Insomnia

[vbactivist]

ANyone successfully "Cure" their insmonia without drugs?

I have struggled with this for years. I have a hard time falling asleep, I have a hard time staying asleep, and if I get woken to nurse someone, I have hard time falling back asleep. I have cut out caffeine. I 'do' get sleepy during the day, which means sometiems I take a nap in the afternoon. But even on days when I don't nap, when the night before I have only gotten between 4 and 5 hours of sleep, and I am fighting to keep my eyes open ALL DAy, come bedtiem, I am laying there, wide awake

[millefleur]

Just wanted to say that I share your pain! I recently posted the same question and got a lot of great advice! Good luck!

http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1187404

[Learning_Mum]

Do you exercise? Wearing yourself out completely, physically may help. No caffeine, no naps. Calcium and Magnesium help. Turn the lights right down at night so there's really just enough light to see. Turn off the telly. Try meditating. When trying to fall asleep focus on your breathing and nothing else. Try tensing and relaxing every muscle in your body. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even weekends.

Oh actually, a good technique that was told to me is to go through the alphabet and name two girls or boys names (sometimes I've done boys and girls!) for each letter. I thought it would be too stimulating because you actually have to think about it, but suprisingly it puts you to sleep!

[rayo de sol]

I have the same problem. It sucks, doesn't it? I use Valerian (an herb) to help get to sleep. Or sometimes Kava Kava (another herb). They usually help me get to sleep in about an hour or less, but I don't know if they're safe to take while nursing. There is probably some herb that's safe for nursing, though. There are many, many sleep-inducing herbs.