How’s your sleep lately?

[Amor]

I fall asleep very easily. I also take every other day 1g of magnesium byglicinate and have been taking boron glycinate during the day which increases mineral absorption. I wake up energized in the morning and remember often my dreams. Even though lately it has been dreams about me fighting or hiding. I keep my phone away or in airplane mode for the minimum emf exposure. Glycine have been working well as well for getting good night rest and falling asleep.

 

[Ysus]

I have been having sleeping problems for many years. Seems to have a lot to do with the “older woman thing” in my case. I used to sleep like a log right into my forties. Once I even slept through an earthquake (not a severe one but the house shook quite a bit from what my family told me).

Falling asleep is easy for me but then I wake up in the middle of the night and often can’t go back to sleep for several hours. One factor of the sleeplessness are, apparently, my high cortisol levels.

At any rate, a while ago I bought the supplement “ashwagandha” (in powder form) and have been taking it either right before going to sleep or sometimes when I wake up at night. Often in combination with melatonin and magnesium glycinate (the latter two I have been taking before).

It doesn’t always work, but noticeably often I don’t lie awake nearly as long as before.

 

[Mrs. Peel]

At any rate, a while ago I bought the supplement “ashwagandha” (in powder form) and have been taking it either right before going to sleep or sometimes when I wake up at night. Often in combination with melatonin and magnesium glycinate (the latter two I have been taking before).

It doesn’t always work, but noticeably often I don’t lie awake nearly as long as before

I've got the same issues, wake up multiple times during the night, but have trouble going back to sleep sometimes after the 3AM wakeup. Ashwagandha revs me up, even if I take it in the morning, I have trouble sleeping. And it's in almost all the "stress and cortisol" supplements.

 

[Alana]

At any rate, a while ago I bought the supplement “ashwagandha” (in powder form) and have been taking it either right before going to sleep or sometimes when I wake up at night. Often in combination with melatonin and magnesium glycinate (the latter two I have been taking before).

I am glad Ashwagandha helped you, it was one of the plants that I consider an ally. At first I had a tincture of it, but recently I learned that it extracts its properties better in fats/oils so I bought the powder and I mix a teaspoon with butter and take it in my hot chocolate with some kind of nut milk and honey. Seems to work well. I take it in the morning for reducing the anxiety of the day (older woman problems here too!) and it works really well, but I also sleep much better at night.

I have been having sleep problems since my early 40s and last year it was a huge deal if I got 5hrs of sleep each night. That's when I started investigating the herbs a bit more. Another one that helped me was Skullcap. Scutellaria lateriflora in particular is for waking up at night and not being able to fall asleep again. And though I haven't tried this one yet, I heard a couple of testimonies mentioning that Hawthorn as a tea with honey before going to sleep is a specific for "waking up at 3 am". Hawthorn berries, leaves and flowers, all share the same properties, so whichever you find. If you have access to Hawthorn bushes/trees, you can make the tea with fresh berries, leaves, flowers.

've got the same issues, wake up multiple times during the night, but have trouble going back to sleep sometimes after the 3AM wakeup. Ashwagandha revs me up, even if I take it in the morning, I have trouble sleeping. And it's in almost all the "stress and cortisol" supplements.

I don't know if you ever tried it but Tulsi/Holy Basil is very well tolerated by most people and it has cortisol-reducing properties, among other things, including calming effects on the heart and the nervous system to help promote good sleep. You might have to try it as a tea 2-3 x day for a week to really feel its effects if what you are experiencing is chronic. Also, see info on Hawthorn above. Hawthorn leaves and flowers will be a great pairing with Tulsi, taste-wise and properties-wise if you want to give it a go.

 

[Chu]

I have been having sleeping problems for many years. Seems to have a lot to do with the “older woman thing” in my case. I used to sleep like a log right into my forties. [...]

Falling asleep is easy for me but then I wake up in the middle of the night and often can’t go back to sleep for several hours. One factor of the sleeplessness are, apparently, my high cortisol levels.

Thank you all for the tips, everyone. The above describes me to a T, except that it only started a few months ago. Maybe it's the beginning of perimenopause, and/or related to high cortisol (which I have too). Every 2 days, sometimes every day for several days in a row, or not at all for a few days, I wake up in the middle of the night, and stay awake for an hour or two. I'm going to try some of your suggestions. I can still fall asleep in an instant with a book on my lap, but I sure miss sleeping like a log!

 

[Joe]

I don't know if you ever tried it but Tulsi/Holy Basil is very well tolerated by most people and it has cortisol-reducing properties, among other things, including calming effects on the heart and the nervous system to help promote good sleep. You might have to try it as a tea 2-3 x day for a week to really feel its effects if what you are experiencing is chronic

You could also try Lemon Balm tea. In my experience it has a calming effect if you drink 2 -3 cups throughout the day.

 

[Mrs. Peel]

You could also try Lemon Balm tea. In my experience it has a calming effect if you drink 2 -3 cups throughout the day

I don't know if you ever tried it but Tulsi/Holy Basil is very well tolerated by most people and it has cortisol-reducing properties, among other things, including calming effects on the heart and the nervous system to help promote good sleep. You might have to try it as a tea 2-3 x day

I'm not a tea drinker, plus I would be up all night going to the babathroo with more than one cup. I see they are all available in capsule form which I think would be better suited, for me anyway.

 

[meadow_wind]

It always takes me about 30 min to fall asleep and I always wake up a couple of times or more during the night. It seems to coincide with having to change position at the end of a sleep cycle. Sometimes, I wake up at 3-4 am every night and it takes me at least 30-60 min to fall back asleep.

If I sleep alone in my bed, I will normally be able to fall back asleep quite fast. I used to have problems falling back asleep if my partner slept with me, so now he is banned from my bed lol

I tried taking melatonin once... 5mg and it kept me awake all night in my bed. Total insomnia like I never had in my life. I kept my eyes closed but I was seeing some weird fractals under my lids; very annoying. I'm never taking that again and I returned the bottle to the store.

I often crash mid-afternoon from fatigue and I have to take a 2h nap.
Since last Saturday I've felt quite awful, but it seems to be a mix of food cheating and hormones cycle.
CBD oil doesn't help me sleep either. I only take it before bed if I have sore muscles after an intense workout.
I sleep better if I do a 30 min (or more) QiGong or Yoga routine at least once a day.
Drinking herbal tea before bed does help, but often I end up having to go to the bathroom at 3am, which is counterproductive.

 

[Alejo]

I've gone through bouts of strange sleeplessness... Lately I've been waking up at 1:13 AM on the dot, a few nights in a row, completely refreshed! after about maybe 90 mins, which is about one sleep cycle.

One thing I've learned personally is that, if something's bothering me emotionally or mentally, I will not fall asleep, I have to work things out before I do, it's like my mind won't allow me to ignore something, and I am the type of person that can find a way to stay busy all my waking hours, so my mind goes.. welp, you've been ignoring me for a whole day, now it's my turn to ignore your wishes to simply go to sleep, lol. So, that's another aspect of sleep that I wanted to share, if there's anything bothering you, then it may be worth dedicating some of your waking hours to it so that it won't come rushing as you finally sit in silence.

Another practice I've learned, which is rather difficult, but it does cut the feedback loop of sleeplessness, is to not get angry or frustrated at sleeplessness, that just prevents one from going to sleep even more, so there's that.

And a decent amount of physical activity through the day, not too close to bedtime, is very helpful in my opinion.

That isn't to discount anything environmental or global about sleeplessness, there's so much going on in the world and in the cosmos around us, that it would not be surprising if some of it seeps into our quiet moments. I was recently reading Peter Levine and one of the ideas he talks about, this limbic resonance, much like animals who will react to a threat they may not be aware of, but just noticing that another animal in their group identified it (like when one dog barks, all the dogs bark in solidarity), I wonder if even if we're not experiencing some of the tension and misery directly, our human connection to the rest of the humans in the world, might be creating that sort of resonant reaction to said misery and chaos, just speculating here of course.

 

[Aliana]

I also have been watching the series of lectures with Huberman and Matt Walker as I have been having issues the past few months with either being unable to fall asleep or waking up and staring at the ceiling for hours (not recommended). There are several in the series, but the most recent one i watched discussed caffeine, lighting, not staying in bed, etc. I became more stringent in implementing these and have noticed some improvement. Here's the 2nd in the series:

Some Timestamps
00:05:30 Basics of Sleep Hygiene, Regularity, Dark & Light
00:12:05 Light, Day & Night; Cortisol, Insomnia
00:18:45 Temperature; “Walk It Out”; Alcohol & Caffeine
00:26:05 Sleep Association, Bed vs. Sofa
00:29:43 Tool: Falling Asleep; Meditation, Breathing
00:36:37 Alcohol & Sleep Disruption
00:49:25 Caffeine - None after noon, if possible!
01:02:04 Cannabis: THC vs. CBD, REM Sleep, Withdrawal - THC suppresses REM sleep - CBD can be helpful, but only if you take enough. Hard to know how much you are getting.
01:12:03 Sleep Hygiene Basics
01:20:23 Tool: Sleep Deprivation & Exercise
01:24:11 Insomnia Intervention & Bedtime Rescheduling, Sleep Confidence
01:32:58 Wind-Down Routine; Mental Walk; Clocks & Phones
01:50:07 Temperature Manipulation, Warm Bath Effect & Sleep, Sauna
02:04:36 Acoustic Stimulation, White Noise, Pink Noise
02:34:12 Acetylcholine, Serotonin, Peptides; Balance

 

[Chu]

I have been having sleeping problems for many years. Seems to have a lot to do with the “older woman thing” in my case. I used to sleep like a log right into my forties. Once I even slept through an earthquake (not a severe one but the house shook quite a bit from what my family told me).

Falling asleep is easy for me but then I wake up in the middle of the night and often can’t go back to sleep for several hours. One factor of the sleeplessness are, apparently, my high cortisol levels.

At any rate, a while ago I bought the supplement “ashwagandha” (in powder form) and have been taking it either right before going to sleep or sometimes when I wake up at night. Often in combination with melatonin and magnesium glycinate (the latter two I have been taking before).

It doesn’t always work, but noticeably often I don’t lie awake nearly as long as before.

I've been taking ashwagandha + Mg glycinate every night before bed, and I hardly ever wake up in the middle of the night now. Good stuff!

 

[EmeraldR]

I've been taking ashwagandha + Mg glycinate every night before bed, and I hardly ever wake up in the middle of the night now. Good stuff!

yes those two really benefit me also - especially KSM-66 Ashwagandha
Lemon balm tea is great to to have in the evenings as a lead in to bedtime .
then theres the usual suspects that tend to upset my sleep TCM Physician’s Dos And Don’ts For Better Sleep | Oriental Remedies

 

[unkl brws]

I also have been watching the series of lectures with Huberman and Matt Walker as I have been having issues the past few months with either being unable to fall asleep or waking up and staring at the ceiling for hours (not recommended). There are several in the series, but the most recent one i watched discussed caffeine, lighting, not staying in bed, etc. I became more stringent in implementing these and have noticed some improvement. Here's the 2nd in the series:

Some Timestamps
00:05:30 Basics of Sleep Hygiene, Regularity, Dark & Light
00:12:05 Light, Day & Night; Cortisol, Insomnia
00:18:45 Temperature; “Walk It Out”; Alcohol & Caffeine
00:26:05 Sleep Association, Bed vs. Sofa
00:29:43 Tool: Falling Asleep; Meditation, Breathing
00:36:37 Alcohol & Sleep Disruption
00:49:25 Caffeine - None after noon, if possible!
01:02:04 Cannabis: THC vs. CBD, REM Sleep, Withdrawal - THC suppresses REM sleep - CBD can be helpful, but only if you take enough. Hard to know how much you are getting.
01:12:03 Sleep Hygiene Basics
01:20:23 Tool: Sleep Deprivation & Exercise
01:24:11 Insomnia Intervention & Bedtime Rescheduling, Sleep Confidence
01:32:58 Wind-Down Routine; Mental Walk; Clocks & Phones
01:50:07 Temperature Manipulation, Warm Bath Effect & Sleep, Sauna
02:04:36 Acoustic Stimulation, White Noise, Pink Noise
02:34:12 Acetylcholine, Serotonin, Peptides; Balance

Andrew Huberman was recently interviewed on the Shawn Ryan show and has a new book coming out in April, 2025 titled "Protocols: An Operating Manuel for the Human Body"

The video is a long one at almost four hours.

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