I have bad insomnia for many years, since childhood, with symptoms similar to what you report. I would stay away from pills. They lead to dependency, possible mood changes and shallow sleep. I have been able to get better at sleeping over the years after trying many different things. Here are a few of the things that helped me the most:
- Temperature control. I sleep with the AC set at 65, a fan and a BedJet device.
- Blue light control. I wear blue light blocking glasses at night time
- Wind down routine. I am careful not to exercise, watch exciting shows or do anything that raises my hearth rate at least an hour before bed.
- No alarm clock. I have found that when using an alarm clock I invariably get anxious about it going off.
What really helps is silicon earplugs (they warm up to body temperature and mold to fit, so comfortable I've forgotten to take them out until I'm half way to work) - a lot of my issues are I require silence to sleep and stay asleep and the modern world just isn't conducive to that at all.
> Temperature control. I sleep with the AC set at 65, a fan and a BedJet device.
Do you have a thick blanket then? Or are you just covered with a thin bed sheet while the air around you is 65 degrees F (18 degrees C)? That sounds like it would be freezing.
I'm wondering why you find it better to have a cold room but then heat the body with blankets vs. just using fewer (or no) blankets and having a higher room temperature. It's pretty interesting in any case, thanks for the answer!
1) any part of you out from under the blankets (face, perhaps) feels the coolness.
2) I can't sleep with few or no blankets anyway. I mean I could probably adjust to it over time, or if I'd hiked 20 miles that day I bet I could, but I certainly can't right now under ordinary circumstances.
I don't start to think a room's too cold for comfortable sleeping until it's under like 60F. My sleep gets worse if it's over about 68.
- Temperature control. I sleep with the AC set at 65, a fan and a BedJet device.
- Blue light control. I wear blue light blocking glasses at night time
- Wind down routine. I am careful not to exercise, watch exciting shows or do anything that raises my hearth rate at least an hour before bed.
- No alarm clock. I have found that when using an alarm clock I invariably get anxious about it going off.
Hope some of that helps.