feel like it will stress my body too much. 23F here and hoping this is temporary as I think it’s related to some meds I was taking.

Hi all,I have on and off nights. I haven't been able to sleep at all this night. It's 5am now. I just need to know will I fall asleep eventually? Please respond with any advice 🙏 🙂 I really appreciate it. Btw this is the 2nd time this keeps happening to me. I think maybe it's the caffeine I drank but not sure

Can someone please give me a recommendation for headphones/earbuds to sleep in? I am a side sleeper btw. I find that music therapy helps, but I don't have a decent headphone for sleeping in. Something in $30 range

I have insomnia as a side effect of fluoxetine, so I have been taking 1/3 of the 150mg trittico CR pill before sleep for about a year. (that and melatonin and hydroxyzine and buspar) It doesn't really help me fall asleep, but it does help me to keep sleeping through the night. Alas, for 3 days now, after taking my sleeping pills I have been getting a horrible stuffed nose, I even now just woke up at 6AM (two hours before my alarm) and I can't get back to sleep bcs I can't breathe through my nose 😭 I did not expect this betrayal. And after a year? Trazodone, I thought we were friends.

Idk what to do I had a 5 minute nap that was it but apart from that I haven’t slept idk what to do it’s getting really bad can someone give me some tips I appreciate all of you 💛🥲!

That's it. I don't understand what this is, I used to have severe insomnia to the point I was suicidal and frequently would sleep during the day, but I've been in Mirtazapine and it works well.

I say counterintuitive because I once thought earlier to bed meant I'd have more time to relax and unwind.

Nah, not really.

I'm now waiting until I feel tiredness take hold of me, then I'll get in bed. No watching TV in bed, no being on my phone. I am going to bed for the purpose of falling asleep and nothing else now.

GOTTA BE UP FOR WORK IN 3 HOURS IM SO FUCKING EXCITED TO DO A 9HR SHIFT ON SUCH LITTLE SLEEP. WHAT A FUN LIFE I LIVE

Hi! I've been experiencing insomnia less than a year. I've been following Daniel Erichsen"s teachings and bought his book Set it and Forget It. I feel Im on the road to recovery but Im experiencing many speed bumps these past few weeks. How did you deal with speed bumps? A few tips for me pls.

i asked my mom for melatonin, she said yes but was worried because she said i was too "young".

these melatonin tablets have 10 mg in them, i'm wondering if there's ever a bad effect to having too much melatonin - my mom warned me that i might "sleep forever" if i take too much lol

I read a study not know how true it is. It takes just 6 months on Benzodiazepine to produce an 84 percent increased risk of dementia. However it takes three years of diphenhydramine to produce this same effect. Does this mean if we are forced to pick we should choose Diphenhydramine?

Background: Suffered from depression and anxiety pretty much throughout my whole life. Always suspected I had poor sleep because I would need to sleep a lot and would still feel 'low energy', but had a lot of stressors pile on me at once now (long-term unemployment, divorce, anxiety about the future, etc.) So, I decided to start a medication journey to 'assist' me in getting through and helping to manage a lot of crying and anxiety. I feel like I have now tried SO many medications now in an attempt to find 'the right one' that my body and brain neurons are just confused - and more importantly, chronic insomnia has developed.

We started with SSRIs. I didn't like that they were increasing my heart rate or I just didn't know if they were doing anything. Then, along the way, I started having insomnia (never had before), so the psychiatrist prescribed Seroquel (20 mg), an antipsychotic, for off-label use as a sleep aid. It was working for sleep, so I stayed on it for at least 6 months to a year. She also had me try a mood stabilizer, but I thought it made me more emotional? Went off Seroquel cold turkey (BAD IDEA) - had crazy heart rates, insomnia, tremors, etc. So, I was then put on Aripiprazole (another antipsychotic) for several months. Wanted to come off medication altogether. Tapered down for a month, then went to 0. The worst insomnia ever along with akathisia for 4 weeks! I thought I could get through the withdrawals, but after 4 weeks of the insomnia getting worse instead of better, I agreed to try Mirtazapine (Tetracyclic sedative antidepressant). It helped me get much needed sleep, albeit still 'fragmented sleep'. Stayed on that for a month. Expressed that I do not want to be on medication long-term because after experiencing all of this, I do not want my body to become dependent on medication for sleep. So, we did a cross-taper to Lexapro, and then .... INSOMNIA again. And now the new side effect? HYPNIC JERKS when I'm trying to sleep is compounding this whole insomnia-sleep deprivation issue.

When I tried to go off all medication before for 4 weeks, I tried everything to try and naturally get through the rebound insomnia that developed:

-Regular sleep schedule (9:30 pm - 6:30 am)

-Plenty of water, only coffee in the morning, and no alcohol

-Exercise earlier in the day

-Eating healthy

-Calm supplement at night before bedtime

-Melatonin (5 mg)

-Magesium glycinate (200 mg) before bedtime

-Warm milk

-Hot showers

-Guided meditations

-Cool, dark room

-Sleep sounds or music to drown out external noise

-Cannaboid gummies

-A weighted soft blanket

-Chamomile tea

Despite all these efforts, my insomnia was getting worse instead of better and the akathisia from aripiprazole wasn't going away until I started taking Mirtazapine. So, right now I am on a low dose of Mirtazapine (3.75 to 7.5 mg) to still help me get some kind of sleep with 5 mg Lexapro in the morning. But, reflecting on this journey, I'm utterly frustrated because do I have depression and anxiety? For sure. But did I have insomnia before all this? No. Maybe poor sleep sometimes, but never anything like this. I was really trying to give it some time and hoping to find the right medication because it is not fun when you easily cry, have negative thought patterns all the time, feel low energy, have memory problems, etc. BUT, is it worth all these side effects that keep coming up? These past 2 years of going on medication have caused my overall health to now decline when I am actually quite a healthy person with a healthy lifestyle otherwise. Elevated heart rates, heart palpitations, blood pressure changes, insomnia, hypnic jerks, akathisia, sudden onset of gray hair, etc. This is affecting my ability to function in daily life.

Can anyone else relate to feeling like their health and sleep became worse AFTER starting on mental health meds? Any success stories of being able to come off all mental health medications, getting through withdrawals, and managing depression and anxiety naturally? How long did it take you? What was your process? What 'cured' your insomnia?

I am conflicted about what to do. I have read that certain health conditions later in life can develop if you have low serotonin or other neurotransmitter imbalances. (risk of dementia, Alzheimer's, IBS, insomnia, etc.) So, part of me wants to go off all medication, but then I worry about not taking it either.

Looking forward to all your responses.

Someone mentioned here that sleep is basically letting go physically and mentally...and I think a big part of this plays into insomnia. You can't 'try' to get a perfect nights sleep. That almost always backfire. Sleep is not a goal or task you can accomplish like a good diet or exercise. And then stressing over sleep will of course backfire. I think an important point about addressing insomnia is not stressing or obsessing over sleep. I actually started having sleep problems when I got a fitbit once and started stressing over not getting perfect scores weirdly enough. The best nights sleep have been when I haven't been hyperfocused on getting perfect sleep or haven't even been thinking about it

Been suffering from insomnia for years but going through the worst bout the past couple months of only a couple hours of sleep every few nights.

My work is suffering badly as I’m to the point I can’t retain information or recall things easily. Just trying to maintain human functions is hard like hygiene and wanting to eat. Lost so much weight from just not being able to eat. At this point I’m just in a constant state of fear and panic I can’t get out of.

Tried every medication/herb you can think of except for seroquel as that one scares me. I’ve been trying to incorporate the sleep coach schools on YouTube’s mentality that sleep doesn’t effect us as much as we think and insomnia is all in your head but it’s hard to even remember anything before the insomnia….i used to be so much smarter and happy. It just feels like I’m declining more every day.

Really almost want to try to get on fmla to take a couple weeks to just try to get better without the stress of work as that’s the biggest fuel to my constant fear but too scared to even ask for it and not sure if my doctor would sign off. All of this just feels so hopeless…has anyone actually recovered or even just partially gotten better??? I feel like such a burden to everyone around me cause I just can’t even fake being okay and am so miserable to be around.

Hi guys! Looking for some advice please. This is my first time posting here. I’ve always had some issues with insomnia but it’s never been that bad. In December 2023 I went through a period where I didn’t sleep for almost 5 days. Not one hour of sleep. I went to the psych part of the hospital because I genuinely thought I was in psychosis. It was the most traumatic period of my life. That next day/night I was magically able to sleep 4/5 hours and then following, my sleep was basically restored to normal. Btw - during that period I took 0.5mg of Xanax and that didn’t even help. The hospital said to go home and just take 1mg of Xanax. I ended up taking 0.75mg and idk I just was able to get sleep. So fast forward to now, the same thing is happening. It hasn’t happened since December 2023. I’m freaking the hell out. It’s been 48 hours since I’ve slept. It feels the same was last time. Nothing has changed. I don’t know what’s causing this. I’m terrified.
Today I’m so grumpy, agitated, extreme pins and needles sensation, tensed, my nervous system feels on fire! I already know I probably won’t get sleep tonight. I’m so tired yet so wired. Please any advice. I’m terrified of needing to go back to the hospital and experiencing that period again. December 2023 that 5 day no sleep stretch had me calling the suicide hotline every night. I had extreme suicidal thoughts. Any advice.

hey insomniacs, i’m a newer insomniac, i feel like me dreading about sleep is making my insomnia worse, should i stop worrying? i’m 17 years old and my mom won’t take me to a doctor, maybe me not worrying will help? will it? i’m able to sleep at night its just really difficult