Does anyone have ideas on how to deal with/treat insomnia? My mom is having a major breakdown becuase she hasn't slept all week (again) and I don't know what to do to help. She has seen several doctors, completed a sleep study, has tried several medicines for restless leg syndrome and insomnia. The restless legs seems to be getting better but the sleep medicine makes her feel so out of it in the morning that she hates taking them. She called me crying on the phone about minor things that really aren't a big issue. I know it is becuase she is so tired. What can I do to help her? What can I suggest that she try? Any advice is welcome. Thanks for listening!

Me & my mom have issues sleeping. She takes Tylenol PM, but I worry about taking the extra meds (tylenol) that I don't need. I take Unisom. If I take it with anticipation of 8 hours of sleep- I wake up completely rested. If I take it after my 8 hour mark, I am groggy in the morning. I take 2 sometimes (dose is 1), but 1 will make me tired at least.

As for Restless Leg, I get that once in a while, but if I take Nyquil, Unisom, Tylenol PM, etc.. and when it 'kicks in', if I'm not closing my eyes to go to sleep, it really acts up.

I have a lot of trouble sleeping. My problem is that I can't fall asleep, I lay there for hours. I asked my Endocrinologist about it, and she does not like to prescribe medicines. She recommended a relaxation CD. I've been using it for about a week and it seems to be helping. Here's the link if you want to check it out sleep.html" rel="external nofollow">Sleep Music by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson - Music to Help You Sleep at TheRelaxationCompany

There is a variety of CD's to choose from. I chose the Sleepy Rain and Sleepy Ocean combo set. I love the ocean one, and it has helped me significantly. Whereas it used to take me 3 hours to fall asleep, I think I've been falling asleep in about 30-45 minutes. It might be worth a try. Good luck and I hope you mom can get some rest soon!

Drugs! For real. Not illegal mind you, but I'd get PMs.

Take the internet out of her house. For real, if she's on the computer at night it's been shown to disturb the bodys sleep patterns.

Keep us posted.

Georgia Girl - what a great idea!

I have problems sleeping too. It takes forever to get to sleep. I went to see a hypnotherapist (about weightloss), and I would listen to the CD she made for me (her voice with relaxing music in the background) and I would fall asleep listening to it. So even though the hypnosis wasn't for weightloss, it was so soothing it really helped me fall asleep. I've always had sleep problems since I was little, so this was huge for me.

How about a hot toddy or soothing tea before bed? A warm bath with epsom salts?

I've heard stimulating activities like being on the computer or watching TV is bad for getting to sleep. She could read in bed for a few minutes to relax.

This may be a little too "out there" for you, but have you tried reducing the amount of indoor air pollution? If you research this, it may help - but it would be a bit of an investment. Basically anything that has chemicals in it would have to go - treated carpet (change to hardwood, bamboo, etc, with throw rugs that can be washed), change the mattress (which has all kinds of chemicals for flame retardents) to a natural rubber latex or wool, use bedding that has not been treated with flame retardents (get untreated cotton or organic cotton), take out any pressboard furniture and replace with real wood (pressboard has a LOT of chemicals in it), etc, etc.

Drugs are great in the short-term, but long-term health should be thought of as well.

Thank you for all of your ideas! My mom was prescribed a new medication and has starting doing Yoga at night. She seems to be doing better. I'm hoping to get her a sleep CD to listen to at night.

Thanks again!

Try sensory deprivation (I think now they're called "sea baths") if you can find one - they're very trendy in overpriced spas right now.

The music is a good idea too. There are 4 categories of brain waves, and the Delta waves are the closest we can get to no brain activity and still be functioning. Look specifically for a CD that stimulates the delta waves. An amazon searchs hould find several options.