Do I require/should I get sleeping pills?

I am 17 years old right now, and for a while (few years? or maybe I've
always been like this), I can't get to sleep immediately. Sometimes it
even takes 2+ hours for me to fall asleep; I generally continuously
toss and turn in bed, always thinking about something (that's why I
sometimes enjoy having a notepad next to my bed to write down ideas,
things, etc. before I forget! Sleeping seems to be my best time to
think, eh?)

My question is, would it be safe for me to get sleeping pills? And/or
do I need it? Or are there more natural methods to get better sleep?
I'm thinking about things like getting something small to eat, like a
bowl of cereal, maybe ~30 min before I sleep? Also, I play the violin
sometimes before I sleep, and that sort of wears me out so that might
help as well.

Also, I was wondering, does body mass related to the time required to
fall asleep? Like, don't people with larger body mass have an easier
time falling asleep than those with smaller body mass?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Gary,

You are WAAAAY to young to start taking sleeping pills for insomnia,
you need to fix this problem so you don't develop a lifelong problem.

Sleep is a very important aspect of living, without good sleep your
daytime will be adversely affected, as you know.  Sleep problems are
considered an important medical problem by Doctors.  If you can't sort
this out by yourself soon, I would suggest talking to your school
counselor and getting some help talking to your parents (who may not
take you seriously, or realize how important this is), ...to get you
to a Sleep Specialist.  A Sleep Doctor WILL take your problem VERY
seriously.  It's a worse problem than people realize, especially for a
teen or young adult.

I take your problem VERY seriously, even if no one else in your life
does.  If you need more help from me in a couple weeks or months, you
can post a REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION and this QUESTION/ANSWER will pop
back up to the top of my list alerting me you need more help.

Please don't hesitate to do so.

Body mass should make no difference in ability to fall asleep, except
in cases of apnea or snoring.  I really do recommend going to a Sleep
Specialist, if your Parents have Medical Insurance, please ask them to
make you an appointment.  If they have an HMO, you will need to get a
referral.  Just remember, no one will really listen except the sleep
specialist.  When you get to the specialist, they will want to fill
out a HUGE questionaire, and possibly go to an overnight Sleep Lab
where you are hooked up to a ton of wires and they monitor your sleep
to help find out the problem.  (I've done this).

Try to write down all the stuff on your mind BEFORE you get to bed.
Write it all down so when you think of it, you can tell yourself it's
ALREADY written down.  Keep the pad of paper and pencil in the other
room.  You need to stop your mind from racing when you're IN the bed. 
There's a link about insomnia and teens that discusses this below.

I suffered from insomnia for a long time.  I found one trick that
works REALLY WELL for me that I detailed at the bottom of this Answer,
and it will help stop your mind from racing.

Here's all the standard advice for insomnia.

DO's:

-Exercise, take a walk a couple hours before bed.

-Eat dinner EARLIER, and be hungry before bed, then eat a small snack
with warmed milk
 which  contains L-Tryptophan, promotes sleep.

-Keep your bedroom quiet and very dark. Use a sleep mask if it's not dark enough.

-Keep your bedroom cool, but not cold.

-Develop a bedtime routine, try to go to bed the same time every night.

-Read before bed, not IN bed.



DON'Ts:

-Avoid Caffeine: coffee, SOFT DRINKS, tea, chocolate... NO POP!!!!!! GIVE IT UP!!

-Avoid Cigarettes, and any/all drugs.

-Don't use your bed for anything other than sleep.

-Don't go to bed until you're sleepy.

-Don't take naps.

-Don't sleep with a pet that keeps you awake or distracts you. (My
chihuahua curls up  behind my knees and falls asleep faster than me!)



IMPORTANT:
--If you're not asleep after about 15-20 minutes, GET BACK UP. Play
the violin for 15-20   minutes and try again.

--Melatonin would be okay for awhile to train your body to fall asleep
quickly, then wean yourself off.  What it does is shut off production
of the brain chemical that keeps you awake, allowing you to feel
sleepy.  It does work.  If you try it, get the type of pill that melts
under your tongue (called sublingual).  Take it 20 minutes before you
want to lay down.  It WILL make you feel like you *can* go to sleep. 
Wait another 10 minuted till your eyes are starting to droop, then go
to bed. No more than 5mg's



What are the causes and cures of insomnia, particularly in a teenager?
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/feb2001/981571948.Gb.r.html

Links there:

www.nhlbi.nih.gov (National Institutes of Health)
www.vch.vh.org (Virtual Children's Hospital)
www.drkoop.com
www.mayo.edu (Mayo Clinic)
www.britannica.com (Encyclopedia Britannica)
www.encarta.com (Encarta)


IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP - Some common causes of insomnia
http://www.nlp-now.co.uk/insomnia.htm


I am a 15-year-old girl and have a hard time with sleeping. I can?t
fall asleep at night. It?s past midnight most nights and then I?m up
again at 7. Is this normal? I do not drink coffee or consume any
caffeine.
http://www.teengrowth.com/index.cfm?action=info_advice&ID_Advice=3512&category=body&catdesc=Body&subdesc=Fatigue



THE TRICK I USE:

I turn on a radio to the Nightly COAST TO COAST show.
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/shows/schedule.html

I don't know where you live, but Coast to Coast AM is live nightly
from 10pm to 2am Pacific (NOTE IT's ON AM RADIO, PROBABLY 1000 am on
the dial), and it's available Nationwide.  The radio show is usually
about UFO's, Conspiracies, and stuff.

The trick is not the Radio Show itself, but in the METHOD OF
LISTENING.  Turn the radio on very near you, but at a VERY LOW VOLUME,
so low in fact, that you can barely hear it, you have to strain to
listen.  You CAN hear it if you listen REALLY HARD, but no louder.

Then, TRY to listen to the show.  Your mind becomes tired trying to
focus on the show (it's ALWAYS interesting), and you fall asleep!!


I'll add more links and suggestions as I find them, in the future. 
Please report back and tell us how you're doing, okay?


~~Cynthia

Excellent response! But I'm sure you also owe some help from the other
comments as well.

One clarificaiton-
Are you not getting enough sleep at night?  -How much sleep do
actually get and do you feel rested the next day?

Is the issue that it just takes more than an hour to actually fall
asleep- and you wish it would happen faster?

Try exercising, maybe your body isn't active enough through out the
day to make you tired at night.

Do pushups, pullup and deep knee bends - 100 of each should do it.

I don't get too much sleep at night. Only about ~1am - ~7:30am. So
around 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night.

I don't feel rested, I feel horrible. Very tired; the only thing that
keeps me going are the friends I see everyday.

And I do wish that I would fall asleep faster, as well.

Hi Gary...

I had the same problem as you for years. I have given up tossing &
turning and now go to bed very late so that as soon as my head hits
the pillow, I'm in "snooze" land. Nowadays, I get by on 5-6 hours
sleep and I seem to be fine with that. Mind you, I'm a "tad" older
than 17;)

Steph53

Hi, Gary

It may be that you are taking too much caffeine.

Lay off the coke, coffee, tea and chocolate, etc.

What's more, you'll feel good by taking your self in hand.

Sleeping Pills are a No No!

Bryan

You could also be suffering from a poor diet. Talk to a doctor and see
what he/she would recomend. But more exercise and a better diet may
help. Then again it could be brought on by depression or the likes of
it, in which case you would need to see a doctor and talk to him about
medications.

Hi Gary, 

I agree with Bryan in not taking caffeine, if I use caffeine like
after 4 PM, I defenitely "bounce around" till late after midnight.

However, I partly agree with the exercise advise, that is, if I
exercise in the evening, I cant get to sleep untill very late as well.

I found a site that talks about this..........
	
The Best Time of Day to Walk and Exercise - Evening Pros and Cons
Cons
? Distractions and other commitments make keep you from walking and
exercising at the appointed times.
? Need to allow one to three hours to wind down after walking or
exercise to be able to fall asleep.
? If you discover sleeping problems, need to schedule your workout earlier.
? At dark times of the year, be sure to wear reflective gear.

http://walking.about.com/cs/beginners/a/besttime_4.htm

Sleeping pills are not the answer, but perhaps homeopathic remedies
(described by a classical homeopathic docter) might be.

Slaap lekker!!!

Anne-Marie

described should be subscriped....or just "voorgeschreven"..........

I agree with Anne-Marie ... consult a Homeopath.

You could try a cup of warm milk (easy to heat in the microwave) just
before bed.  I find it very soothing.  If warm milk does not appeal to
you, hot chocolate can work just as well (unless the small amount of
caffeine it contains is a problem for you).  Perhaps you would find a
hot shower relaxing, as well?

Common advice, which may be valid, is that you should use your bed
only for sleeping.  That means no reading, studying, snacking, or
hanging out listening to music while in bed.  It also means you don't
lie there in bed trying hard to sleep for hours--get up and do
something else until you're ready.  You will come to associate your
bed with sleep, rather than other activities, and get in the habit of
falling asleep when you lie down in bed.

Finally, you could always try reading something really boring before
you go to sleep.  :)

I had the same problem, ever since I can remember it took me hours to
fall asleep. Some people are just like that.

When I was about your age (I'm 29 now) I started taking melatonin and
now it only takes me about 15-20 minutes to fall asleep. Melatonin is
a substance that occurs naturally in your body; it's what tells your
body when it's time to sleep. In some people the body doesn't produce
enough melatonin, so your body doesn't know when it's time to go to
sleep. You can get melatonin tablets in health food stores or maybe in
a drugstore in the vitamin section. It's totally natural, not like a
sleeping pill.

I suggest you give melatonin a try, it's not very expensive. I've
suggested it to other people who have trouble falling asleep, and
almost everyone has said that it worked wonders for them. Also try the
previous advice about cutting down on caffeine, warm milk, etc. but
things like that don't work for everyone. If nothing else works you
should go to a doctor, but don't just ask for a pill - have them try
to figure out what is causing your sleeping problem.

A warning on the melatonin: yes, it is naturally produced by your
brain for the purpose of making you sleepy. The problem is that after
long term usage your body will start relying on the melatonin for
sleep functions and your insomnia will only get worse. Use it
sparingly and only if you are sure it is the only way you are going to
get to bed.

James

Hi Gary. 
I agree about being careful about melatonin - playing with hormone
levels is a bad idea when it's not supervised by a professional. 
Homeopathy is an agreeable natural route, or you can try Naturopathic
Medicine (here's a site I found that has a summary:
http://www.naturopathichealth.info/naturopathy.php).

The thing is, every body's body is different, so a suggestion for one
person may not work for you.  I don't believe that body size is
related to the time it takes for someone to fall asleep.  Factors that
ARE related are specific to YOU, and I think a naturopathic doctor can
help you figure out what the imbalance is.  Being 17, it could be
hormonal imbalances setting your sleep schedule awry, and that's not
something you can re-balance on your own without some guidance.

That being said, here are some really general guidelines about sleeping:
-Sleep in pitch darkness, which is a natural way of increasing your
melatonin levels (eye-cover things are ok; digital alarm clocks,
moonlight & street lamps/night lights are bad).  Also get 20minutes of
continuous daylight (outdoor) time daily to regulate melatonin
production (which occurs at night).
-go to bed between 10-12pm EVERY day 
 1. regularity & rhythm is important in teaching the body when to rest
 2. the body heals the most at this time (if asleep)
-if your brain is too busy, learn meditation or some simple deep
breathing exercises to calm your mind down (amongst other health
benefits)

Conclusion.. I do prefer the natural route.  Sleeping pills just make
you sleep, usually with side effects (e.g. groggy the next day).  They
don't address *why* you cannot sleep, so you end up being dependent on
them.  A natural remedy in the interm (before getting professional
advice), Chamomile tea is also sedating & non-caffeinated.

Sweet dreams!
FishnutB

It's important to get to the root of why you are having problems
falling asleep.  Treating the cause of your insomnia will be much more
effective.  If none of the standard sleep hygiene advice doesn't work
(i.e. going to sleep and waking up the same time everyday including
weekends, eliminating caffine from your diet, etc.), you should
consider seeing your doctor.  If your insomnia is anxiety related,
there are treatments for it.

I don't know if there is a correlation between body mass and how long
it takes to fall asleep, but there is a known relation between obesity
and sleep apnea.  Sleep apnea can disturb the quality of sleep and
result in the feeling of not being rested upon waking.