Insomnia ¦ Trouble Sleeping: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Remedies for Kids and Adults (I'm an adult)

Everybody's different - that's why no advice can be applied to everybody. If you have trouble sleeping, you will need to find out what works for you and what doesn't. The best way to find out about it is to observe, and document it in a "sleep diary".

Make a chart with spaces for:

• The time you went to bed/woke up
• How long and well you slept
• If and when you were awake at night
• How much alcohol and nicotine have you consumed and when
• What and when you ate and drank
• What drugs or medication you took and when
• Stress situations you endured during the day
• Level of activity

You can find online many sleep diaries that you just need to print to use them. One of them can be found here. If you do this for a week or two, you might be able to determine what causes your irregular sleep or inability to fall asleep.

One of the causes for a sleep disorder and trouble sleeping is a poor quality of your mattress. Your mattress might be worn out or just plain wrong for you and it might be time to invest in a new one. Low-quality mattresses can cause you a number of health disorders, insomnia being one of them.

When it comes to mattresses, don't be stingy. Inform yourself to find out what is the best mattress for you and forget about the cost. Of course, that doesn't mean you should buy the most expensive mattress on the market. Just don't let the price stop you from buying a mattress you find comfortable and just to your taste. Perfect mattress can change your life. It is recommended you buy a new mattress every 8 to 10 years.

For tips how to find a mattress that suits you, visit WebMD.com.

If you wonder how to fight insomnia, avoid caffeine as much as possible. Caffeine is a well-known stimulant that can be found not only in coffee but also in many other beverages, snacks and medication. If you are drinking coffee and/or energetic drinks too often, you should stop drinking it immediately. It can be difficult to give up caffeine when you are always tired, but the sooner you break this circle, the better.

If you simply cannot live without coffee, try drinking it only early in the day so it leaves your body before bedtime. Bear in mind that it takes 6-10 hours for caffeine to leave your body.

When you have trouble sleeping, even a tiny bit of light can disrupt your sleep. Make sure that your room is pitch black, which is one of the ways to sleep well. Then, you can try the following:

• Use heavy curtains that don't let any light through
• Remove any object that emits light (cell phone on a charger, turned off TV that has that standby light, digital clocks with fluorescent digits)
• Put on an eye mask

Ideally, the temperature in your bedroom should be 65-75 Fahrenheit (18-24 Celsius) or whatever temperature you find most comfortable and properly ventilated. If you get hot, your body will struggle to cool you down and make you sweat, which can wake you up and ruin your sleep.

If it gets too cold, you get shivers, your body struggles to keep you warm, and again, wakes you up. That's why it is important that the temperature in your room remains the same throughout the night.

There are many causes of insomnia. One of the reasons for your inability to sleep might be the fact that you don't spend enough energy during the day to be tired enough to go to bed at a reasonable time. If your job doesn't require any physical activity, be sure to include some in your free time. Studies find that moderate aerobic exercise early in the day can improve sleep quality.

As an insomnia treatment, pick your favorite activity that includes moderate aerobic exercise and do it at least 3 times a week. Just make sure that you don't do it in the evening, close to bedtime, to allow your body to wind down before bed.

Studies show that sex and a good night sleep are closely related. One affects the other. Not only does sex leave you tired due to physical exertion (usually men more than women), but it also releases hormones that relax you and make it more natural for you to transcend into sleep.

As an insomnia treatment, engage in sexual activities before bed. Sex can relieve you of stress, depression and anxiety, all of which are often connected to a poor quality of sleep, and can make you sleep better and longer. Reversely, good night sleep can increase your sexual desire and quality of your sexual experience.

One of the causes of insomnia can be said to be a bad pillow. A decent pillow goes a long way when it comes to a good night's rest. On the other hand, sleeping on a pillow that doesn't suit you, or on a pillow that is worn out, can negatively affect the quality of your sleep, cause you neck pain and intensify symptoms of various health conditions you might have.

When picking a new pillow, consider in what position are you sleeping. For people who like to sleep on their back, a thin pillow  with extra stuffing in the lower part for neck support should work. If you sleep on your side, you can get a firmer pillow. If you sleep on your stomach, you could probably sleep without any pillow at all, or on a very thin one.

You have lots of options for pillow fillings:

• memory foam
• latex
• wool
• cotton
• goose feathers

Pick the one that suits your needs and is affordable.

A consistent sleep rhythm is absolutely essential for a good "sleep hygiene". Try to go to bed every day at the same time and get up at the same time (+/- 1 hour), even during weekends. This will help your brain realize that at a certain hour, it's time for bed. Plan your everyday activities so that they don't interfere with your sleep schedule.

Make your bedroom a sanctuary. A place that will only be used for sleeping and making love with your partner. Don't work, eat or exercise there. Make sure that when you think about your bedroom, sleeping is first that comes to mind (or second, right after sex).

Researchers have found that foods containing melatonin, serotonin, tryptophan, potassium, magnesium and carbohydrates help to relax the body and mind. Also, high protein foods will help you get some rest by helping in the production of tryptophan. Such foods are all kinds of meat, eggs, dairy products, nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachio nuts), cherries, oatmeal, etc.

Be careful with using the TV or other electronic devices as part of your bedtime routine. Artificial, or blue light, produced by electronic screens, can severely impact your night rest in a negative way, especially when you watch at screens late at night.

Create a technology-free bedroom. The lure of the screen is too strong for many to turn off. If you simply must watch TV late at night, at least decrease brightness so it's affecting you less. 

If you’re not really tired, don’t force it. Tossing and turning can cause sleep anxiety. If it is late at night, and you cannot fall asleep, get out of bed and do something relaxing. If you wonder how to deal with insomnia, try meditation for insomnia, listen to soothing insomnia music, or walk around. When you start getting sleepy, go to bed. If you don't fell asleep in the next 20-30 minutes, get out of bed and try again.

If you are not sure how to deal with insomnia, try wearing ear plugs. Outside noises like traffic, neighbour's pet, loud party on the floor above you, all that can interfere with a good night rest. To cancel out agitating noises and enjoy a complete silence, use earplugs.

You can order them at Amazon. There are many types, so learn which ones works best fo you.

If you don't know how to stop insomnia, try This type of gentle yoga will help you relax and make it easier for you to sleep. You don't need any previous yoga experience. Check this video for instructions:

When lying in bed and having a hard time falling asleep, try squeezing and relaxing muscle by muscle, starting from your feet and going all the way up to your face.

Take your time, and concentrate on what you are doing. Breathe deeply while you are squeezing your muscles. This technique will relax your body and make it easier for your to fall asleep.

If you don't like insomnia pills, try Pzizz. It's an interesting app for Android and iOS with a patented algorithm. It uses isochronic tones, binaural beats and a combination of soothing male voice and music. 

Its success lies in the fact that each soundtrack is slightly different than the one before, so even though all soundtracks are very similar to each other, they are distinctive enough to prevent your brain getting accustomed to them. 

You can learn about it and download it from pzizz.com. It's completely free.

If taking insomnia pills is out of the question try using a white noise machine. For some people, white noise has a soothing effect and can sometimes treat insomnia. If you don't feel like spending money on a machine, you can try with simplynoise.com, a web-site that produces a white noise, along with some other noises.

Studies show that lavender oil is one of the essential oils for insomnia, which can improve the quality of your sleep, by increasing slow-wave sleep, the kind of sleep that is most important for a good night's rest. You can disperse it in air using an aromatherapy diffuser or just put a few drops under your pillow.

You can order lavender on Amazon (essential oil here and a diffuser here).

Meditation is a well-known technique for reducing stress. And with reduced stress, sleeping becomes much better. Make meditation part of your bedtime routine. For meditation techniques visit life.gaiam.com.

Keeping your brain active and entertained during the day is a great way to improve your intelligence, memory and even reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. But, late at night, that is the last thing you want to do. A "busy" brain in the evening hours tends to stay busy at night as well and prevent you from sleeping.

In the evening, avoid watching complex movies, reading challenging books or engaging in activities that stimulate your brain (such as playing chess, or discussing the origin of the universe with your friends). Focus on light reading, or simple house chores.

Can depression cause insomnia? Possibly, it can. If it does, to fight against insomnia, you need to win the fight against depression, first. St. John's Wort is a plant that works as an antidepressant and as such can relieve your anxiety and help you sleep better. You can order St. John's wort pills at Amazon.

Always check with your doctor if you are trying any herbal remedy.

A 2009 study from the University of Sussex showed that just six minutes of reading can reduce stress by 68% as it clears the mind and gets the body ready for sleep. When our mind is engaged in a world of words, the body relaxes, the tension evaporates, paving the way for sleep.

Just make sure that the reading material is not work-related or too complex as it can engage your brain too much and make it harder for you to fall asleep. Read something light, something that you find relaxing.

There are glasses specifically designed to block blue light that can cause you sleep problems. It is emitted by most electronics (computers, TVs, cellphones, even certain lightbulbs).

If you are spending all day or all night (or both) on a computer, consider wearing blue light blocking sunglasses to protect your eyes and increase the chance of a good night sleep.

Eating spicy food, especially in the evening, can decrease the quality of your sleep. Sweating, heartburn, flatulence, and general turmoil in your stomach can make it really hard for you to fall asleep or stay asleep.

Try to avoid eating spicy food, at least in the evening hours, if not completely.

There is not enough evidence to suggest that herbal teas have any effect on your sleep. But if you enjoy a good cup of tea and find it relaxing, it might be enough to relieve you of stress and help you fall asleep easier.

Some of the popular herbal teas are:

• Chamomile
• Lavender
• Lemon balm

Sometimes, our day gets so hectic that we forget about our problems. And then they sneak up on us, occupy our brain and mess with our sleep.

Each day, no matter how busy you are, dedicate 20-30 minutes, or more, to problems that are bothering you. It is less likely they will obstruct your rest at night if you resolve them, or at least contemplate about them, early in the day.

Having a 15- or 20-minute nap could give you that extra energy to perform better and successfully get through the day, especially if you are sleep-deprived.

But napping too long can interfere with your night rest, so don't nap more than 20 minutes or after 4 PM. For the benefits of napping and tips on how to make the most out of it, visit WebMD.

Even though the role of melatonin is complex and still not studied enough, it is certain that it affects the quality of your sleep. Don't spend an entire day inside. Go out and expose yourself to natural light as much as you can. That brings balance to your melatonin level, which can help you sleep easier at night. 

Eating a large meal late in the evening can occupy your digestive system for hours, make you bloated and gassy and give you heartburn, all of which could interfere with your sleep.

You don't want to go to bed too hungry because hunger can keep your brain alert and cause you discomfort and a sleepless night. The best thing to do is to have a moderate, healthy meal 2-3 hours before bedtime.

Lowering intensity of lights in your home signals the body that bedtime is near. You don't have to be in total darkness for hours, but you can install lights with adjustable level of brightness.

Avoid light bulbs (especially fluorescent and energy saving light bulbs) that have harsh, bright light. They often emit blue light that can affect the quality of your sleep. Look for light bulbs that are labeled "soft" and have a color temperature rating of less than 3000 Kelvin such as this one.

Alcohol may help you to fall asleep, however, it can disrupt your sleep cycles and make you restless at night. You don't have to completely abstain from alcohol, just don't drink it after 6 PM.

Even couple of beers late at night can cause you problems due to multiple visits to bathroom and dehydration that forces you to get up and have a glass of water in the middle of the night.

It is usually a bad idea (for insomniacs, anyway) to exercise right before bedtime, because you get all fired up (adrenaline is high, heartbeat is elevated), and all that makes it really hard for you to fall asleep. But, it seems that certain leg exercises can relieve your brain and appease your mind by redirecting blood to legs. Try some leg lifts or squats.

I know it doesn't make any sense, but according to a study conducted by Glasgow University, if you lie in bed and try to stay awake with your eyes open (you are allowed to blink) it will make you fall asleep faster then having your eyes closed and actually trying to sleep. It appears that trying to stay awake is quite tiresome and it may lead to falling asleep.

If you are lying in bed, unable to fall asleep, try visualizing yourself in some soothing and relaxing environment, maybe on a meadow full of flowers, or on a soft cloud. It can be a place from your everyday life, where you felt relaxed and calm, or it can be an imaginary one. Imagine yourself sleeping there without a care in the world.

This technique can reduce your stress and anxiety, and ultimately help you fall asleep faster.

Having a hot bath can relax your muscles and your mind, which is a prerequisite for a quality sleep. Make hot bath part of your bedtime routine.

I know you need to have some type of clock in your bedroom for the alarm. Most of us have cell phones that serve that purpose.

But, once you set up the alarm, turn the front of your clock or cell phone or whatever you use, away from you. If you happen to wake up in the middle of the night, do not look at the clock as this will only increase your anxiety. Just close your eyes and fall back to sleep.

Studies show that people are more likely to have a good night's sleep when they sleep in a tidy bed with a clean and tight sheet, pillowcase and cover.

Milk doesn't have any substances that would help you fall asleep. It does have tryptophan, an amino acid that can induce sleepiness, but not nearly enough to be effective.

But, having a glass of warm milk can have a psychological effect on you. It can calm your mind and remind you of the good old days, when your parents or grandparents would give you warm milk before bed. All that could help you fall asleep easier.

Stress, disease, and poor diet will all drain magnesium from your body. Most people are deficient of this mineral. Magnesium helps to relax the muscles and nervous system.

Best type is magnesium citrate or malate as they are easiest to absorb. Avoid magnesium oxide as this type has the lowest absorbance and can give you stomach issues. 

Experiment with dosage but don't go over 1000mg per day. If your initial reaction is diarrhea consider this normal and a sign that you were deficient. Magnesium itself does not irritate anything but relaxes the intestinal walls, hence the faster intestinal transit time or loose stool. Lower dose and build up slowly.

Suggested by: http://insomniacnextdoor.com

Sometimes the cure for insomnia requires more than a lifestyle change. You might need a tool to finally help you get to sleep. One of the simplest tools to try is a white noise machine. 

White noise is beneficial for several reasons. A white noise machine can drown out other distracting external noises that grab your attention and stir your thoughts, which can prevent deep sleep. A white noise machine can give you something to focus your attention on that is not thought provoking and is unremarkable. This serves to quiet your mind so you can drift into a peaceful sleep. 

If a primary cause of your insomnia is Tinnitus, then a white noise machine is indispensable. White noise can overwhelm the ringing in your ear caused by Tinnitus and provide some peace to quietly doze off into a deep sleep. We have a detailed article on what white noise is and why it works for insomnia on our website at letscureinsomnia.com

I know what you're thinking... "Huh? You tell me to make sleep my top priority? That's your advice? Why do you think I'm on this page!?"...

Yes, maybe you are already determined to fix your sleep issues, and that's great. But maybe you're not. Maybe you're bothered by your poor sleep, but don't really give all you can do to fix the issue. Go through the other solutions and think: "Do I actually give those suggestions a real try? Or am I just looking for the easy, quick fix?" 

Most likely there won't be an easy fix. You need to take it really seriously, and invest the time and effort (e.g. update your sleep diary, take time and reflect how to improve your sleep, stop looking at screens before bed time etc.). No pain, no gain. 

Again, if you're already doing this, then great. You can ignore this advice. But I didn't take it seriously enough, and only when I did, things started to improve. 

Spend time on it - it's worth it. Sleep is absolutely crucial for a happy, energetic and creative life. 

I frequently woke up during the night, and my mind started to become active, and getting upset about not sleeping (thinking I need the sleep to feel rested in the morning), which caused an issue of itself. 

I managed to reduce this issue by reminding myself that just lying in bed without sleeping can also be very restful. It's the same with naps: you don't have to sleep in order for the nap to give you new energy. 

Try it out: one time you get up during the night and become active (e.g. work), and on another occasion you stay in bed, with your eyes shut, and letting your thoughts wonder about. See how much more rested you feel during daytime in the latter case. 

I don't know why this is - maybe just keeping your eyes shut, blocking out visual signals is helping to recover - but I don't care about the exact reasons why. For me this is the case, so every time I awake during the night, I just stay in bed, reminding me about this fact, and not getting upset anymore than I cannot sleep. Which, ironically, helps me to sleep again.