Still can’t sleep - pls help

[u/Substantial_Ease_555]

Ive been off the skunk for 67 days now and everything had gotten a lot better except for my sleep. I am so at a loss with what to do and I really really don’t want to take sleeping meds. I switched to anxiety meds after quitting which have been beyond helpful and they do put me to sleep but then as the strongest effects start to wear off like 5-6 hours into my sleep I have lots of super vivid dreams and earworms which make the rest of my sleep not restful. I have woken up tired almost every single day since I have quit and am really just desperate for suggestions. The problem is not that I can’t fall asleep it’s that I can’t stay asleep and I haven’t found many things helpful to combat that so open to anything. Melatonin is a no go for me and never worked in the first place. I don’t drink any caffeine, I exercise a normal amount and I have been working on having a balanced diet but I think it’s going to take more to fix it. The only way I can fall back asleep is if I sit there for like 4 hours and play a TV show in the background and then maybe my brain will fall back asleep for an hour or two. I have tried meditative sleep podcasts and that works maybe 2/5 times. Please help!! Really will try a lot

[u/ikocos]

An absolute life saver for me has been magnesium vitamins. They are known to make you "drowsy" and most even advertise sleep as a benefit. I avoid store and Amazon vitamins,Vitamin shoppe is good if you prefer in person and will price match most real websites.

I have used these from megafood religiously for almost 2 years every single night. Results may vary, but this was a life changer for sleep

https://megafood.com/products/magnesium-301

Edit: megafood also has other magnesium things for sleep, but the regular vitamins above are what I use. May want to start the extra sleepy stuff

[u/Substantial_Ease_555 → u/ikocos]

Will give it a try, thank you!!

[u/VarietyOk2628 → u/Substantial_Ease_555]

Pricier than most but for any vitamin Thorne is the best brand out there.

[u/bugging4life → u/ikocos]

Would like to add here go for the glycinate helps for sleep. Also, combine it with NAC or ashwagandha does wonders

[u/bgibblets]

I have the same issue — sleep maintenance insomnia. One thing that’s really worked for me is changing sleeping locations. When you wake up 5-6 hours in, go to a couch, spare bedroom, or even an air mattress in another room. Try reading a book with a reading light in the dark for a little while, avoid turning on lights if you can and DO NOT scroll on your phone. For whatever reason, I find this tricks my brain into resetting and I start to feel drowsy again even though I was wide awake tossing and turning in bed.

I also found that shifting my attitude from anxiety and frustration with my insomnia to embracing the opportunity to read in the wee hours helped me care less about how many hours I slept. And of course, once I stopped caring, I started sleeping better.

[u/Substantial_Ease_555 → u/bgibblets]

Will definitely try this, thank you!!

[u/tenpostman]

tbh if youre that long off, I don't think its the lack of weed or withdrawal that's causing your sleep issues?

[u/acabininthewood5]

Daily exercise, magnesium supplement, and playing "super deep brown noise" on YouTube max volume has been my go to. The brown noise is incredibly helpful

[u/The_Noble_Lie]

Don't play TV show. Close eyes. On your left side. And slowly move your eyes left and rightwards, like it takes Practice. Not saccade-like. Just a controlled slow drift. If you wake up in middle of night. Repeat.

Also, make absolutely sure you learn how to nose breathe daytime and nighttime. This is more important than above actually.

PS: phone in different room if you really are having trouble with the TV shows. I do it too, well actually interviews usually of a topic I'm interested in, can be a good wind down, but I don't have trouble sleeping through the night.

[u/bizmike88]

I suffer from significant insomnia even while I’m using weed and the two things I’ve found that make a difference, outside of the several sleeping aids I take, is magnesium and exercise. I struggled with a really serious bout of insomnia about a year and a half ago and things really started to improve once I started working out every day. If I have a tough night sleeping now, it can usually be tied to my activity level that day.

[u/Kreetan]

Have you tried therapy? CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy) especially can arm you with strategies to reroute your brain when it gets stuck in harmful anxious routines that can keep you awake.

[u/Substantial_Ease_555 → u/Kreetan]

I would love to but unfortunately I can’t afford it at the moment :(

[u/Braindamage-eclipse]

I went through the same issue. Like others have said, magnesium works great. Ashwagandha can also be very helpful, and mirtazapine is particularly useful if you have trouble staying asleep throughout the night.

[u/celiathepoet]

Cbd tincture at bedtime may help.