Pearl Trade

Lately I've been staying awake for longer than I'd like. Haven't been doing much physical activity during the day time, so I think that may be a reason. Besides being more active during the day, are there any supplements or nutrients I can take that will make me sleepy? Specific foods, vitamins, that sort of thing, no medicine or drugs.

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Give me convenience or give me death!

Baraka_Guru

Get more magnesium in your diet. Most North Americans are deficient, and it's a nutrient that helps relax you. Calcium plays a synergistic role with magnesium, but most North Americans consume more than enough of it, and more in a supplemental form might put you out of balance with magnesium.

Avoid caffeine after 4 p.m.

If you're open to herbal aids, try passionflower, whether as a tea or as a capsule. Other options include, chamomile and "sleepytime blends."

Try deep-breathing exercises before bed.

Turn off the electronics. Don't use computers or televisions an hour before you go to bed. Try reading or listening to music (the relaxing kind).

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

noodle

Calms Forte works for me, two tablets as I'm getting into bed. Or one mg sublingual melatonin. And I also started drinking a magnesium powder called Natural Calm at night around an hour before bed... more for restless legs, but it does the trick. Bananas work, too.

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Hektore

Calms Forte eh?

The relevant portions are:
2:15-2:55 an 11:37-13:55

But the entire video is worth the time it takes to watch it.



The best advice regarding supplements I can offer is this: cruise right on by to the pharmaceutical isle. If you don't want to do that, I would try habit modification first. Vary what time you eat, go to bed, get up, exercise and once you find a rhythm that works stick with it. You might want to try some white noise and varying light levels as well.

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snowy

I'd like to note that there is a distinct difference between herbal supplements, vitamin/mineral supplements, and homeopathy. Often, homeopathy takes ingredients from the first two categories but dilutes them down considerably (as Randi pointed out). However, that fact is no reason to dismiss the effectiveness of vitamin/mineral supplements in certain cases, or herbal supplements either.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Wes Mantooth

I've always had this problem too and for the life of me I can't figure out how to fix it. I only really drink caffeine early in the day, I exercise, often put in 10 + hours of work per day, I rarely sit around doing nothing and yet I'll go to bed and toss and turn for hours often waking up feeling like I haven't slept at all. Its very annoying especially when you need to be on your toes the next day, I'll keep an eye on this thread as the above advice sounds helpful.

Really being sleep deprived is the worst.

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ring

If you are capable of resuming physical activity, this would be a priority.

Stress, in its many forms
can be a reason why many of us alter our daily routines.

Ironically, exercise-eating sensibly...gets us back on the bike, so to speak,
and relieves the stress that caused the sleeplessness.

I'm not assuming you have major stressors. I'm just relating my experiences.

1. Is your trouble falling asleep, a recent thing?
2. Do you have any health problems, (recent or chronic?)
3. How old are you?
4. Okay, you are male, so it can't be menopause.

I've had zero-zip-zilch results with herbal supplements.
Well, that's not totally true, Valerian root combined with Melatonin,
had me hallucinating for twelve hours.

It was entertaining, & gave me some good ideas for a new painting,
But all I really wanted was some...SLEEP.

Sometimes when I can't sleep I imagine having to get up and clean
my house, and three other peoples' houses too.

I wish for you sleep.
It's not overrated.
It's the foundation we all deeply need & desire.

Quieting the mind with mindful exercises before bed can help.

Sleep apnea is another robber of sleep.

MSD

Exercise more. If that doesn't help, melatonin can help you when you're not quite sleepy, but I'm a die-hard Ambien fan and have been on it for close to 2 years with no tolerance built up. Some say it's dependence if I can't sleep when I don't take it, I say it's the same fucking problem as before. Works as well as the first time I took it.

floe206

I heard ZMA works really well. You could go to bed at 12, wake up at 5 and feel like you got a full 8 hours. Also heard it gives you crazy dreams. Zinc Magnesium

noodle

Yes, Calms Forte, Hektore.
I've taken it on and off for 17 years as needed. As recommended by my rheumatologist and several PCPs for an herbal alternative to sleep medications since those are contra-indicated for my fibromyalgia. It's been compared to a cup of chamomile tea. When compared to chamomile tea, it's effective. As compared to Ambien or Lunesta, not so much. But I have had decent results with Calms Forte and the OP was looking for non-rx drug interventions, if I interpreted it correctly.

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Titan_Uranus

Yep ,ZMA works well, also supplements that contain GAbA also work well.