h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, the question is, does anyone have any sure-fire cures for insomnia? That is, outside of copious amounts of alcohol, a visit to the doctor, Horlicks or requiring the companionship of a member of the opposite sex... Any answers most gratefully received.. I'll send you my latest collection of late night inane ramblings! (No, writing doesn't help either!)

This is not a cure but depends on whether insomnia is really a problem or an advantage we dont understand, why not go with the flow and sleep when your body / brain wants to sleep, you never know you might enjoy nightwork.
In my case insomnia is usually due to getting myself stressed out, it disappears when I stop worrying.

Heh, some people would say that I slept at work anyway! I guess the ideal job would be to be self-employed!

If you slept all the time you'd be self unemployed.

I have the same problem, and I think that BB has my answer, except that society is in the way. If I had a job instead of being a college student, I would have no problems. But, until they start offering classes at 1 am, I'm out of luck.

I can rarely go to sleep before 5 am. I have done the best I can to arrange my life around my sleep schedule by not having any classes before 1:30 pm. This doedn't stop my fights with my mother who doesn't understand that I will be awake whether I'm on the computer, reading, or just lying in bed waiting. She would rather me take something to help me sleep, but I wake up more tired when I do.

There is no sure fire way to cure insomnia. If you find something that works, it will most likely work the first few times, then you will get used to whatever it is, and you're stuck again. This has happened to me more than once.

The only thing I would advise you to do, is force yourself to get up early, no matter what time you went to sleep. Then, theoretically, your body will adjust and you will start falling asleep earlier. But, this hasn't worked for me either. Maybe it's because whenever I go out, I stay out until 4 am, so I have to start all over.

I myself am resigned to my fate of being a night owl. I just need do know what to do about my mother.

GreyRose

Ahh, insomnia, my best friend, my worst enemy. There is no cure. I am a victim myself. Nothing has helped so far, and my teacher first period thinks I better find a cure fast, since I'm always like ten minutes late to class. As for the rantings, I would love to see them. Check out my homepage if you are interested in seeing some of mine.

Rat Attack
=-)

There is a theory that you need to have a dose of bright light each day when you get up in the morning to reset your body clock otherwise it runs on a natural cycle of between 25 & 27 hours.
In my experience this is true.
When I am working nights during the winter the first light I get is when I surface late in the afternoon and I find it easy to switch into night work mode.
During the summer its light before I finish and I seem to struggle it then takes several nights to feel OK working nights.

Oh and as for mothers, there is NO ANSWER as you have already discovered.

I've always thought the cure for insomnia was rather self-evident: Get plenty of rest.

Oh, that's cruel

A friend of mine has been suffering insomnia recently - after confiding to a friend, he was given the advice "Don't lose sleep over it!".

He wasn't best pleased...

Azimuth

I dont think there ever will be a cure for insomnia. Ive had it for years and to be honest I dont mind having it either. It gives me more hours in the 'day' to do the things I need to do. Plus another bonus for me is that it gives me more time on the internet as Im a chat addict hehehe.

I find that Im awake for 24 hours and then sleep for the 'normal' 8 hours. Ive been able to sleep this long because I dont stress about getting to sleep. I sleep when Im tired even if it means that I have been awake for 24 hours or more.

Dont panic just because you dont sleep like the 'normal' people do!!!

I suffer from insomnia but find that the instant I'm in one of my university lectures I fall asleep. This isn't a joke either - I can't sleep during the night, even in bed, but I can sitting at the back of a lecture hall. I don't know why. Probably my mind having a joke.

I've found a sharp blow to the head usually does the job.

Okay, so I haven't actually done that, but it couldn't hurt to try

A cabbie once told me a way to cure insomnia (he had the problem of working odd shifts, of having to go to bed at four in the afternoon one week and eeight in the morning the next week). He said the main thing was to give yourself an hour of "going to bed" – cleaning your teeth, reading a book, not doing anything except winding down. He said if you came off shift and threw yourself into bed you'd just lie there. Good advice, I've found.

Another thing that works is to read a short story. This is something I invented myself. The theory is that a short story is complete (unlike your life, your worries, the things you think about instead of sleeping). It works for me.

Finally, if you're middle-aged or older, you should try Melatonin. This is a hormone produced in the pituitary gland (inside your brain) when the sun goes down. The older you are, the less melatonin you produce, which is why pensioners keep wandering round in the middle of the night making themselves cups of tea (ask your grandparents). Fortunately these days you can get it in pill form.

Melatonin is illegal in Britain (you can own it, but you can't buy it in the shops – don't let that worry you, the FDA is a much better judge of what's safe and what's not safe than the British civil service). You can get it from the States, mail order, though. Look for it on the net, or ask me and I'll give you a phone number (I don't have one at hand, but I know where to look it up).

Sorry I just read all thepostings and I'm still awake.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.