Deals.Woot

My wife and I work, but she works mornings and I've chosen to work nights since I work from home. It helps to not have to pay for babysitters. I get to bed after 1am and I'm up by 7:30am every day.

I can attest that if you put yourself into that schedule, you will sleep at every opportunity without a hitch. By the time I get into bed, I am so tired that most nights I don't remember even walking to my room.

My dad took Melatonin when I was a kid. I tried it a few times but it just made me feel groggy the next day. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I'm glad I haven't had to resort to chemical assistance

Here's another vote for Melatonin. Good stuff and no hangover.

But then again, when I'm out of Melatonin I use Gin. Good stuff too, but there is definitely a hangover with that. Actually, in all seriousness, alcohol may put me to sleep quicker, but I don't get as good a night's rest and tend to wake up in the middle of the night.

Never tried Melatonin.

Had some Lunesta from an overseas trip. Never worked for me on the long flight but I'm kinda drug resistant. I took it once when I got home and slept great. Took it a couple days later, wide awake the entire night. Tried it again a few days later and I started getting depressed, more than I had ever been in my entire life and I've suffered from depression all my life. After some research, I found that there can major interactions with the Cymbalta I was taking. Goodbye Lunesta.

Alcohol just keeps me awake. Benedryl doesn't affect me.

Now I find that a 2-3 Advil about an before bed will help relax my mind so I can sleep. I don't do it often though.

I'm one of those fortunate people that never has a problem sleeping. I'd win a sleep contest. Always sleep at least 8 hours.... was going to say a night, but it could be constued as day. Never go to bed before 1 AM. Usually 2; sometimes 4 AM. Been known to stay up later than that. Strong coffee at midnight or 1 AM won't keep me awake. When I go to bed, I read until I drift off. My Kindle goes to sleep by itself, too. ;-)

for me what works the best is a dark room (lose all the led power lights) with almost no noise (the fan motor on the computer) and just focusing on breath in. breath out. breath in. breath out. (self hypnosis)

definitely issues with lunesta interacting with many other medicines that doc might not discuss, and most insurance won't cover lunesta.
there are generic prescriptions available (ambien, etc) that insurance will cover and can be taken on an as needed basis.

whatever you try make sure you know your body's reaction to before trying to function the next day. (driving, taking the next day's meds, lighting a cigarette, anything that might endup w/you in danger) they are all VERY real. (my suggestion is have someone responsible with you overnight/nextmorning to make sure you are actually awake and aware. i was the responsible person once: he almost took overdose on next batch of medicines).

Melatonin is ineffective for me, but my sister swears by it. I'll resort to a benadryl now and again and that'll help, but a good stiff drink and a book seem to help me more than anything.

rain and storms help me sleep, http://www.rainymood.com/ is my solution (sorry for plug but it helps me sleep)

My main issue in falling asleep is anxiety-- I'll feel tired but can't "turn my brain off". I didn't like taking medication for several reasons-- some made me groggy, some made me have crazy vivid dreams, some had side effects I just didn't want to deal with. Instead, I do relaxation techniques I learned from having panic attacks. Beach imagery most often. Used to use audio to start it, but I've got the thing memorized, so now I just mind-walk myself to that beach and go through my own steps.

Melatonin and Valerian Root don't work for me. I keep sleeping pills in the house but limit myself to no more than one a week. It's easy to get dependent on them so you can't sleep without them. I've always had a problem with light sleep with frequent sleep interruptions, but it's worse right now with hot flashes waking me up ten or more times a night. I wake up thinking "I'm in an oven!", toss off the covers and wait to cool down, put the covers back on and wait to fall asleep. Sometimes it takes me fifteen minutes to fall back asleep, which is a lot of lost sleep when multiplied by ten in a seven hour night. Even when I use a sleeping pill I wake up every time, but the sleeping pill pushes me back under within a couple of minutes of settling back under the covers.

Lots of red wine or beer if that's not handy.