[jabag11]

Every night when I go to bed, it takes me an hour to fall asleep because there are so many random thoughts running through my head,

and then when I wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and go back to bed, it takes me a while to fall back asleep sometimes again because of so many random thoughts going through my head! I have tried all the tricks in the book to stop it but nothing works.

I have tried meditation (really), I have tried counting, I have tried focusing on one image since a lot of our thoughts come from images, I have tried focusing on one in particular boring thing like my toe! my mind is just to powerful! Help please! Thank you.

p.s. I am 19 and am a male if this matters.

[Just Looking]

I have sleep problems sometimes, especially when work is busy or I am feeling stressed about things. I have found a few things that work very well for me.

1. If I am stressed about work (or when I was in college, stressed about my assignments), I found that if I made lists I could relax again. I would make lists of what I had to do, schedule my time to be sure I could get done on time, and make any notes that came to mind. If I had a plan in place, I felt relieved enough to let go of the stress.

2. Have you ever tried melatonin? It's an over-the-counter herb that helps you to relax. It just takes the edge off your anxiety, and you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed. So much better than sleeping pills.

3. When I'm really having a hard time, I do a muscle relaxation technique. Take a few minutes to relax, breathing in and out in slow, deep breaths. Start with one foot. Slowly tense the foot, squeezing as tightly as you can to a count of ten. Relax the foot, concentrating on the tension flowing away and the feeling of relaxation in the foot. Stay in this relaxed mode for a moment, and then switch to the other foot. You continue this up your legs one at a time, first the calf muscles and then the thigh muscles. Continue the process up your body: hips, abdomen, hands, arms, chest, neck and face. Don't rush it. By the time you are done, you will be amazed at how much better you feel. For me, it almost always works to calm me enough to go to sleep. If it doesn't, I do the process a second time.

I assume you are already doing things during the day to relieve any stress or anxiety - including exercise and diligently completing whatever work or schoolwork that needs to be done. Also, if you are eating right, that helps. Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon or evening. Try to slow down an hour before you go to bed. If you have thoughts going through your head, act on the ones you can. If you are thinking about something you should do, do it and get it out of your head if you can. Have you tried to stop drinking liquids long before bedtime and see if you can sleep through the night without waking to use the bathroom? Good luck.

[albear]

When this happens to me I try deep breathing (the kind where I put hand on my stomach and when I breath in it spreads my fingers) and just listen, listen to the cars going past outside, the ticking of the clock, the little creaks the house makes and the silence. I start to drop off eventually :)

If that fails its time for otc sleeping pills (not recommended for long term use though)

[bestbessie]

This is a good answer! The theory is: mind equal body equal- we can't sleep if our thoughts are racing, we can't sleep if our body isn't relaxed. Good techniques described here to address both.

[bestbessie]

All good advice from answerers. The other ones I do is one you've described, think of an image, but it helps if the thing you are thinking of is something that makes you feel safe, secure. I like to think of a beautiful resort, I wander around enjoying the feeling of luxury and freedom, I imagine how the soft breezes feel, and how getting into the pool and slowly swimming around feels.

The other thing I think about is I try to remember how it feels when you are in bed in the morning and don't want to get out, try to imagine that this is what is happening to you. How relaxed you feel, how warm and cosy, how much you want to stay right there and doze.

[belgia]

Try saffron tea. It is the real red saffron. Not cheap but it works when you steep water and add it right before you go to sleep. Very nice solution without medication. Sometimes I steep it in warm milk. Do so about 30 minutes before you are ready to retire for the night.

[jabag11]

Thanks everyon1
!! Have a happy new years!

[lrush22]

I'm having the same problem, but I find sleeping with a lava lamp or some sort of light helps a fair bit... or sleeping pills, knock you out from 10 minutes onwards