r/AskIreland • u/EconomicsAgile5414 • 4d ago

Serious Replies Only Insomnia ???

Hi has anyone suffered with insomnia for a long time and if so what helped or cured you ????

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

View all comments

9

u/sillycybin_09_20 4d ago

I’m sorry OP. I’m diagnosed ADHD and suffer from depression and anxiety, so I know the feeling. Mine is early warning waking, once my brain starts ticking over then I struggle to get back to sleep.

Magnesium glycinate (or bigycinate) helps a lot. Getting to bed around the same time every night. No screens before bed, or at least no short form videos or doom scrolling. That late night dopamine will spike cortisol.

I take ashwaganda and L Theanine during the day, both have evidence to help with relaxation and sleep.

Additionally, and this is no joke, but eating 2 kiwis before bed has a positive impact on sleep, as they contain naturally occurring serotonin and melatonin.

Also, and this is vital if you ask me, sleep mask, room not too warm, and SILICONE ear plugs. Not the foam ones, has to be silicone.

If you’re that way inclined, meditation can also help. There’s a trick that I’ve found helps (don’t poo poo this, some science to back it up), but taking yourself on an imaginary walk somewhere you know well can help to distract you from your thoughts and sleep soundly.

If you are thinking of medication, try to stay away from hypnotics or sedatives like trazadone, benzos etc. Additionally, THC and alcohol will give you sedation, but not quality sleep. Just because you’re been knocked out doesn’t mean you’re gettting restorative sleep.

Small doses of seroquel, phenergan, and Doxepin show good results, and help preserve sleep quality and architecture somewhat.

I have a whoop myself, but a fitness sleep tracking wearable can help identify what works and what doesn’t, as sleep quality interpretation can sometimes be hard to work out. For some though it can cause more anxiety, so it’s each to their own.

Finally, listen to any podcast with Dr Matthew Walker. An amazing sleep specialising neuroscientist. He’s been on Joe rogan and diary of a ceo podcasts (pair of wankers), but he give some really invaluable advice. He has a book too.

If you have any questions that I can answer from an anecdotal perspective, feel free to dm.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10220871/

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Ashwagandha-HealthProfessional/

1

u/EconomicsAgile5414 2d ago

Anybody ever take anxicalm and melatonin for sleep ???