Its hard for me to sleep at night for years. But my insomnia did not occur everyday, its like seasonal. Come and go. Sometime I just lay down for 4-5 hours waiting to sleep which will effect my performance at work on the next morning.
I went to the doctor few years back and the doc said I dont need any pills and I was like 'hello? did you see how hard for me to fell asleep?' Since that I never been to any clinic for insomnia.

Then I tried those sleeping pills at pharmacy, damn, it doesnt work. I opt to illegal pills which work pretty damn well but it kinda pricey. I'm looking for cheaper alternative. Any idea?

any reason why you can't sleep? playing with phone in bed perhaps? consumed too much coffee beforehand? like you said your problem is seasonal, so i'm sure a simple lifestyle changes can solve this problem.

i had trouble sleeping myself but ever since i took zinc supplement a few weeks back i've been sleeping like a baby. i took it once a day for bodybuilding purposes but who knew it has extra benefits... killing 2 birds with one stone.

This post has been edited by internaldisputes: Aug 8 2017, 08:30 PM

seasonal? then you're not insomnia. lol.

yes.

don't go to bed if you don't feel sleepy. if you feel sleepy, go to bed.

it is bad if you go to bed and do not sleep or is not sleepy.

you will automatically associate bed with something else instead of sleep.

Don't work your brains out before time to sleep. Don't watch exciting shows or do cross work puzzles. Do something really monotonous like FB aimlessly and go bed once sleepy.
Never drink coffee or tea before sleep. You can try Camomile flower tea if you like.

just curious , when you mention bad , what kind of bad do you mean ? how bad it will be ?

Wow, I can kind of empathize with your situation.

When I was a student at Uni about 10 years ago, I had bad sleepless nights. At times, I would sleep a total of 4-5 hours a WEEK!.It was crazy, sometimes I went to classes like a zombie. I would write notes from lectures and fall asleep halfway..and my writings would be some mish-mash of notes, scribbles and doodles.

I don't know if it was insomnia because I never went to a doctor to get it checked and diagnosed. I just blamed stress and working part-time as the reason for my sleepless nights.

There would be times after classes that I felt so sleepy but because I had to revise, I'd force myself to stay awake and take half-hour power naps instead. Then when it got to bed time I just couldn't sleep even when I was exhausted.

I tried some natural remedies like essential oils, mild sleeping pills and working out before bed but it never really solved the problem.

Then, 8 years ago I got married, had three kids along the way...

PROBLEM SOLVED.

Now I can fall asleep as soon as my head touches the pillow; it's crazy

On a more serious note though, because I know how it feels, I think you should consult a doctor. I think Malaysia has an equivalent to a Sleep Institution too..

http://www.sleepsocietymalaysia.org/

All the best buddy!

So I need to have kids? Anyway, thanks mate

Hahaha,

Well, I guess if the timing and conditions are right, you can get married.

Check out the link, they might be able to help you.

All the best!

Seems like insomnia can be built up due to your lifestyle and stress. Maybe that's why your's is seasonal?

Source: Insomnia - Real Life Nightmare

I have the same issue with you. It comes and goes. I've also tried pharmacy supplements some days i get a good sleep but it doesn't quite solve the problem also in the end. Sleeping pills has alot of side effects and could be fatal if OD that's why it's not easy to get your hands on those pills here and I wouldn't recommend you relying on drugs anyways.

Plenty of people say lifestyle change can help and I agree so I'll share what sort of changes I made. You need to find what works best for you though. I've always been living an active lifestyle and i eat mostly nutrient dense food and so far don't have any medical conditions. So technically I will say I'm a healthy individual. If you have any health issues or unhealthy lifestyle to start with you may first start evaluating that and see if it helps with your sleep. I've known people who ate rubbish everyday having trouble sleeping until they ate better quality foods because it helps their body digest better and thus ensuring a comfortable night's sleep.

You can try to list out your daily activities during your sleepless nights and monitor your mood. I think keeping a journal log on this is really helpful to find out what could be the trigger. It could be an underlying stress that's causing it but u may not even realize you're stressed. That was my case for sure. I was super stressed till I had other sleeping disorders like exploding head syndrome etc but I didn't really know I was under that sort of stress coz I seem to handle it quite well on the external side of things. Eventho I'm not caffeine sensitive, I just stay away from caffeine past my morning coffee. If you can go without coffee or tea in the morning then do it, personally I just love coffee way too much. I also workout earlier in the day and make sure after 7pm I'm just fully rested not doing too much and also trying my best to cut off my work by 8pm. Sometimes I take the time to do some breathing and stretches or self-massage to make sure I'm fully at a rested state with no tensed muscles or anything. I also reduce my water intake past 8pm so I don't interrupt my sleep by going to the bathroom which is one my problems also, I'll wake up multiple times at night for this. Then I also make sure the temperature and sleeping condition is just right for me, if it's too bright, close the blackout curtains, too hot, turn on AC like that. Basically I just make sure I don't create any possibilities that could interrupt my sleep. It also helps to put my phone on silent, no vibration also coz I'm a light sleeper. I know this sounds like very OCD but you can try to change your lifestyle slightly to make changes with your sleeping. Doing all this did not cure my sleeping disorders but it made it alot of better, I seem to have more good sleeps than bad these days. And lastly, you should create a scheduled sleeping time for yourself and be strict to stick to it everyday. That means, even on weekends u have to give up those late nights atleast for a few months or until your body is able to adapt to the sleeping time you've set for yourself. At first I set it latest by 1am. Then slowly reduce to 12am. Then now I manage to get myself ready to sleep at 11pm. I'm usually in bed 1-2 hours earlier to wind down first. I'm still trying to put away my phone before bed and do something like reading or listening to audiobooks instead but depends on my mood. I find that when I'm not staring at the screen 1-2 hours before I fall asleep much faster.

I really dunno if this is helpful but I've been going through this for like years and years i wanna say on and off for 15 years already. Been to the doctors and tried supplements but so far the results were not really helping on a permanent basis. I made all the changes like above sometime around the end of 2016 and so far I've only had like less than 2 weeks worth of sleeping issues for 2017 which is really good for me.

Insomnia is not a disease but it can make you feel bad, and it can affect your health. It can also be a sign of other problems.
Not getting enough sleep can affect your quality of life. It can lead to serious problems including injury, accidents, anxiety, and depression. Seek help if you think that you have insomnia.

Treatment options for insomnia:
1) Hypnotherapy-learn techniques to relax your mind and body. It may help you if you lie in bed with your mind racing.
2) Psychotherapy/Counseling/Coaching-by changing how you think. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a type of counseling that can help you understand why you have sleep problems and can show you how to deal with them.
3) Medicines-Doctors recommend taking sleep medicines only now and then or only for a short time. They are not the first choice for treating chronic insomnia.
4) Biofeedback-EEG biofeedback/Neurofeedback is a safe, non-invasive, alternative option for insomnia. It is a tool for regulating sleep. Health professionals around the world report significant improvement in a large percentage of their clients using neurofeedback to treat chronic, long term sleep problems.

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3542688/all

Why la everybody jumped out straight to medication?

This issue need a holistic approach, starting down with your daily habit and diet, before starting with medication.

+1

Ignore this one. If you FB means you are looking into screen with blue lights that affects sleep.

Can try but won't they suggest hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, medicine (pills), biofeedback-EEG ? (like zeropoint9 posted) LOL

Since you shared so many tips that did not work then this is specially for you. 2 kiwi fruits about 2 hours before sleep. Try it for 2 weeks, then PM to me the results.

You can shop online source from China, India or Spain for generic drugs. Otherwise lay off bacons during dinner.

Magnesium Glycinate 400 for seniors.
Magnesium Aspartate for middle aged.

It is cheap and works. Omega 3 also helps.

Calcium Magnesium D will help.

Hey there, I can completely understand how it feels to not be able to sleep at night.

I have a few suggestions for you:

1.) Read this book - Sleep: Redefine Your Rest, for Success in Work, Sport and Life. The author was the sleep coach for Manchester United and he talked about science of sleeping in this book.
2.) improve sleep hygiene - set a sleep/wake schedule and practice good sleep hygiene like no blue light exposure at least half an hour before sleeping.
3.) Download this app called Sleep Town - If you are like me, who have the habit of playing with phone in bed before sleep, check out this app. It's a game that lets you build buildings NOT TOUCHING YOUR PHONE when you are supposed to sleep and when you wake up on time.
4.) Breathing techniques - I think there is this breathing technique 1,4,2 breathing technique (google it) that's supposed to help increase the carbon dioxide in your blood and make you sleepy.
5.) And finally supplements:

Sleeping pills - not recommended for long term use!! Also, sleeping pills help you get into shallow sleep but not deep sleep. The sleep quality you get out of it is low.

Alcohol - not recommended. Like sleeping pill, it doesn't help promoting quality sleep.

Melatonin - not available in Malaysia. If you can get it and really want to use it, make sure your room is completely dark with no light. Melatonin is a chemical released by the brain and the brain stops producing it if there is light.

Chamomile Tea - This is the one that worked for me. Seriously, try it.

Magnesium - Magnesium is a relaxant. Can try, there are some evidence that it works - especially if you are deficient in magnesium. Note: Magnesium is lost through sweat, so deficiencies aremore common in athletes.

Lavendar - You can now get Lavendar supplements (oral supplements, not aromatherapy). The other name of it is called Silexan. I have seen it in Australia before but not yet in Malaysia. Note: it has estrogenic （female hormone) properties, so if your breasts start getting tender (gynecomastia) after taking it, you should stop.

Valerian - it's a popular supplement for sleep but I think many find it useless. Worth trying though, might work for you.

I think that's about it. Hope it helps.

Oh ya I forgot to mention three other remedies mentioned by Tim Ferriss in his book Tools of Titans.

1.) Honey + Apple Cider Vinegar: 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of honey, stirred into 1 cup of hot water. I haven't tried this and will try it and let you know if it's effective.

2.) Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime Tea: You can get this online. In fact, I have just ordered it online and will try it and update on its effectiveness.

3.) California Poppy Extract: A few drops of California Poppy extract in warm water. Apparently it's the strongest tranquilizer of the three, I'm probably not gonna need this (lol.....)

Good luck mate.. Hope some of these tips will be helpful to you.

Try a weighted blanket. It is a heavy duvet style blanket approx 10% of your weight. Can get in malaysia like 3kg, 6kg and 9kg. It helps with restless legs, tossing and turning. It is like a hug or if you ever have a pet lie on you it's a nice feeling.

They get lots of great reviews for insomnia, anxiety, autism and ADHD etc

a long time ago i had the same issue..... always found it difficult to sleep.

the doctor prescribed me xanax most of the time and somese for when things get really bad.

they did help....but i absolutely hated the jittery feeling i get in the morning.