re: Treating insomnia without prescription meds

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As a dietary supplement, take 4275 mg (1 Scoop or 1/2 Tbsp) with milk an hour before bedtime for best results, or as directed by a physician.

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I'm assuming you can mix it with water or juice as well?

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Have small children

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That's the kind of thought that keeps me up at night.

I know you’ve said you tried melatonin. The problem with most melatonin is that it has a shirt half-life so the effects wear off in about 4 hours.

Costco has a melatonin compound that has a 5 mg dose of regular melatonin along with some lavender extract to help you fall asleep. Then it also has 5 mg of time release melatonin that kicks in at about the 4 hour mark to try and keep you from waking up in the middle of the night without being able to sleep.

That plus a cold dark room and no TV while you are trying to sleep will help a lot. Watch your caffeine intake in the afternoon/evening. Each little thing adds up to a potentially big impact on your sleep.

My Dad has suffered from insomnia for years. His sleep doctor recommended camping as a way to reset himself. The doctor recommended going for 5 nights every 6 months, but he finds by night 3 he is completely reset.

He goes 2-3 times year and it's worked for him for the past 20 years.

Heard a doctor on the radio talking about this.
He said he found something that has a 95% success rate: laughter.

He said at night watch a funny movie, stand up comic, read a funny book, whatever. Just laugh.
All his patients he followed up with, were able to go to sleep and stay asleep.

I'm a terrible insomniac. Apparently it's genetic because several people in my family suffer from insomnia.

There's been many good recommendations here, and per usual in life, it's the quick fixes that are usually anything but a "fix."

That said, there is one thing I recommend: Valerian Root. You're not supposed to take it for longer than 30 consecutive days, but if you follow good nighttime protocol measures (e.g., no screen time, no caffeine after lunch, etc.) then Valerian Root can be an amazing part of your arsenal.

When I take it I dream like crazy, and when I wake up I feel like I did when I'd wake up at 20 years old. Look it up. It's worth a shot.

Oh and FYI I'm still an insomniac and suck at good nighttime protocol measures, but the Valerian Root helps me regardless when I take it.

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I've tried something different the past few nights. I've been putting a book (the book I've used is a book on the economics of automated transit fare systems) on my nightstand. When I wake up and can't get back to sleep, I'll read. Usually after a couple pages I start getting ready to go back to sleep. It doesn't work every time, but does seem to at least help me get back to sleep at least half the time.

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I do something sort of like this. I'll listen to lectures on subjects that I find boring but still want to know more about. It works well for falling asleep, but like I said, my problem isn't getting to sleep. It's staying that way.

Thanks for all the reponses. There were too many to respond to each one but I read them all and found some great new tips.

I cant stress how much magnesium supplement with dinner helps. I usually buy a magnesium supplement that has different types of magnesium. I buy Life Extension Magnesium Caps which contains 3-4 different types.

Vitamin D with dinner

Stress management

Avoid caffeine if possible, if not, dont drinkpast 10AM

Avoid sugar in the evenings as it can affect your sleep

Exercise and eat a clean dinner as this last meal is what sits with you through the evening.

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I usually wake up after 3 or 4 hours and then it's another long night tossing and turning.

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It's either stress related or you're going through a sleep stage change.

Don't toss and turn, get up and get your day started. After this occurs for about a week you will realize 1 of 2 things. Either you are the type of person that now only requires only a few hours of sleep a night and you can be totally functional....or you will realize that you are exhausted by 8pm in the evening and sleep your arse off the following nights.