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CastletonSnob
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

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Joined: 17 Oct 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 8

16 Jan 2015, 11:28 am

I think I have sleep anxiety, or insomnia. At least every other week, I have a night where I have to take my melatonin pill. This week, I woke up in the middle of the night Sunday, slept well Monday, and had to take a melatonin Tuesday and last night. Every time I have trouble sleeping, I worry about it all day, worrying that I'll never sleep well again, that the melatonin will stop working, that I'll have trouble sleeping next week, etc. I'm getting tired of it.



Jimothy1669
Blue Jay
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Joined: 18 Oct 2014
Age: 31
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Location: Cambridge

16 Jan 2015, 10:41 pm

It sounds like you would benefit from taking measures to reduce your anxiety. It doesn't sound like insomnia per se to me - certainly my experience of insomnia is that I'm completely unable to sleep despite being so exhausted I can barely function, and it differs from simply being too 'keyed up' or anxious to sleep.

There are lots of websites with self-help information about anxiety and sleep - here's one I found http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/your-stories/sleeping-with-anxiety/#.VLnYmiusVW8. You can also take physical measures such as avoiding bright lights (such as laptop and phone screens) and excessive exercise or stimulants such as caffeine, before bed, and making sure your bedroom environment is free from distractions and conducive to sleep. These measures can help your body to produce melatonin naturally and mimic the effect of oral melatonin.