Insomnia and the FAA?
12-12-2017, 11:48 AM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2015
Posts: 332
Originally Posted by Flyhayes
5mg of melatonin may not be enough, especially if it's used irregularly. 10mg usually works for me. If you decide to use melatonin remember that it only brings on the initial drowsiness. It does not keep you asleep. As such, you need to be cognizant of when it starts acting and be ready to let the drowsiness to envelope you. If you fight it for whatever reason (i.e just want to finish out the paragraph of the book you carry with you on layovers), you just missed your opportunity. The onset of the drowsiness, is relatively quick but it doesn't last should you get distracted. And yes, your dreams may become "interesting".
The more melatonin you take, the less the body will make as it gets "lazy". This will in turn increase your dependence on Melatonin. I believe I've read the ideal OCCASIONAL effective dosing is .3 mg. Yes .3 mg.
Beware.
02-14-2019, 10:48 PM
#12
New Hire
Joined APC: Jan 2019
Posts: 2
See your doctor, there's quite a bit that can help, but don't accept sleeping pills as a solution (because they're not they just relieve the symptoms)
Also some things that can help, the main one is sleep hygiene:
- stick to the same bed time and getting up time even at the weekend, your body clock getting out of synch is a common cause of insomnia, it's like jet lag, but caused by sleeping in late and going to bed late at the weekend, then being unable to sleep at the right time during the week. the cure is to keep the same bedtime for all 7 days
- avoiding daytime sleeping helps many people, although others can catch up with sleep during the day and still sleep well at night. others find that daytime sleeping makes nighttime insomnia worse
- don't have screen time late at night, read a good (but not heavy or upsetting) book, something lighthearted but a little bit boring
- have a bath before bed, some herbs like lavender relax you and encourage sleep, and have a bedtime routine to give your brain the message that it's time to switch off now
- avoid any caffeinated drinks after 5pm, or even better give up caffeine altogether
- get plenty of exercise and activity during the day, but not in the 3 hrs before bed time
- get plenty of sunlight during the day, and dim the lights in the evening (bright enough to read your book by, but not much brighter than that)
- eat regular meals and don't eat too late in the evening. Lack of carbohydrate during the day or erratic eating habits can make onset insomnia worse
- sleep in a very dark room, and avoid noise pollution as much as possible. close the windows to shut out noise from traffic, neighbours etc
- find time to relax during the day, take study breaks etc
- if something is bothering you and making you feel stressed, *don't* bottle it up, talk about it and get it off your chest
- if you're feeling generally stressed (e.g. because of exams etc) do regular exercise to relieve the stress and also take time to relax, have fun, and talk about how you feel with people you trust
- visualise happy and relaxing things when you go to bed, e.g. relaxing on a beach somewhere nice
If the lack of sleep comes from psychological issues or started after a traumatic event, then counselling may help. Or if the worries/issues that are keeping you awake are something that you can't discuss with close friends or family, for whatever reason.
If the above measures don't help, or if you think you need counselling, see a doctor.
BTW I've had serious insomnia problems, even sleeping pills didn't work on me (I don't recommend them at all, although they may help some people *in the short term only*) the above things help somewhat, but what's helped me the most is counselling, But what helps depends on the cause so try all the above points and if they don't help see your doc
Also some things that can help, the main one is sleep hygiene:
- stick to the same bed time and getting up time even at the weekend, your body clock getting out of synch is a common cause of insomnia, it's like jet lag, but caused by sleeping in late and going to bed late at the weekend, then being unable to sleep at the right time during the week. the cure is to keep the same bedtime for all 7 days
- avoiding daytime sleeping helps many people, although others can catch up with sleep during the day and still sleep well at night. others find that daytime sleeping makes nighttime insomnia worse
- don't have screen time late at night, read a good (but not heavy or upsetting) book, something lighthearted but a little bit boring
- have a bath before bed, some herbs like lavender relax you and encourage sleep, and have a bedtime routine to give your brain the message that it's time to switch off now
- avoid any caffeinated drinks after 5pm, or even better give up caffeine altogether
- get plenty of exercise and activity during the day, but not in the 3 hrs before bed time
- get plenty of sunlight during the day, and dim the lights in the evening (bright enough to read your book by, but not much brighter than that)
- eat regular meals and don't eat too late in the evening. Lack of carbohydrate during the day or erratic eating habits can make onset insomnia worse
- sleep in a very dark room, and avoid noise pollution as much as possible. close the windows to shut out noise from traffic, neighbours etc
- find time to relax during the day, take study breaks etc
- if something is bothering you and making you feel stressed, *don't* bottle it up, talk about it and get it off your chest
- if you're feeling generally stressed (e.g. because of exams etc) do regular exercise to relieve the stress and also take time to relax, have fun, and talk about how you feel with people you trust
- visualise happy and relaxing things when you go to bed, e.g. relaxing on a beach somewhere nice
If the lack of sleep comes from psychological issues or started after a traumatic event, then counselling may help. Or if the worries/issues that are keeping you awake are something that you can't discuss with close friends or family, for whatever reason.
If the above measures don't help, or if you think you need counselling, see a doctor.
BTW I've had serious insomnia problems, even sleeping pills didn't work on me (I don't recommend them at all, although they may help some people *in the short term only*) the above things help somewhat, but what's helped me the most is counselling, But what helps depends on the cause so try all the above points and if they don't help see your doc
02-15-2019, 09:57 AM
#13
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,186
Originally Posted by WhisperJet
The more melatonin you take, the less the body will make as it gets "lazy". This will in turn increase your dependence on Melatonin. I believe I've read the ideal OCCASIONAL effective dosing is .3 mg. Yes .3 mg.
Beware.
Beware.
That works for me, but my wife had some sleeping issues and started raiding the bottle in my suitcase, sometimes more than once per night. Eventually her doc had to ween her off of it because she developed a tolerance.
