How do I get my natural sleep pattern back??

[BigVrunga]

For about 7 years or so, I worked in the food service industry. Late nights, sleeping in,etc was just part of my lifestyle. When I went into management, the 10-12 hour days and crazy schedule at me getting 6 hours of sleep one day, 2 the next, etc. I usually wouldnt be able to sleep until 4-5am, and sometimes Id have to be to work at 8am...to make it short, my sleep cycle was all fu*ked up.

Now, I have this great new job with a steady schedule, and I work 10-7. Thing is, my body still dosent want to shut down until 4am. On those nights when Ill get 3 hours of sleep, I usually end up nodding off at my desk for a second or two despite my mightiest efforts. I hate that!!

Then Ill end up exhausted, my workout will suck, and Ill pass out around 11pm and get a solid 8 hours of sleep. (something Ive been deprived of for over a year).
And the next day Ill have so much energy Ill be up till 5am again!

Any natural supplements out there that can help me out? Melatonin, maybe?

Thanks!
BV

[Beelzebub]

melatonin works great for me but not for everybody. give it a try along with valerian root, that should knock your ass out for the count. benadryl works too (dramamine being the key ingredient).

[Scottyo]

might want to see a doc if the OTC supps dont work. Most would be very congenial to giving you ambien or sonata...which for me and my sleep troubles (which I wont go into) have been a godsend many a sleepless night. Also, you may find out there is something else at the heart of the problem here.
But like others suggested, melatonin is a really good start. I personally think valerian only helps quality of sleep...and not significantly. Other things like relaxing music, easy meditation or calming techniques etc can be very effective as well. Then you have benadryl and unisom as well. Good luck.....I get sleep tested AGAIN soon.

[Lean One]

Bump on the melatonin. When I want to go pharmaceutical though, I take Unisom.

[wojo]

melatonin i work shift work helps greatly

[size]

Try manipulating lighting, white noise, and sleep positioning. This may sound strange but I honestly believe that if you create the proper sleeping environment, your body will be more inclined to sleep.

[kmac6225]

bump on what size says - it made a huge differnce for me

you may just want to try a tylenol PM or a bit of nyquil to knock yourself out for a night or two so that you get used to that sleep pattern

[kraftkid]

For about 7 years or so, I worked in the food service industry. Late nights, sleeping in,etc was just part of my lifestyle. When I went into management, the 10-12 hour days and crazy schedule at me getting 6 hours of sleep one day, 2 the next, etc. I usually wouldnt be able to sleep until 4-5am, and sometimes Id have to be to work at 8am...to make it short, my sleep cycle was all fu*ked up.

Now, I have this great new job with a steady schedule, and I work 10-7. Thing is, my body still dosent want to shut down until 4am. On those nights when Ill get 3 hours of sleep, I usually end up nodding off at my desk for a second or two despite my mightiest efforts. I hate that!!

Then Ill end up exhausted, my workout will suck, and Ill pass out around 11pm and get a solid 8 hours of sleep. (something Ive been deprived of for over a year).
And the next day Ill have so much energy Ill be up till 5am again!

Any natural supplements out there that can help me out? Melatonin, maybe?

Thanks!
BV

BigV - Melatonin is excellent for this problem. I used to fly cross country a lot for work and I used it to adjust to the time change. I used it for over three years and still have no problem going to sleep without it. I actually use it every night to go to sleep now, but again, I can get to sleep without it anytime.

Highly recommend.

[max silver]

Give melatonin+taurine a shot. I work a rotating 12 hour schedule myself, so my sleep patterns are pretty much shot. However, I find that 10 grams taurine and 3mg melatonin about 1/2 an hour before I'm ready to go to bed usually does the trick for knocking me out.

[BigVrunga]

Thanks bro Ive already got the Taurine - Ill pick up the Melatonin tonight.

[tarbaby2000]

Everyone is right about melatonin, its your best bet. It actually is a regualtor of sleep patterns. Its no wonder drug to knock your ass out like Unisom(which also leaves me hungover the entire next day) but its naturally produced by your body during periods of sleep. It will help reset your clock, just give it a few days. Valerian is good just to get to sleep. Kind of like a natural valium. Works great, but stinks like sh**.

[no regrets]

melatonin for me also.

[BigVrunga]

I tried 3mg of melatonin last night. About 30 minutes later, I definately felt like I wanted to sleep. Not reall all that tired, but that I just needed to sleep.

I think its going to work, if I take it at the same time everyday, my body should take the hint.

Thanks,
BV

[kraftkid]

Big V.

That's exactly what it does for me as well. No groggy feeling, no next day haze. All is really does is put your body into sleep mode by ramping up your own sleep cycle.

[jminis]

Try manipulating lighting, white noise, and sleep positioning. This may sound strange but I honestly believe that if you create the proper sleeping environment, your body will be more inclined to sleep.

I agree here. I have trouble sleeping not because of physical reasons but mental. My mind races at night and I can't fall asleep. Anyway I've been taking 3mg of Melatonin before bed and I have a sound machine that I have set on forest stream.

The sound and melatonin help slow down my thoughts so I can sleep. I also notice if I get too much sleep I'll have trouble the following night.

[PHWSSJ]

-Melatonin is good but you have to take it the right way follow exactly what the label says.
-Your sleeping environment is important.
-My bedroom used to have a lot of stuff on the wall and just too much going on.
When I took everything down and made my room look more peacefull and still I slept better.
-I got a tempurpedic pillow, and now I cant sleep without it. They are awesome.

-During finals week I used to stay up all night. My day turned to night and my night to day for like three weeks. The way I fixed that was one day I decided not to sleep at all, then The following day I went to sleep at 10:30 pm. It was hard staying awake, but that is what worked for me. After I did that everything went back to normal.

Hope I helped.

Peace!

[BigVrunga]

Yeah thats what happens to me too - the thing is I always end up taking a nap and then Im wired for another 6-8 hours. Like now

BV

[max silver]

I hear ya there, I used to try and switch from daytime sleeping hours after a week of 12 hour shifts from 6PM to 6AM by staying awake on the first day off of work. I always found myself falling asleep at some point during the day though, and that would really mess up my sleep pattern, to the point where I'd cause myself insomnia problems.

[GuyinLA]

I also use melatonin and it works very well. Very cheap too.

I recently tried a product sold by Bulk Nutrition called Relax-ALL by MRM. Ingredients:
MyoCalm (Proprietary Blend) - 1810 mg
Jujube (2% jujubosides)
Beta-phenyl-gamma-aminobutyric acid (Phenibut)
Magnolia Bark (2% honokiol & magnolol)
SunTheanine (L-Theanine)
Valerian Root (1% valernic acids)

I really like it. I sleep very well and don't feel groggy the next day. It is much more expensive than melatonin but I thought it might be beneficial not to use melatonin exclusively.

The active ingredient in Unisom, Benadryl and most sleep aids is Diphenhydramine. This is for knocking yourself out. Problem for me is that I am so drugged out the next day. I can hardly get up in the morning and I can't function until noon.

[shootmeagain]

With melatonin I would recommend putting yourself on a schedule. That is, take 3mg for a week to 10 days and then switch to taking 1 (from a different bottle of 1mg tabs obviously) or 1.5 (by splitting the 3mg) for another week... then drop it off while at the same time starting valerian or something. The reason I say this is because I, and many other commentors that I have read, say that after a while you will get to where you won't get a good night's sleep without it... if you use it too long. I don't mean to suggest that it is habit-forming or creates a dependency, because research does not bear that out, however, IRL, it seems that it is best used for occassional use; not all the time. That is my opinion anyway.