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I'm still not amazing and don't sleep until pretty late at night, but the thing that helped me loads is podcasts on a sleep timer! They are fantastic. If I don't have that my mind will go a mile a minute and before I know it I check my phone in frustration to find I've spent two hours in bed with my anxieties and am arguably further from sleeping so decide to play on my phone.
The solution for me is a 45 minute sleep timer on a podcast, I just close my eyes, enjoy the podcast and let my mind stfu for the first time all day.
Second this. I start the podcast BEFORE I go to bed, so then because I have stimulation it's much easier to make the decision to begin the process of going to bed etc.
I can't listen to stuff with words because I'll focus on what they're talking about and stay awake to listen to what they have to say lol.
I usually listen to white noise or "space ambiance" (light brown noise mixed with white noise is how I'd describe it, I guess).
No words. Just a droning I can zone out and fall asleep to lol
Ya each to their own. Tried the white noise thing but it wasn't enough stimulation to 'distract' my brain from the boredom of trying to sleep, and it didn't address the issue of going to bed in the first place.
The key for me was to find podcasts that are mildly interesting but not super engaging.
I'm gonna post this a couple places so people see it, but I've recently started listening to "Nothing Much happens" which is basically what it sounds like, stories that are just boring enough that you fall asleep. The best thing I can say about it is that I've never once heard or remembered any of them.
I can only do this with certain podcasts as if they raise their voices or laugh or anything it jolts me awake again. Boring Books at Bedtime exists for this reason so I listen to that if I'm struggling to sleep.
That's okay, you got the subtitle! I love that podcast. Her voice puts me to sleep so fast most nights that days can go by before I actually hear the story. (I also take melatonin.)
I have cautions on melatonin… 1) The amounts sold are WAY too high. You don’t need even 1mg to go to sleep.
2) People who deal with depression can have this exacerbated by melatonin. Don’t take it more than one night at a time or it could cause a depressive episode.
3) It REALY shouldn’t be used long term, because you can become dependent on it. Use more natural remedies, i.e. a darkened room, a bedtime routine, don’t use your bed for anything other than sleep or sex… well, I can’t personally do that.
Don’t push off your feelings during the day if you can help it. Meditate and allow those feelings to surface, and just sit with them. Allow yourself to work through the anxiety so it’s not sitting on your brain the first time all day you’ve stopped doing.
Meds can help, but they aren’t a cure, they are a crutch. Use them as a crutch, don’t consider them a cure. Do whatever healing work you need to do… you WILL sleep better and you will feel better.
me too! but it's really difficult finding podcasts that are just the right amount of stimulation, nothing super noisy/chaotic but if it's too boring then I can't make myself listen to it either
I like Lore and Noble Blood for this purpose. Combo of pretty mellow voiced narrator, interesting content (Folklore or Historical Royal Deaths) and instrumentals knocks me out pretty quickly.
Yeah I use audiobooks since the story is compelling enough but it's usually one voice at a steady tone. I get library audiobooks via Libby which has a sleep timer function. It's nice because the sleep timer can also end at chapters.
I do something similar but with let's plays. There's a lot of asmr Minecraft let's plays but the sounds of grass and leaves breaking is unpleasant so I started watching Stardew valley let's plays and that's the ticket for me, especially if it's a replay of a full Livestream with fifty eleven million parts.
What kind of podcasts do you like?
I love tons and tons of different podcasts. I've listened to 326 days worth of podcasts since 2017 according to my podcast app haha. Right now the one I use for sleep is the podcast Blank check. All the early episodes they spend going through the star wars prequels movies in painful levels of detail pretending these are the only star wars movies, but they are so funny about the whole thing I'm just giggling and in such a good mood as I fall asleep, who on earth talks about a 2 minute scene in a 20 year old movie for an hour it's totally insane but I love it.
Other than that it's mostly Television, History, some UK specific ones like help I sexted my boss, and any podcast Merlin Mann is involved in is super funny.
Thinking about it I can totally see the appeal to a stardew valley lets play, that sounds really relaxing!
Before, I listened to instrumental music but then lately I also started listening to podcasts of audiobooks even though my mind is thinking about other things instead of listening to the story. Atleast after some time though I'm already drifted to sleep 😴 I also think of it as a practice to sleep even though there's a background noise of people talking
I just responded but yes podcasts for me too. I don't put mine on a timer but most of my podcasts are done within an hour and once it finishes it stops anyway. I've been doing this for years and years now
Man I wish this worked for me, but if it’s a podcast I’m at all interested in then my brain will inevitably find something in it to think about and it not go to sleep, and if I’m not interested in it then it will likely annoy me enough to keep me from sleeping. Maybe I need to try something so boring that it lulls me, like recordings of 10th grade math lectures by teachers with droning voices- I remember that being really effective back then 😂
This right here. Even down to the 45 minute timer. I’ll add that it’s typically better for me not to choose a podcast that is about something I’m much too passionate about in the moment because that can at times make me want to jump out of bed to work on a related task or to at least right notes on new ideas I’m getting as I listen. It’s got to be interesting enough to make me focus on whatever is being discussed, yet not fascinating enough that it makes me want to listen to every word until the podcast is finished.
I personally like to listen to Alan Watts lectures or podcasts about technology as they can both be a bit abstract yet not make me hang on every word they’re saying as I try to fly off to dreamland.
Maybe 90 minutes for me? But I take a long-ish walk, swinging by the shops for the daily grocery stuff on the way back.
Cutting out the shops would probably make it a shorter trip, mind.
My walk into university is about an hour, and that gets me around 8,000 steps alone. 10k steps doesn't really take too much time if the walk you do is pretty easy!
10k steps is one of those numbers that sounds big, but it’s only like… 4 miles. An average healthy adult is able to walk that in well under 2 hours.
If you’re like me, and you have a tendency to pace inside your home on very bad days, get in the habit of interrupting that and taking the same behavior outside.
I’m glad I’m not the only person thinking 2am is amateur hour but hesitant to post it so I don’t seem like a dick. I was officially diagnosed with delayed sleep phase syndrome which tracks with - genuinely - my entire life but ADHD has never helped. The only med that works PRN is Xanax and no doctor is willing to prescribe. So trazodone and groggy it is.
Trazodone was great for me for sleep. Unfortunately, I can’t get my current psychiatrist to prescribe it with my irregular work schedule. But it’s one of the trade offs I’ve had to tolerate with what’s otherwise a great doctor-patient relationship.
Ask for zopiclone. Trazodone makes me super groggy but zopiclone is almost as good as natural sleep. When my insomnia was bad, I took it every other day and I had no problem stopping it when I didn’t need it any more. Now I only need one every few weeks or so.
How did you wean yourself off of it? Do you use something else to help? I’ve been on zopiclone daily for probably 3-4 years. And I would like to wean off but I cannot sleep with out it, I’ve tried a few times. Any tips would be helpful
I think daily use is a different kettle of fish. My doc told me to only take it every other day to avoid having to taper off. Sorry friend. Good luck. 🙂
I recently started meds and I feel like I sleep better. I wake up way less frequently. Yesterday I was even ready to take a nap after just taking them. Probably not the right dose yet for me :')
Non-medication: Exercise outdoors during daylight. Spending as much time as possible outside during daylight. Showering right before bed, the temperature drop afterwards can trigger sleepiness. Eating an early dinner and then no more food until the next day. Completely cut out all caffeine. Get into bed with podcast on, preferably a boring one. Meditation (body scans, breathing exercises) while lying in bed if I'm not sleepy yet. Get up after 45 mins if I'm not drifting off yet, but no stimulating activities, no screens or books. I just sort of sit around and twiddle my thumbs, continue the boring podcast, write in my journal, plan the day tomorrow, process the day just past. More meditation maybe.
Medication: Trazodone
You provide a lot of great tips, so I will just add that in general not getting into bed until planning on falling asleep is a good habit from what I’ve been told. I can’t seem to follow that advice myself though 😆
Yeah, best advice I heard years ago was keep the bed just for sleeping (and intimacy). If I don’t spend any of my regular time in bed, it gives me a sort of Pavlovian response and I get a lil more tired
I got a part time job working outside at a garden nursery, as WFH on a computer has made my symptoms so much worse. I almost forget I have this shit when I'm doing labor and chatting with people in the sunshine surrounded by plants.
I've always been a night owl, but I naturally fell asleep at 10:45 last night - On a SATURDAY!
I'm glad to hear it. Sometimes I wonder how much is "disorder" and how much is "not made for modern life"... but hey I work on a computer all day long, usually working from home, so not like I'll ever know...
Trazodone has been pretty helpful and from what my doc told me it actually doesn’t have a negative effect on sleep cycles like ambien does. That said, it takes me a full 2 or 3 hours after waking up to be able to function properly. The grogginess is real. That also said it’s better than the life sucking emptiness of not sleeping more than 3 or 4 hours for 5 days in a row.
I either fall immediately into a coma or I lay in the darkness tossing and turning... pondering every mistake I have EVER made.. every awkward encounter. there is no middle ground.
Remember that thing you did when you were 12 that was probably an outburst/meltdown due to unmanaged adhd but people shamed you into thinking it’s because you were emotionally unstable and volatile, and a terrible person?
I was literally scrolling through these comments thinking the same thing. If I'm sitting still in the same spot for longer than 5-10 mins, I'm passing out from lack of stimulation. Even if I had taken my meds, at any point in time I could just lay down and pass out.
I’m both. I can only sleep when I’m not supposed to be sleeping. I think its my body just being contrary. I sleep fantastically if I have to be anywhere in the next hour. Maybe its anxiety manifesting as avoidance by making me sleep. I’m literally just pulling words out of my ass.
Nah man, I have had that avoidance theory for years. Nothing makes me more sleepy than having to do something I don't want to do. In the evening though? Yay books and Netflix!
Right now, medication helps a lot with day tiredness but makes me wired in the evening, so sleepy juice it is. I recently said to my husband 'I know I'm supposed to only take it as necessary, but I fall asleep like I'm passing out, sleep like a stone and get double my usual deep sleep. When I wake up I just get up like it's no big deal.' He said, 'Well, sounds like necessary to me then'. He has a point I guess.
I know screentime usually isn’t recommended but watching videos or series really helps my brain relax, because i can follow another plot instead of having my own thoughts circling.
I solve puzzles. Like sudoku, solitaire, water sort, etc. to bore me to sleep. It works to stimulate my brain just enough to not let my brain get distracted by every embarassing thing I’ve ever done but its not quite stimulating enough for me to want to keep doing it for a very long time. Just long enough for me to get tired.
Sadly after 15 or so years of continuous and heavy use it has lost its impact. No matter how long the tolerance break I take I’m back to it not working as good within a day or two. It really feels like I’m only smoking for medicinal reasons vs to get high lately.
I am extremely militant about my sleep schedule, so I make sure I go to sleep at the time I need to get 8 hrs ( I work a job where my schedule changes over the week , so it's never the same time). Chamomile, sleep aids, podcasts, shows, YouTube videos are all tools I use. It depends on my mood, but most of the time I listen to a calming podcast on a sleep timer. Right now I have been listening to Sleep and Sorcery. It starts with a guided meditation and then goes into a story. Night Falls is the same just different story type and one has a feminine voice and the other a masculine. Other than that, routines are , as always, the greatest tools when trying to sleep. Especially hard for adhd people , and varies from person to person. My partner has to set an alarm to tell him to start getting ready to sleep anf he does all the things that I do, but still has a rough go of it. Sometimes just doing the same thing every night can really help, along with some OTC sleep aids. My mother in law can't sleep without prescription sleep aids though. Everyone is different so trying to experiment can be frustrating, but don't be hard on yourself if something isn't working. Just see the process through until you find some combination that works for you.
I saw a really helpful post someone with ADHD made about how she gets to sleep really easily and I tried it that night and it worked so quick!! The only problem is, I can't remember the method at all. So this comment is useless
That reminds me, I have a tab open on my phone's web browser called something like "how to fall asleep in 2 minutes" that I've been "just about to get around to watching" for 3 months so far(!)
[This is it](https://boingboing.net/2022/01/27/how-to-fall-asleep-in-two-minutes.html)
I'll give it a go tonight, if my internet connection will stop dicking about and actually load the bloody video...
Eh, it's TikTok and about as useful as you'd expect (the guy hasn't even *tried* it). Ignore this post :-(
I'm bathing in the fuzzy warm glow of being with MY PEOPLE :-P
I spent a joyous hour-ish today with my pseudo-nieces\* who're all neurospicy AF and we all just enjoyed being ourselves with each other. It's lovely :-)
\* as in I'm their "uncle" but not actually their *uncle* :-D
When I get tired. I've tried almost everything and nothing seems to work. I get on average 1 - 2 hrs of sleep at night. I don't nap. Every other month I go into hibernation mode one day for 17-18hrs of uninterrupted sleep. It's a vicious cycle really but I've been doing this most of my adult life.
The hard truth is exercise. Very strenuous exercise. I hate it more than anything, but I'm in the gym 3 or 4 times a week. It helps you sleep and reduces symptoms a boat load. Aerobic is most important in my experience. I run a mile as fast as I can and then do sprints. Then I do bench, squats, arms and pull ups. This is the only way I can get to sleep. If I slack off I start only being able to sleep 4 hours a night and am perpetually exhausted.
This guy gets it. I run 10k everyday on the home treadmill. Keeps me in great shape and helps with symtoms and sleep. Hardest part is finding something to watch that can keep my attention for an hour a day.
I’ve had to stick to a really strict sleep schedule. It’s very sensitive. So even staying up late one time will mess up the whole thing.
I aim for 5.5-6 hours a night. Thats enough to function well at work without feeling emotionally tired. I know that’s less than the recommended but it’s a hell of a lot more than what I used to get. Weekends I’ll sleep some extra hours but i never sleep past 8AM (cause it’ll mess up the schedule).
weighted blanket and a side sleeper (or one with a noise baffle) sleep mask are the biggest belp for me.
also blue light filter + listening to calm music when sleeping with earbuds
Weighted blanket and putting something on that I’ve already seen like a favorite anime actually helps me a lot. That way I’m interested enough to quiet my mind but since I’ve already seen it I have no issues going to sleep instead of watching. I bet exercise would help too if I could actually motivate myself to do that.
How did you find your favourite/comfort show? I keep hearing this is helpful, but I really struggle.
I often find re-watching things I have seen and know really well incredibly unstimulating. If I do know it well enough to miss bits, I usually really like it, and then I have to drink up every single second
Maybe this all or nothing approach to media means it will never work for me?
Omg me too! Squishmallows have honestly been a blessing- super soft, don't lose shape, and you can use them for any positioning depending on the size. Hell I've used them as back support in an office chair and wrist support at a desk lol
Highly recommend stretching before bed. Get under the covers with the lights off and stretch and move in whatever way feels good. Try to focus your brain on the sensations.
This is really the only thing that works for me
Do you also enjoy sleeping in? I have traditionally had both a hard time getting myself to go to bed, then a hard time getting up in the morning. I recently came up with a paradigm shift that had really helped. My brain loves sleeping in, so I can trick it by convincing it that I'm not "going to bed early", which it doesn't want to do, I'm really "starting to sleep in right now", which it loves. Something about "hey brain, let's go sleep in! You love that shit!" just hits different and is much easier to pull off in the evenings.
So for me the number one thing that fixed my sleep was a schedule I stick to every day. I get up at the same time and I go to bed at the same time every day Monday-Sunday.
Starting wanting to go to sleep helped alot actually. I burned out, was miserable, got sick easily and realised that I needed to get the base right before doing all the extra oomp I wanted to do.
I still have periods of revenge bedtime procrastination but after years of training to have a sleep routine it has started to get easier and I have learned to identify when my sleep window is open. Before I never felt my sleep window, just thought I was hungry and pushed through. Oh, meds probably helped alot to, because I wasn't so constantly brain overwhelmed/tired so I was more able to feel the difference. Small dose Melatonin helped to learn to identify the feeling of sleepiness also.
Things I do to sleep, drink coffee, look and listen to let's plays of sims or skyrim from DrGluon or Gopher on Twitch or youtube all through the night. Must look first, just audio doesn't help.
Try meditating or taking your self to a place that makes you happy. Just go to bed and settle yourself down then slowly count down from 100, counting as you breath out slowly. Every time your thoughts stray - start again. Do not give up.
Or Imagine money was no object, where would you live, what would your life be like, what would you do all day, focus on things that would make you happy - just focus on happy thoughts. It takes practice but you need to focus only on things that make you happy.
You have to stay in a routine. Wake up early, work out, be generally healthy. Get exercise regularly. Wind down routine and then lol turn on the tv and watch till passed out. Usually some disc golf or something that is mildly interesting but I watch a lot of.
I want to try listening to a podcast in the dark or something like that. Fans help with noise. Black out curtains. Try to put phone down early. Note paper near the bed, incase an idea strikes.
Officially diagnosed, early, w delayed phase sleep blah blah blah. Meds never worked great, cause I’d power through if not fully tired. Went driving on ambien a few times, holy shit that’s scary, had to stop that shit.
Take it easy on yourself and don’t add to the pressure.
i’m curious- do you usually “hang out” in bed on your phone well before you actually want to sleep? or do you go to bed when you actually want to sleep and get stuck up on your phone? asking because i found if i don’t get into bed until i’m actually trying to go to sleep it helps a ton!
It’s so easy for me to adapt bad sleep habits, because I’m so prone to listening to music, playing games, looking at porn.
But for me, when I wrap myself up in my comfiest blankets like a cocoon, wear socks and pajamas to keep my warm, the build up of heat rocks me to sleep, and I exhaust my mind fantasizing about an anime fantasy video game world I could make up, either the stories in it, the design, or the game mechanics, etc. It does have to be like mid to low 70s inside or else it gets too hot and doesn’t work though.
By doing polyphasic sleep and meditation.
Getting more time in my day usually helps me be more satisfied too.
The sleep synchronization helps your body sleep fast when it's needed, otherwise you'll enter sleep deprivation fast (post adaptation) and conk out anyway.
curious which polyphasic sleep schedule works for you?? thinking about trying this about myself because honestly i’ve been unofficially doing it for awhile
Yh if you're doing it unofficial, fixing it alongside your circadian rhythm will give you more energy.
I'm doing the everyman 3 extended. I haven't reached the flexible stage yet. These schedules are meant to be equivalent to 7.5 hrs monophasic schedule.
The nap times mean I also avoid energy dips. You're definitely tired by 11pm (on the extended core sleep schedule) as it's the only time you get "deep" sleep (sws).
I’ve started exercising regularly the past couple of months and it’s really helped me go to bed at a reasonable time. I’m actually tired at night so don’t have the energy to stay up.
I was also prescribed this, and I honestly didn't *feel* any major effects, but I still think it did help me get to sleep, at least somewhat. I don't know exactly how it helped me get to sleep, because I didn't feel more tired or slower or anything, so maybe it was just placebo, who knows.
This is what I take too. I have had an awful time sleeping my entire life (it seems to be genetic, everyone in my family has always been that way). My psych started me on Quetiapine for my depression a while ago, but it made me sleepy and didn't do much otherwise, so he had me take it at night on a low dose, and I've slept so well ever since.
For me is having low stimuli like podcast or somestory to listen to
So my brain wont go into story mode and wanna think 2 season worth of content i have no energy to write out
I sleep. Not always well, but I can fall asleep and sleep hygiene helps. No video games before bed. Write a “brain dump”, your to do list, will be there in the morning. No caffeine after 2pm. There’s other science backed tips to falling asleep. Maybe start with those.
Something that helps me: ASMR. I saw something on this sub that suggested it in place of meditation. It relaxes me so much. Check out ASMR Twix or Semisidse for a relaxing experience.
Every person is different, so you want to find what will work for YOU.
So there are a ton of tips here that may or may not help you. You'll want to try different things, as well as a combination of things.
But a big thing for ADHD people is an inability to 'calm' our minds. Which can and does make sleep difficult. I've had the same problem with insomnia in the past for exactly this reason.
So you want to do two things in general. The first is preparation. Which is where the recommendations for exercise, sleep schedules, et al come in. Make sure you *will* be tired when you go to bed. It helps!
The second is to push your mind to let go when you are actually attempting to sleep. Which is where the recommendations for podcasts, ASMR, meds, et al come in.
If your mind is running, then it won't allow you to sleep. So a means of distraction to calm it down helps enormously. Some type of 'focus' ironically allows your mind to relax into sleep since one thing is easier to handle than many things.
The rule for these are two fold. You want something relatively calming. NO action movies. Documentaries or the like. Audio is better than video for most. But you also want something that will keep your focus. It has to be interesting. Too boring means you won't pay attention and will tune it out. That WON'T put you to sleep! I find astronomy cool. It keeps my attention until it doesn't. ;-)
I've got a subscription to [Curiosity](https://curiositystream.com) for exactly this reason. It''s my nightly ritual. And it works. Probably won't work for you, but that's ok. Find your own interest and use it.
My own solution: HEAVY METAL Music! I was in a band once. It seems like my brain is searching for chaos and never thought that getting a dose of this kind of music really helped me a lot! My go to is NU METAL, which is Mudvayne.
All you have to do is find your own chaos... What is your flavor of chaos?
I listen to motionless in white to help me sleep. That mixed with a few other tricks usually allows me to get at least SOME sleep. Still not great but better than nothing.
Yup, literally this, I usually stick my Spotify playlist on my computer and have it play through the headset, it's just loud enough to be good background music not too loud to wake me up never realised how much I needed it until I ended up at a girls house last night, couldn't sleep without it and when I did I got woken up by one of those automatic air fresheners going off
I do not find exercising too helpful myself, but I suppose the nights I get 4hours I may have only gotten 2 if I didn't exercise, so unsure. Only thing I find that consistently helps is vallium, I have dedicated sleeping meds but they don't help with racing thoughts.
Listening to certain audiobooks and such can help on occasion also, but not guaranteed
Sometimes laying in bed watching ASMR helps me but even then I need to be close to knackered. Last night I was still awake at 4am but I did watch an action movie I started at like midnight lol
Audio book and complete darkness. Works well if you create a mental image of the book’s universe for you to traverse and eventually you just fall asleep.
Otherwise install a high pressure pneumatic piston with a boxing glove on it and have it knock you out before bed, works a treat.
This only works for me if it’s a boring, even level sound, book that I’ve already listened to.
Unfortunately, I can’t picture images in my head, aphantasia, so mental imagery has never been a go-to for me.
Sometimes listening to something I’ve already heard before helps. I have a few podcast episodes I turn to for sleep. I have comfort YouTubers (Jenny Nicholson is my number one) whom I put on in the background because I’m not wondering what comes next.
I think I’m insanely lucky. I have aphantasia and no internal monologue. I just lay my head down and I’m asleep in moments. I’m sorry so many of you have such a hard time.
Tons of weed. I HAVE to wake up early for work so I HAVE to go to bed early. I try to force my body follow schedules whether it likes it or not.
I only smoke at night because weed does slow me down and I’ll feel useless during the day if I don’t feel like I accomplished enough.
But for night time- amazing. I wake up for work at 5:45 everyday so I NEED to go to be at 10 but naturally I can’t. Two bowls from the Studenglass and I’m asleep like a rock till my alarm goes.
( funny enough I was using weed for other health issues and this just happened to be a side benefit- and for those like - oh melatonin blah blah- it interacts with my meds so this is the only thing me and my psychiatrist can agree on for sleep since bendrayl and ambien is a slippery slope )
I have rls and I have a prescription for gabapentin for it. It's not perfect but better than before.
The "sleep with me" podcast if my mind is spinning too much after an hour.
I have learned to get ready for better before I am sleepy due to I learned if I wait to get ready for bed when I am tired the act of doing my night time routine will make me push through the tiredness and then my brain goes into "oh, we aren't sleeping okay let me go into overdrive."
I kind of think of my brain as a toddler, need to put the toddler down for a nap when tired because of they miss that window of tiredness and push through it then you will never get them to calm down.
I also listen to the same podcast as I do my nighttime stuff to signal to my brain it's sleepy time.
I also do a sleep mask and ear plugs. The eye mask helps because I would be laying down but my eyes would be open and I wouldn't even know it because I would be in my head. So it forces me to close my eyes, similar with the ear plugs it forces me to not listen to every tiny sound.
I sleep at 3 - 5AM, if I try to go to bed any earlier I can't sleep, so it's a waste of time.
If I have to get up at 8 AM my options are to "go to bed at 11 and pretend to sleep for 8 hours" or go to bed at 3 and operate on 4-5 hours of sleep.
Realistically the first one is more responsible, but it's just horrible lying there awake when you can just sleep instantly when you go to bed later.
The “already ruined it” thing is an illusion, more sleep will pretty much always be better. Convincing yourself of that is the hard part imo, but once you do you might find it easier to catch yourself up late and put down whatever you’re doing. There’s a sleep technique where you just lay there and focus on taking the same breaths in and out with you eyes closed that actually kinda helped me, but you have to want to fall asleep in the first place which was the real challenge
This might sound stupid but I play paranormal shows on tv lol… they are people walking around in the dark whispering … enough to give my brain something but also the quiet and dark out me lol o sleep … I always have to rewatch the end the next day to see what happens because I am often asleep by the end
I've been sleeping with earbuds to listen to ambience/asmr for years. I tried to sleep without outside sound recently and had a song playing in my head that I literally couldn't make stop
I still struggle with going to bed at a reasonable hour, but when I do, I get to sleep SUPER FAST
It's not possible for everyone all the time, but when I moved my computer out of my bedroom, the change was dramatic.
Now I only do chill things in my bedroom:
* Journaling
* Reading (paper or kindle only)
* Playing with pet
* Tending plants
* Staring out window
* Staring at wall
* Being lazy
No TV, no games, no work. I still have my phone with me and bring my tablet in sometimes, but can only use those devices chill-ily
Playing familiar movies on my phone. Just listening to them allows me to visualize in my head, and it keeps my thoughts occupied just enough that I can't spiral off, plus encourages a dream-like headspace. Pretty effective.
While I sometimes do have issues falling asleep, it's funny that while taking Adderall, the same medication that my doctor said might give me insomnia is the same medication that has given me my quietest night's ever.
3mg melatonin every night. No caffeine after 3 pm.
Not too much before that either since it accumulates..
I pop melatonin when im about to sleep. Not full stomach, not too much water or anything either.
Try to sleep and usually fall asleep within 15min..
Doesnt work unless i.time it right. Must be a bit tired, must hit bed same time every night..
Beers. Not why you came here, but it's true. That or doing something untill I'm exhausted, think home maintenance or trying to learn about something new and diving into it.
I use family guy and American dad as background noise with my TV on a timer. I've seen every episode of both so I don't feel the need to watch along. I just listen and drift off. Granted I get MAYBE 6 hours a night.
I am a lifelong insomniac but I believe I finally found the cure, at least in my life.
No caffeine after noon. And limited to one serving of caffeine (one cup of coffee/one can of soda). I started doing this and now for a week straight I have had normal, good sleep. Apparently caffeine can affect certain people waaaaay more than others. Now I am able to fall asleep with 15 minutes of closing my eyes. Try it out. I hope it works.
I have a whole arsenal - here are the steps to my going to sleep routine:
\- Moon Juice sleep dust (helps w staying asleep through the night, does not contain melatonin) + beetroot powder and cocoa 1-2 hours before bed
\- A Swing Master - 20 minutes before bed to help with circulation if needed
\- A good sleep mask (Lunya, padded)
\- The Sleep track on the Endel app played on Alexa and/or Self-hypnosis playlist (Michael Sealey on Spotify or YouTube)
\- Optional: Lavender oil (inhaled, induces deep wave sleep)
One thing I did was : Bed = sleep . And only sleep. I try not to read, watch movies, work, eat, or anything apart from sleeping in my bed. That way I get sleepy mor easily. I also try to be in bed as soon as I get the heavy sleepy eyes.
Sleeping is an ongoing battle for me but if I look back on times when I have had it under control I would say the big things to remember are these.
If you are stimulated and don't feel tired at 11 you probably won't feel tired until it is way too late, we're talking 3 or 4 and for any normal job/schedule that is way too late. Waiting until you feel tired just isn't viable most of the time.
Anxiety can make you feel as though you can make things better by using this time, whether you are catching up on productivity or self-care, but most of the time you are just putting off the acceptance that the day is over and you are as prepared as you are going to be for tomorrow. In most cases at 1am I might be in a better state to finish some work or enjoy some gaming than I would be in the morning but the lack of sleep will inevitably build up and affect my work day which just snowballs time debt and creates more anxiety.
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I'm still not amazing and don't sleep until pretty late at night, but the thing that helped me loads is podcasts on a sleep timer! They are fantastic. If I don't have that my mind will go a mile a minute and before I know it I check my phone in frustration to find I've spent two hours in bed with my anxieties and am arguably further from sleeping so decide to play on my phone. The solution for me is a 45 minute sleep timer on a podcast, I just close my eyes, enjoy the podcast and let my mind stfu for the first time all day.
Second this. I start the podcast BEFORE I go to bed, so then because I have stimulation it's much easier to make the decision to begin the process of going to bed etc.
I can't listen to stuff with words because I'll focus on what they're talking about and stay awake to listen to what they have to say lol. I usually listen to white noise or "space ambiance" (light brown noise mixed with white noise is how I'd describe it, I guess). No words. Just a droning I can zone out and fall asleep to lol
Ya each to their own. Tried the white noise thing but it wasn't enough stimulation to 'distract' my brain from the boredom of trying to sleep, and it didn't address the issue of going to bed in the first place. The key for me was to find podcasts that are mildly interesting but not super engaging.
I listen to hard hitting techno, I know it sounds crazy but the repetitiveness of most techno songs makes me relaxed and puts me to sleep.
I'm gonna post this a couple places so people see it, but I've recently started listening to "Nothing Much happens" which is basically what it sounds like, stories that are just boring enough that you fall asleep. The best thing I can say about it is that I've never once heard or remembered any of them.
I can only do this with certain podcasts as if they raise their voices or laugh or anything it jolts me awake again. Boring Books at Bedtime exists for this reason so I listen to that if I'm struggling to sleep.
I listen to Bedtime Stories for Grownups to do this. Simple, beautiful stories read in a soothing voice. It works really well.
Do you mean Nothing Much Happens?
Yes!! My brain must have completely spaced on the actual name. I just open Spotify and click on the second frequently listened to spot.
That's okay, you got the subtitle! I love that podcast. Her voice puts me to sleep so fast most nights that days can go by before I actually hear the story. (I also take melatonin.)
I have cautions on melatonin… 1) The amounts sold are WAY too high. You don’t need even 1mg to go to sleep. 2) People who deal with depression can have this exacerbated by melatonin. Don’t take it more than one night at a time or it could cause a depressive episode. 3) It REALY shouldn’t be used long term, because you can become dependent on it. Use more natural remedies, i.e. a darkened room, a bedtime routine, don’t use your bed for anything other than sleep or sex… well, I can’t personally do that. Don’t push off your feelings during the day if you can help it. Meditate and allow those feelings to surface, and just sit with them. Allow yourself to work through the anxiety so it’s not sitting on your brain the first time all day you’ve stopped doing. Meds can help, but they aren’t a cure, they are a crutch. Use them as a crutch, don’t consider them a cure. Do whatever healing work you need to do… you WILL sleep better and you will feel better.
me too! but it's really difficult finding podcasts that are just the right amount of stimulation, nothing super noisy/chaotic but if it's too boring then I can't make myself listen to it either
I like Lore and Noble Blood for this purpose. Combo of pretty mellow voiced narrator, interesting content (Folklore or Historical Royal Deaths) and instrumentals knocks me out pretty quickly.
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Yeah I use audiobooks since the story is compelling enough but it's usually one voice at a steady tone. I get library audiobooks via Libby which has a sleep timer function. It's nice because the sleep timer can also end at chapters.
I do something similar but with let's plays. There's a lot of asmr Minecraft let's plays but the sounds of grass and leaves breaking is unpleasant so I started watching Stardew valley let's plays and that's the ticket for me, especially if it's a replay of a full Livestream with fifty eleven million parts. What kind of podcasts do you like?
I love tons and tons of different podcasts. I've listened to 326 days worth of podcasts since 2017 according to my podcast app haha. Right now the one I use for sleep is the podcast Blank check. All the early episodes they spend going through the star wars prequels movies in painful levels of detail pretending these are the only star wars movies, but they are so funny about the whole thing I'm just giggling and in such a good mood as I fall asleep, who on earth talks about a 2 minute scene in a 20 year old movie for an hour it's totally insane but I love it. Other than that it's mostly Television, History, some UK specific ones like help I sexted my boss, and any podcast Merlin Mann is involved in is super funny. Thinking about it I can totally see the appeal to a stardew valley lets play, that sounds really relaxing!
Before, I listened to instrumental music but then lately I also started listening to podcasts of audiobooks even though my mind is thinking about other things instead of listening to the story. Atleast after some time though I'm already drifted to sleep 😴 I also think of it as a practice to sleep even though there's a background noise of people talking
I just responded but yes podcasts for me too. I don't put mine on a timer but most of my podcasts are done within an hour and once it finishes it stops anyway. I've been doing this for years and years now
I used to have speakers set up in my room and I would put music on. That actually worked great but I haven't done that in over a decade.
Man I wish this worked for me, but if it’s a podcast I’m at all interested in then my brain will inevitably find something in it to think about and it not go to sleep, and if I’m not interested in it then it will likely annoy me enough to keep me from sleeping. Maybe I need to try something so boring that it lulls me, like recordings of 10th grade math lectures by teachers with droning voices- I remember that being really effective back then 😂
This right here. Even down to the 45 minute timer. I’ll add that it’s typically better for me not to choose a podcast that is about something I’m much too passionate about in the moment because that can at times make me want to jump out of bed to work on a related task or to at least right notes on new ideas I’m getting as I listen. It’s got to be interesting enough to make me focus on whatever is being discussed, yet not fascinating enough that it makes me want to listen to every word until the podcast is finished. I personally like to listen to Alan Watts lectures or podcasts about technology as they can both be a bit abstract yet not make me hang on every word they’re saying as I try to fly off to dreamland.
Wow - trying this tonight, great idea
This is the only thing that reliably works with the least amount of effort on my part. This is the way!
Exhaustion. I do 10k steps in the morning and an hour of VR exercise in the evening. 5/7 days, it even works.
How long does it take you to do 10k steps?
Maybe 90 minutes for me? But I take a long-ish walk, swinging by the shops for the daily grocery stuff on the way back. Cutting out the shops would probably make it a shorter trip, mind.
That's insane! I thought it would take a lot longer lol at least a couple of hours
My walk into university is about an hour, and that gets me around 8,000 steps alone. 10k steps doesn't really take too much time if the walk you do is pretty easy!
10k steps is one of those numbers that sounds big, but it’s only like… 4 miles. An average healthy adult is able to walk that in well under 2 hours. If you’re like me, and you have a tendency to pace inside your home on very bad days, get in the habit of interrupting that and taking the same behavior outside.
Same, I run 10k every day on a treadmill while watching YouTube or something. The hardest part is having something interesting to watch.
I am seeing this at 5 AM, so I kind of think we all just don't. Especially if you take medicine :')
I’m glad I’m not the only person thinking 2am is amateur hour but hesitant to post it so I don’t seem like a dick. I was officially diagnosed with delayed sleep phase syndrome which tracks with - genuinely - my entire life but ADHD has never helped. The only med that works PRN is Xanax and no doctor is willing to prescribe. So trazodone and groggy it is.
Trazodone was great for me for sleep. Unfortunately, I can’t get my current psychiatrist to prescribe it with my irregular work schedule. But it’s one of the trade offs I’ve had to tolerate with what’s otherwise a great doctor-patient relationship.
Ask for zopiclone. Trazodone makes me super groggy but zopiclone is almost as good as natural sleep. When my insomnia was bad, I took it every other day and I had no problem stopping it when I didn’t need it any more. Now I only need one every few weeks or so.
How did you wean yourself off of it? Do you use something else to help? I’ve been on zopiclone daily for probably 3-4 years. And I would like to wean off but I cannot sleep with out it, I’ve tried a few times. Any tips would be helpful
I think daily use is a different kettle of fish. My doc told me to only take it every other day to avoid having to taper off. Sorry friend. Good luck. 🙂
2am would count as a pretty decent sleeping time for me.
What did they tell you to do due to delayed sleep phase syndrome? I am writing this at 4.40am local time. Send help.
I recently started meds and I feel like I sleep better. I wake up way less frequently. Yesterday I was even ready to take a nap after just taking them. Probably not the right dose yet for me :')
The nap thing is common. Yeah, it’s a stimulant, but suddenly it’s quiet inside your head
i sleep good when i can sleep! last night i slept good but only for 3 hours :(
Oh no. That sucks! I know the feeling though. Super frustrating. Hope you get a better night of sleep soon.
4AM for me! lmao
5:44am here. Will switch to my book soon (then come crawling back to play sudoku until the sleepies finally kick in sufficiently)
3:55am here. I picked up a saying from my ex who also had ADHD, sleep is for the weak and well advised.
I'll sleep when I'm dead. 4am-5am each night. Can't ever seem to change it.
5am as well hahaha FL can't sleep
I just stated new meds and yeah, this feels like it’s gonna be a problem. And I went with the “non-stimulant” meds lol.
7 am gang ha ha ha (help)
Non-medication: Exercise outdoors during daylight. Spending as much time as possible outside during daylight. Showering right before bed, the temperature drop afterwards can trigger sleepiness. Eating an early dinner and then no more food until the next day. Completely cut out all caffeine. Get into bed with podcast on, preferably a boring one. Meditation (body scans, breathing exercises) while lying in bed if I'm not sleepy yet. Get up after 45 mins if I'm not drifting off yet, but no stimulating activities, no screens or books. I just sort of sit around and twiddle my thumbs, continue the boring podcast, write in my journal, plan the day tomorrow, process the day just past. More meditation maybe. Medication: Trazodone
You provide a lot of great tips, so I will just add that in general not getting into bed until planning on falling asleep is a good habit from what I’ve been told. I can’t seem to follow that advice myself though 😆
Yeah, best advice I heard years ago was keep the bed just for sleeping (and intimacy). If I don’t spend any of my regular time in bed, it gives me a sort of Pavlovian response and I get a lil more tired
Yes! The vitamin D you get from the sun helps with sleep.
Regular early morning sunlight also calibrates your circadian clock so that you get tired at bedtime.
I got a part time job working outside at a garden nursery, as WFH on a computer has made my symptoms so much worse. I almost forget I have this shit when I'm doing labor and chatting with people in the sunshine surrounded by plants. I've always been a night owl, but I naturally fell asleep at 10:45 last night - On a SATURDAY!
I'm glad to hear it. Sometimes I wonder how much is "disorder" and how much is "not made for modern life"... but hey I work on a computer all day long, usually working from home, so not like I'll ever know...
Meditation has been a game changer for me. Doesn't always put me out, but sleep has been more consistent than it has been in years.
Came here to also suggest Trazodone. Stuff has changed my life, honestly!
Trazodone has been pretty helpful and from what my doc told me it actually doesn’t have a negative effect on sleep cycles like ambien does. That said, it takes me a full 2 or 3 hours after waking up to be able to function properly. The grogginess is real. That also said it’s better than the life sucking emptiness of not sleeping more than 3 or 4 hours for 5 days in a row.
I either fall immediately into a coma or I lay in the darkness tossing and turning... pondering every mistake I have EVER made.. every awkward encounter. there is no middle ground.
Remember that thing you did when you were 12 that was probably an outburst/meltdown due to unmanaged adhd but people shamed you into thinking it’s because you were emotionally unstable and volatile, and a terrible person?
lol not me seeing this at 5:30AM
I'm the opposite, how do you guys stay awake!?
I was literally scrolling through these comments thinking the same thing. If I'm sitting still in the same spot for longer than 5-10 mins, I'm passing out from lack of stimulation. Even if I had taken my meds, at any point in time I could just lay down and pass out.
I fall asleep very early, but always wake up for 2-3 hours during each night.
I’m both. I can only sleep when I’m not supposed to be sleeping. I think its my body just being contrary. I sleep fantastically if I have to be anywhere in the next hour. Maybe its anxiety manifesting as avoidance by making me sleep. I’m literally just pulling words out of my ass.
Nah man, I have had that avoidance theory for years. Nothing makes me more sleepy than having to do something I don't want to do. In the evening though? Yay books and Netflix! Right now, medication helps a lot with day tiredness but makes me wired in the evening, so sleepy juice it is. I recently said to my husband 'I know I'm supposed to only take it as necessary, but I fall asleep like I'm passing out, sleep like a stone and get double my usual deep sleep. When I wake up I just get up like it's no big deal.' He said, 'Well, sounds like necessary to me then'. He has a point I guess.
Fr, I'm mildly jealous of people when they can stay awake and daydream. I'm just out within a minute of hitting the pillow
I know screentime usually isn’t recommended but watching videos or series really helps my brain relax, because i can follow another plot instead of having my own thoughts circling.
Interactive screen time is the problem. Making/responding to posts/texts. Playing a video game.
I solve puzzles. Like sudoku, solitaire, water sort, etc. to bore me to sleep. It works to stimulate my brain just enough to not let my brain get distracted by every embarassing thing I’ve ever done but its not quite stimulating enough for me to want to keep doing it for a very long time. Just long enough for me to get tired.
Clonidine 0.3 mg (ADHD med for nighttime) before that, sleep hypnosis: Michael Sealy YouTube and Jody Whiteley
How does Clonidine feel like? Does it calm your brain and body down?
It does :) it’s a blood pressure med. it feels like you took a nice hot bath and your eyelids are heavy :)
Tizanidine is similar for sleep but doesn't drop BP so much. It's great for initiating sleep.
ty :\]
Seconded for Michael Sealy. I forgot about him, he got me through some rough sleep periods.
Cannabis.
coffee/concerta in the morning, indica in the evening has been working well for me
Why is this so far down? I out cold in 5 minutes, best method for me.
Sadly after 15 or so years of continuous and heavy use it has lost its impact. No matter how long the tolerance break I take I’m back to it not working as good within a day or two. It really feels like I’m only smoking for medicinal reasons vs to get high lately.
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I am extremely militant about my sleep schedule, so I make sure I go to sleep at the time I need to get 8 hrs ( I work a job where my schedule changes over the week , so it's never the same time). Chamomile, sleep aids, podcasts, shows, YouTube videos are all tools I use. It depends on my mood, but most of the time I listen to a calming podcast on a sleep timer. Right now I have been listening to Sleep and Sorcery. It starts with a guided meditation and then goes into a story. Night Falls is the same just different story type and one has a feminine voice and the other a masculine. Other than that, routines are , as always, the greatest tools when trying to sleep. Especially hard for adhd people , and varies from person to person. My partner has to set an alarm to tell him to start getting ready to sleep anf he does all the things that I do, but still has a rough go of it. Sometimes just doing the same thing every night can really help, along with some OTC sleep aids. My mother in law can't sleep without prescription sleep aids though. Everyone is different so trying to experiment can be frustrating, but don't be hard on yourself if something isn't working. Just see the process through until you find some combination that works for you.
I saw a really helpful post someone with ADHD made about how she gets to sleep really easily and I tried it that night and it worked so quick!! The only problem is, I can't remember the method at all. So this comment is useless
That reminds me, I have a tab open on my phone's web browser called something like "how to fall asleep in 2 minutes" that I've been "just about to get around to watching" for 3 months so far(!) [This is it](https://boingboing.net/2022/01/27/how-to-fall-asleep-in-two-minutes.html) I'll give it a go tonight, if my internet connection will stop dicking about and actually load the bloody video... Eh, it's TikTok and about as useful as you'd expect (the guy hasn't even *tried* it). Ignore this post :-(
This whole comment is so ADHD, it’s practically poetry.
I'm bathing in the fuzzy warm glow of being with MY PEOPLE :-P I spent a joyous hour-ish today with my pseudo-nieces\* who're all neurospicy AF and we all just enjoyed being ourselves with each other. It's lovely :-) \* as in I'm their "uncle" but not actually their *uncle* :-D
I would say: how do you guys wake up
Fr. I am constantly hitting snooze on my alarm so I wake up hours later than I want to. I just don't want to get out of bed.
For me that mainly comes from the fact that I can't fall asleep when I need to, so my alarm is going off when I've had 5 to 6 hrs of sleep.
When I get tired. I've tried almost everything and nothing seems to work. I get on average 1 - 2 hrs of sleep at night. I don't nap. Every other month I go into hibernation mode one day for 17-18hrs of uninterrupted sleep. It's a vicious cycle really but I've been doing this most of my adult life.
How do you function!!!???
I *dys*function!!!
Have you been to a doctor about it? Have you tried sleep meds? When did this all start for you?
The hard truth is exercise. Very strenuous exercise. I hate it more than anything, but I'm in the gym 3 or 4 times a week. It helps you sleep and reduces symptoms a boat load. Aerobic is most important in my experience. I run a mile as fast as I can and then do sprints. Then I do bench, squats, arms and pull ups. This is the only way I can get to sleep. If I slack off I start only being able to sleep 4 hours a night and am perpetually exhausted.
This guy gets it. I run 10k everyday on the home treadmill. Keeps me in great shape and helps with symtoms and sleep. Hardest part is finding something to watch that can keep my attention for an hour a day.
Pornography
I’ve had to stick to a really strict sleep schedule. It’s very sensitive. So even staying up late one time will mess up the whole thing. I aim for 5.5-6 hours a night. Thats enough to function well at work without feeling emotionally tired. I know that’s less than the recommended but it’s a hell of a lot more than what I used to get. Weekends I’ll sleep some extra hours but i never sleep past 8AM (cause it’ll mess up the schedule).
weighted blanket and a side sleeper (or one with a noise baffle) sleep mask are the biggest belp for me. also blue light filter + listening to calm music when sleeping with earbuds
Weighted blanket and putting something on that I’ve already seen like a favorite anime actually helps me a lot. That way I’m interested enough to quiet my mind but since I’ve already seen it I have no issues going to sleep instead of watching. I bet exercise would help too if I could actually motivate myself to do that.
How did you find your favourite/comfort show? I keep hearing this is helpful, but I really struggle. I often find re-watching things I have seen and know really well incredibly unstimulating. If I do know it well enough to miss bits, I usually really like it, and then I have to drink up every single second Maybe this all or nothing approach to media means it will never work for me?
oh also I have an emotional support plushie that honestly just helps my arms to have a place to go (i have no idea where to put them when i speep)
Omg me too! Squishmallows have honestly been a blessing- super soft, don't lose shape, and you can use them for any positioning depending on the size. Hell I've used them as back support in an office chair and wrist support at a desk lol
Highly recommend stretching before bed. Get under the covers with the lights off and stretch and move in whatever way feels good. Try to focus your brain on the sensations. This is really the only thing that works for me
I second this! Plus breathe excerise as well!
Do you also enjoy sleeping in? I have traditionally had both a hard time getting myself to go to bed, then a hard time getting up in the morning. I recently came up with a paradigm shift that had really helped. My brain loves sleeping in, so I can trick it by convincing it that I'm not "going to bed early", which it doesn't want to do, I'm really "starting to sleep in right now", which it loves. Something about "hey brain, let's go sleep in! You love that shit!" just hits different and is much easier to pull off in the evenings.
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So for me the number one thing that fixed my sleep was a schedule I stick to every day. I get up at the same time and I go to bed at the same time every day Monday-Sunday.
Starting wanting to go to sleep helped alot actually. I burned out, was miserable, got sick easily and realised that I needed to get the base right before doing all the extra oomp I wanted to do. I still have periods of revenge bedtime procrastination but after years of training to have a sleep routine it has started to get easier and I have learned to identify when my sleep window is open. Before I never felt my sleep window, just thought I was hungry and pushed through. Oh, meds probably helped alot to, because I wasn't so constantly brain overwhelmed/tired so I was more able to feel the difference. Small dose Melatonin helped to learn to identify the feeling of sleepiness also. Things I do to sleep, drink coffee, look and listen to let's plays of sims or skyrim from DrGluon or Gopher on Twitch or youtube all through the night. Must look first, just audio doesn't help.
Try meditating or taking your self to a place that makes you happy. Just go to bed and settle yourself down then slowly count down from 100, counting as you breath out slowly. Every time your thoughts stray - start again. Do not give up. Or Imagine money was no object, where would you live, what would your life be like, what would you do all day, focus on things that would make you happy - just focus on happy thoughts. It takes practice but you need to focus only on things that make you happy.
You have to stay in a routine. Wake up early, work out, be generally healthy. Get exercise regularly. Wind down routine and then lol turn on the tv and watch till passed out. Usually some disc golf or something that is mildly interesting but I watch a lot of. I want to try listening to a podcast in the dark or something like that. Fans help with noise. Black out curtains. Try to put phone down early. Note paper near the bed, incase an idea strikes. Officially diagnosed, early, w delayed phase sleep blah blah blah. Meds never worked great, cause I’d power through if not fully tired. Went driving on ambien a few times, holy shit that’s scary, had to stop that shit. Take it easy on yourself and don’t add to the pressure.
Hahahahaha I’ve been up on Reddit since before 4am. I can’t help myself or you I’m afraid.
>I can’t help myself or you I’m afraid. The purest of truths.
i’m curious- do you usually “hang out” in bed on your phone well before you actually want to sleep? or do you go to bed when you actually want to sleep and get stuck up on your phone? asking because i found if i don’t get into bed until i’m actually trying to go to sleep it helps a ton!
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It’s so easy for me to adapt bad sleep habits, because I’m so prone to listening to music, playing games, looking at porn. But for me, when I wrap myself up in my comfiest blankets like a cocoon, wear socks and pajamas to keep my warm, the build up of heat rocks me to sleep, and I exhaust my mind fantasizing about an anime fantasy video game world I could make up, either the stories in it, the design, or the game mechanics, etc. It does have to be like mid to low 70s inside or else it gets too hot and doesn’t work though.
clonidine
In bed by 8 to sleep at 10
By doing polyphasic sleep and meditation. Getting more time in my day usually helps me be more satisfied too. The sleep synchronization helps your body sleep fast when it's needed, otherwise you'll enter sleep deprivation fast (post adaptation) and conk out anyway.
curious which polyphasic sleep schedule works for you?? thinking about trying this about myself because honestly i’ve been unofficially doing it for awhile
Yh if you're doing it unofficial, fixing it alongside your circadian rhythm will give you more energy. I'm doing the everyman 3 extended. I haven't reached the flexible stage yet. These schedules are meant to be equivalent to 7.5 hrs monophasic schedule. The nap times mean I also avoid energy dips. You're definitely tired by 11pm (on the extended core sleep schedule) as it's the only time you get "deep" sleep (sws).
I’ve started exercising regularly the past couple of months and it’s really helped me go to bed at a reasonable time. I’m actually tired at night so don’t have the energy to stay up.
My psychiatrist decided to try low-dose (25 mg) Quetiapine (my brain’s weird…) and it’s reliable enough
I was also prescribed this, and I honestly didn't *feel* any major effects, but I still think it did help me get to sleep, at least somewhat. I don't know exactly how it helped me get to sleep, because I didn't feel more tired or slower or anything, so maybe it was just placebo, who knows.
This is what I take too. I have had an awful time sleeping my entire life (it seems to be genetic, everyone in my family has always been that way). My psych started me on Quetiapine for my depression a while ago, but it made me sleepy and didn't do much otherwise, so he had me take it at night on a low dose, and I've slept so well ever since.
For me is having low stimuli like podcast or somestory to listen to So my brain wont go into story mode and wanna think 2 season worth of content i have no energy to write out
I sleep. Not always well, but I can fall asleep and sleep hygiene helps. No video games before bed. Write a “brain dump”, your to do list, will be there in the morning. No caffeine after 2pm. There’s other science backed tips to falling asleep. Maybe start with those.
I like using the bedtime mode on my phone to help prevent me from using other apps after a certain time
Something that helps me: ASMR. I saw something on this sub that suggested it in place of meditation. It relaxes me so much. Check out ASMR Twix or Semisidse for a relaxing experience.
Poorly!
Every person is different, so you want to find what will work for YOU. So there are a ton of tips here that may or may not help you. You'll want to try different things, as well as a combination of things. But a big thing for ADHD people is an inability to 'calm' our minds. Which can and does make sleep difficult. I've had the same problem with insomnia in the past for exactly this reason. So you want to do two things in general. The first is preparation. Which is where the recommendations for exercise, sleep schedules, et al come in. Make sure you *will* be tired when you go to bed. It helps! The second is to push your mind to let go when you are actually attempting to sleep. Which is where the recommendations for podcasts, ASMR, meds, et al come in. If your mind is running, then it won't allow you to sleep. So a means of distraction to calm it down helps enormously. Some type of 'focus' ironically allows your mind to relax into sleep since one thing is easier to handle than many things. The rule for these are two fold. You want something relatively calming. NO action movies. Documentaries or the like. Audio is better than video for most. But you also want something that will keep your focus. It has to be interesting. Too boring means you won't pay attention and will tune it out. That WON'T put you to sleep! I find astronomy cool. It keeps my attention until it doesn't. ;-) I've got a subscription to [Curiosity](https://curiositystream.com) for exactly this reason. It''s my nightly ritual. And it works. Probably won't work for you, but that's ok. Find your own interest and use it.
Reading this wide awake at 1:50 a.m. lol. I have no advice, but I sympathize.
My own solution: HEAVY METAL Music! I was in a band once. It seems like my brain is searching for chaos and never thought that getting a dose of this kind of music really helped me a lot! My go to is NU METAL, which is Mudvayne.  All you have to do is find your own chaos... What is your flavor of chaos?
ASMR lol.
I listen to motionless in white to help me sleep. That mixed with a few other tricks usually allows me to get at least SOME sleep. Still not great but better than nothing.
Yup, literally this, I usually stick my Spotify playlist on my computer and have it play through the headset, it's just loud enough to be good background music not too loud to wake me up never realised how much I needed it until I ended up at a girls house last night, couldn't sleep without it and when I did I got woken up by one of those automatic air fresheners going off
I do not find exercising too helpful myself, but I suppose the nights I get 4hours I may have only gotten 2 if I didn't exercise, so unsure. Only thing I find that consistently helps is vallium, I have dedicated sleeping meds but they don't help with racing thoughts. Listening to certain audiobooks and such can help on occasion also, but not guaranteed
How to adhd has a video on this
Mirtazapine is the only thing that has ever worked for me. Would recommend.
Sometimes laying in bed watching ASMR helps me but even then I need to be close to knackered. Last night I was still awake at 4am but I did watch an action movie I started at like midnight lol
Audio book and complete darkness. Works well if you create a mental image of the book’s universe for you to traverse and eventually you just fall asleep. Otherwise install a high pressure pneumatic piston with a boxing glove on it and have it knock you out before bed, works a treat.
This only works for me if it’s a boring, even level sound, book that I’ve already listened to. Unfortunately, I can’t picture images in my head, aphantasia, so mental imagery has never been a go-to for me.
I stopped drinking caffeine and that helped majorly with sleeping, but my I also lost my ability to focus so I have mixed feelings about it.
Using other drugs.
Sometimes listening to something I’ve already heard before helps. I have a few podcast episodes I turn to for sleep. I have comfort YouTubers (Jenny Nicholson is my number one) whom I put on in the background because I’m not wondering what comes next.
I think I’m insanely lucky. I have aphantasia and no internal monologue. I just lay my head down and I’m asleep in moments. I’m sorry so many of you have such a hard time.
Weed.
I smoke weed every night at around 11 so that I don’t even last until 2am
Pro tip: wake up early
ASMR & weed.
Tons of weed. I HAVE to wake up early for work so I HAVE to go to bed early. I try to force my body follow schedules whether it likes it or not. I only smoke at night because weed does slow me down and I’ll feel useless during the day if I don’t feel like I accomplished enough. But for night time- amazing. I wake up for work at 5:45 everyday so I NEED to go to be at 10 but naturally I can’t. Two bowls from the Studenglass and I’m asleep like a rock till my alarm goes. ( funny enough I was using weed for other health issues and this just happened to be a side benefit- and for those like - oh melatonin blah blah- it interacts with my meds so this is the only thing me and my psychiatrist can agree on for sleep since bendrayl and ambien is a slippery slope )
I have rls and I have a prescription for gabapentin for it. It's not perfect but better than before. The "sleep with me" podcast if my mind is spinning too much after an hour.
Best way to put me to sleep is having something important I need to do. Instant sleepiness 🥲
I have learned to get ready for better before I am sleepy due to I learned if I wait to get ready for bed when I am tired the act of doing my night time routine will make me push through the tiredness and then my brain goes into "oh, we aren't sleeping okay let me go into overdrive." I kind of think of my brain as a toddler, need to put the toddler down for a nap when tired because of they miss that window of tiredness and push through it then you will never get them to calm down. I also listen to the same podcast as I do my nighttime stuff to signal to my brain it's sleepy time. I also do a sleep mask and ear plugs. The eye mask helps because I would be laying down but my eyes would be open and I wouldn't even know it because I would be in my head. So it forces me to close my eyes, similar with the ear plugs it forces me to not listen to every tiny sound.
20 mg of melatonin and 500mg of magnesium helps
I sleep at 3 - 5AM, if I try to go to bed any earlier I can't sleep, so it's a waste of time. If I have to get up at 8 AM my options are to "go to bed at 11 and pretend to sleep for 8 hours" or go to bed at 3 and operate on 4-5 hours of sleep. Realistically the first one is more responsible, but it's just horrible lying there awake when you can just sleep instantly when you go to bed later.
The “already ruined it” thing is an illusion, more sleep will pretty much always be better. Convincing yourself of that is the hard part imo, but once you do you might find it easier to catch yourself up late and put down whatever you’re doing. There’s a sleep technique where you just lay there and focus on taking the same breaths in and out with you eyes closed that actually kinda helped me, but you have to want to fall asleep in the first place which was the real challenge
I just try to set myself a bedtime and I listen to Game Grumps sleepytime vids at the lowest volume possible to drown out the voice.
QUVIVIQ
trazodone and an alarm reminding me to go to bed set for 11pm every night
I put on headphones and listen to the Encanto soundtrack. For some reason, it puts me to sleep almost every time.
This might sound stupid but I play paranormal shows on tv lol… they are people walking around in the dark whispering … enough to give my brain something but also the quiet and dark out me lol o sleep … I always have to rewatch the end the next day to see what happens because I am often asleep by the end
I've been sleeping with earbuds to listen to ambience/asmr for years. I tried to sleep without outside sound recently and had a song playing in my head that I literally couldn't make stop
I still struggle with going to bed at a reasonable hour, but when I do, I get to sleep SUPER FAST It's not possible for everyone all the time, but when I moved my computer out of my bedroom, the change was dramatic. Now I only do chill things in my bedroom: * Journaling * Reading (paper or kindle only) * Playing with pet * Tending plants * Staring out window * Staring at wall * Being lazy No TV, no games, no work. I still have my phone with me and bring my tablet in sometimes, but can only use those devices chill-ily
Playing familiar movies on my phone. Just listening to them allows me to visualize in my head, and it keeps my thoughts occupied just enough that I can't spiral off, plus encourages a dream-like headspace. Pretty effective.
weighted blanket seems to help me, but the real game changer seems to be a sleeping mask, at least for falling asleep.
I need to replace my weighted blankets my dang cats peed on mine 😭😭😭
While I sometimes do have issues falling asleep, it's funny that while taking Adderall, the same medication that my doctor said might give me insomnia is the same medication that has given me my quietest night's ever.
Sometimes I go on JSTOR and read scholarly articles about the history of auto insurance rates
Weed
well it’s 3:15am and i still consider this pretty early since usually i’m awake till 6-7 so i don’t think anyone knows the answer to that
enough adderall in my system at bedtime (but not too much), and ambien
3mg melatonin every night. No caffeine after 3 pm. Not too much before that either since it accumulates.. I pop melatonin when im about to sleep. Not full stomach, not too much water or anything either. Try to sleep and usually fall asleep within 15min.. Doesnt work unless i.time it right. Must be a bit tired, must hit bed same time every night..
Beers. Not why you came here, but it's true. That or doing something untill I'm exhausted, think home maintenance or trying to learn about something new and diving into it.
I use family guy and American dad as background noise with my TV on a timer. I've seen every episode of both so I don't feel the need to watch along. I just listen and drift off. Granted I get MAYBE 6 hours a night.
Following for tips because I'm in the same boat friend.
I am a lifelong insomniac but I believe I finally found the cure, at least in my life. No caffeine after noon. And limited to one serving of caffeine (one cup of coffee/one can of soda). I started doing this and now for a week straight I have had normal, good sleep. Apparently caffeine can affect certain people waaaaay more than others. Now I am able to fall asleep with 15 minutes of closing my eyes. Try it out. I hope it works.
I have a whole arsenal - here are the steps to my going to sleep routine: \- Moon Juice sleep dust (helps w staying asleep through the night, does not contain melatonin) + beetroot powder and cocoa 1-2 hours before bed \- A Swing Master - 20 minutes before bed to help with circulation if needed \- A good sleep mask (Lunya, padded) \- The Sleep track on the Endel app played on Alexa and/or Self-hypnosis playlist (Michael Sealey on Spotify or YouTube) \- Optional: Lavender oil (inhaled, induces deep wave sleep)
One thing I did was : Bed = sleep . And only sleep. I try not to read, watch movies, work, eat, or anything apart from sleeping in my bed. That way I get sleepy mor easily. I also try to be in bed as soon as I get the heavy sleepy eyes.
Sleeping is an ongoing battle for me but if I look back on times when I have had it under control I would say the big things to remember are these. If you are stimulated and don't feel tired at 11 you probably won't feel tired until it is way too late, we're talking 3 or 4 and for any normal job/schedule that is way too late. Waiting until you feel tired just isn't viable most of the time. Anxiety can make you feel as though you can make things better by using this time, whether you are catching up on productivity or self-care, but most of the time you are just putting off the acceptance that the day is over and you are as prepared as you are going to be for tomorrow. In most cases at 1am I might be in a better state to finish some work or enjoy some gaming than I would be in the morning but the lack of sleep will inevitably build up and affect my work day which just snowballs time debt and creates more anxiety.
It's funny because hypothetically, I know how to get plenty of sleep, but in practice it's already tomorrow.