Evalyn asked:
i’m 14 and my sleeping pattern is odd and really annoying, i’ll go to bed and wont fall asleep till about 12pm/1am and then i’ll wake up at 4am again and think theres no point going to sleep now cos i have to get up at 6am for school. i’ve tried all this Horlicks and stuff but is there a trick to getting to sleep? thank god its the 7 weeks holidays at the moment though.
UGH, ignore the answer above — it is spam.
I’m a 25-year-old dude and have struggled with insomnia for years. I’m far from cured, but I’ve made some progress. Here is my advice:
1) EXERCISE. Working out during the day, but especially in the evening, is the single best thing to help you sleep. Even if you’re not normally an athletic person, do SOMETHING — ride your bike, jog, walk, do some jumping jacks. Anything that helps you break a sweat and breathe hard will be good for you and help you sleep.
2) AVOID CAFFEINE. This sounds really obvious, but avoid coffee, tea, and caffeinated soda. For some people, even if you drink it as early as 2 or 3 in the afternoon it can affect your sleep hours later.
3) AVOID ALCOHOL. You’re 14, so this hopefully isn’t an issue, but going to sleep with any alcohol in your system will seriously hurt the quality of your sleep:
4) GIVE YOURSELF 8 HOURS OF SLEEP: As a teenager, your brain and body are still developing. I’m not trying to patronize you or talk down to you here — this is a fact. I didn’t believe it myself when I was 14, and the effects of my bad habits have lasted until today. Teenagers require more sleep than adults, and if you deprive yourself now, you could be setting yourself up for future insomnia.
If you need to be awake by 6 a.m., TRY to go to bed by 10 p.m. Exercise, take a shower, and go to bed — you might be surprised at how easy it is to fall asleep.
5) If you’ve tried the above approaches and they haven’t worked, talk to your doctor, or consider visiting a psychologist/psychiatrist to help you with the issue. It doesn’t mean you’re mentally ill or crazy — many, MANY people have trouble sleeping. In most cases, the doctor will talk to you to try and figure out why you can’t sleep and give you good advice.
If you still can’t sleep, medication may be on option. However, ONLY take medication perscribed to you by a doctor. NEVER, EVER take illegal drugs or medication not perscribed to you, especially for sleeping problems — you could suffer brain damage, addiction, or death.
Good luck — hopefully, with a little exercise alone, you’ll be able to sleep!
Try
It will help you a lot, and for free.