Source
r/Marijuana•
type-thc

Can't sleep. Need advice.

So, I try to go to sleep at night and my mind seems to be on infinite chatter mode. I don't get it. I've always had trouble getting to sleep, but I solved it for a while when I started smoking pot. Now it's back and it seems worse than it was before. I'll sit in bed for 3-4 hours and never feel tired. I've tried just getting high as shit and make myself pass out, but not even that works anymore. I end up getting high for a while then realizing it's an hour or two later and I feel no different than before.

I guess what I'm looking for is advice on how to shut my mind up. People usually tell me to just chill for a while before bed, don't do anything interactive, and try to relax. Well, I'm usually relaxed regardless of what I do before bed, but once I lay down and turn the lights off my mind starts blaring thoughts through my head at a million miles an hour. Starting to get really sick of it.

BTW This may not seem to be related to MJ, but the pot seems to have made it worse. It may have something to do with the amount I have been smoking lately (a lot) and how it has affected my tolerance. I may have became slightly dependent on MJ, when it comes to getting to sleep, then when my tolerance went up it no longer had the knocking out effect it used to ???

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Posted Jul 26, 2009, 12:54 AM UTC

315
deltree•

unstoppable sleeping formula: exercise during the day for at least 30m, stop using computers 2 hours before bed and take some deep rips of a nice pure Indica.

5
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
[deleted]•

Do you exercise regularly?

3
type-thcOP•

I ride my bike to work and back, which is about 15 miles round trip. I don't get a lot of exercise, but I'm definitely no slouch.

3
[deleted]•

Seems like a decent amount.. maybe you should pick up running, or weight training as well? I know on days that I lift, I pass right the fuck out come bed time.. Also reading before bed helps me. Reading always makes me sleepy, especially if I'm high..

3
type-thcOP•

Weight training seems like a good idea. I got really into in high school and for a few years after, but once I dropped it all around it's really hard to get back into it. My self discipline is definitely not what it used to be unfortunately.

BTW the MJ doesn't help in that department for sure :P

2
sutcivni•

Swimming always makes me want to take a nap.

1
RDEB•

One thing is to try not to think about things. This may be difficult at first, but as ideas come into your head, just try to let them pass through without thinking about them. You can see the idea, but don't lock onto it. Another thing to try is just counting down from a large number. You may get side tracked as ideas flow into your head, but just go back to the counting. I usually start at 1000, and I don't think I have ever made it past 900 - although I don't have to do this often, as I can usually fall asleep easily. My issue is the random wake up in the middle of the night and ideas (possibly from dreams) continue to flow and activate your brain.

My theory on the problem is the brain jumps from idea to idea, and this jumping continues to activate different parts of the brain that with inactivity would go into sleep/hibernate mode. As you continue to think about different ideas, these parts of the brain get reactivated - so the hibernate process starts again.

One other thing I usually do is listen to BBC world radio as I am falling asleep. This allows me to listen to other ideas, but it is difficult to follow my own ideas as they keep getting interrupted by the radio.

Sometimes the quiet of the mind is not very quiet.

Good luck.

2
type-thcOP•

I've never really thought about listening to radio shows/pod casts like you and a few others suggested. I'm going to try that out tonight as it seems like it would work pretty well.

Sometimes the quiet of the mind is not very quiet

Unfortunately not. In fact, the quiet of my mind seems to be it's loudest moment.

Thank you for the advice. Some new methods to try out can't hurt.

1
permaculture•

I try to avoid scoring after 9pm, especially if I've run out of weed for a while. Cos it's hard to not smoke any, and if I have a puff I'll be up all night thinking.

So first, I try to avoid smoking up for the first time in ages, if it's too near bedtime.

If you're lying there trying to get to sleep, and there's work to go to in the morning, I find a little reading is probably the best way to nod off. The book calms your thoughts, your eyes start to close, you re-read the same sentance three times. It's time to put out the light.

HTH :)

2
Thinksforfun•

hot showers right before bed make me crash out pretty fast.

2
SageRaven•

Try taking melatonin and turning down the lights an hour before you try to go to bed. No TV, no computer monitors.

2
roundball•

I listen to my Ipod. I don't listen to music. I download a podcast, radio show or a audio book.

2
agentmith•

I've had this problem forever, and the only thing that works for me is playing a video game before bed, something rpgish usually. The mellow repeating music and the turn based gameplay are very relaxing and i usually pass out in the middle of playing, wake up at a later time turn it all off and resume sleeping (or forget about it and go through several PS1s from wear and tear, damn it's fine RPG selection). It commands the attention of several senses to i don't usually have a chance to think about random things while playing and exhaustion invariably kicks in within 10-20 minutes.

I've noticed that my overall stress levels directly influence my brain's chatter when my head hits the pillow also, but dealing with stress is a whole different conversation.

2
phleef•

10 mgs of Zolipem tartrate, aka Ambien, will do the trick.

0