Insomniac support and tips

[thesummerqueen]

Masturbation and regular exercise. Oh and get off the internet and read a book before bed instead. 

Its 4:40 am right now. Off to bed. Later. 

This only works sometimes. If I'm feeling okay in general, maybe. If the anxiety is high and I'm in a depressive cycle from something, not so much.

I'm also a habitual light sleeper even when I am sleeping well. I blame this on my mother, who has had this issue all her life. And when my brain is fizzing, fuck sleep.

I've found that the Sleep With Me podcast helps. I use my old phone to pipe in 'rain sounds' on Spotify to mask out any apartment noises and provide ambient white noise. Then I put on the podcast at a low level. He already talks in a droning way so it's not hard to find the right volume. That shit is auditory ambien. I can sometimes get 8 hours - even if it's broken into chunks.

Because that's my problem. I fall asleep and can't stay asleep - when the anxiety flares, it's like something constantly gripping my stomach and heart. It sucks.

Also, I would agree with reading a physical book, but only if you have a nifty book light. Otherwise, there are screen filters to help with phones or kindles or whatever. Rereading the Silmarillion has been putting me to sleep because the language is just difficult enough to be boring for most people. Like reading a textbook.

I've had decent luck with the Advil PM, but I don't know if it's placebo.