HOW DO I ACTUALLY SLEEP?!?

Trust me you are not the only one with that sort of problem.

What do you mean by "how you actually sleep?" Do you want to understand sleep architecture (brain waves when sleeping)?. People go threw multiple stages of sleep, stage N1, N2, N3, and REM (rapid eye movement). People go from N1 to REM several times a night. What is important is that problems can occur, for example not getting enough N3 sleep might cause people to be profoundly tired. Narcoleptics go immediately into REM. So altered sleep architecture can greatly change how well you sleep, how much sleep you get, when you fall asleep, and when you wake.

When do you fall asleep? When do you get up? If you were able to sleep in as late as you wanted would you be able to get a proper amount of sleep?

It is impossible to say what is wrong. You should really see your doctor and consider a polysomnogram, better known as a sleep study. You could have a sleeping disorder like Delayed sleep-phase syndrome, a type of circadian rhythm sleep disorder. If you do have a sleeping disorder treatment (which often does not include medication) can be very effective but it is important to know exactly what the problem is. It is possible you are very anxious and are ruminating before bed, even if you don't think you are. It is also not uncommon for people to worry and obsess about sleep so much it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If anxiety or depression are an underlying cause of your insomnia then treatment should be focused there rather than on the insomnia. Do you think you are depressed at all?

Like I said no one here can give you a great answer. You really should see your doctor, he can evaluate you for any physical problems and he can objectively see if you are depressed or anxious. People are often blind to their own anxiety and depression. The other thing is that it sounds like your insomnia is causing you significant distress and almost crippling you. You said "I can't do this anymore" so it must be terrible. The problem is you can't always have everything and medication could be required (normally it is taken for under two weeks). Often people need to have their sleep "reset" and medication can do that well. It is possible to deprive your self of sleep (ie sleep for no more than 3hrs a night) and hopefully you will be so tired you are able to sleep at night. It sounds good and it works for some people but not everyone. It can also take a long time to work and it can be very painful for people to do, especially if their sleep is already severely disturbed.

I can understand that you don't want to take sleep aids (hypnotics) but if you don't you could continue like this for a long time and 6-14 days of Ambien or Lunesta won't harm you. People typically have the wrong idea about sleeping medications and think the risks are high, the drugs are highly addictive, and it is a terrible thing. Much of that fear is a remnant of the time when Seconal, Miltown, and Tuinal were used as hypnotics. These drugs are highly addictive and often lethal in an over dose but those types of drugs are almost never used and much safer drugs are available like Ambien and Lunesta. If you do not have a history of substance abuse then you have almost no risk of addiction (and not all sleeping pills are addictive). I'm not trying to say that you must take hypnotics but there is no need to suffer because you don't want to take some medication.

I really feel sorry for you, it must be awful. I don't know if I can help. One suggestion would be to have "an electronic sundown" where you gradually turn off lights and technology (especially your bright computer screen) to mimic a natural sunset going into night. Whatever you do, stay off the computer in the evenings because the light will waken up your brain. Also, it is very hard not to keep thinking stuff and even when you try to do relaxation techniques you still think about the progression of it over your body. Perhaps you could just try listening and see if you can hear air molecules against your eardrum, and just ignore other noises. I hope you find help, soon. There are some natural herbs you can buy in pill form that may assist.

Acouple of steps;

1. Do a good workout so that u can get all the energy out and release the endorphines in your mind.

2. go somewhere where u want to sleep with a CD player or something to play music.

3. Make sure u have like new age music that u hear from a 4 or 5 star hotel.

4. rest and relz to the music with your eyes closed and then you'll fall asleep into a deep meditation. :)

I think one major rule to follow is to avoid caffeinated drinks (i.e. pop, coffee, tea) right before bed. If you must, drink water, juice or milk. And I know you already mentioned it, but exercise actually does help because not only are you burning calories, you're also consuming energy as well which will allow you to be exhausted enough to fall asleep. Of course, a nice shower or bath to accompany the exercise afterward is always nice. Another trick (I personally favor) is to listen to soothing music right before falling asleep. It allows your nerves to calm down and helps take your mind off unsettling and nagging thoughts. Hope this helps!

Have you actually tried exercising before bed? It can help a lot. Other than that there are a varity tapes that will help you relax either though music or sounds. You could also try watching t.v. with a timer on to shut it off after you're. I find reading a book helps me relax and fall asleep. If what you're looking for is a magic button to make you fall asleep there isn't one other than meds.

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Have a glass of warm milk and then read one of those thousand-page boring-as-hell books in bed. Pick something you feel will completely shut your brain down if you read too much of it. Hopefully it will.

NYQUILL, once u take it, ur asleep in 5 minutes....and i take it cause its hard for me to fall asleep too.

sleeping is easy if you have a girl laying next to you

look around at stuff or watch tv then you will fall alseep