Sleepless in Lawrenceville

In the RARE instance that I can't sleep, I take melatonin. You can get it amost anyplace that sells "dietary supplements". It usually comes in 3 mg tablets, but I only need 1/2 of a tablet to do the job. Take it about 1 hour before you want to sleep. It can have a bit of a "hangover" effect, so don't drive or skydive in the AM unless you are sure you are wide awake. As an added bonus, it seems to make the day after a bit calmer. -LBJ Bah! That's because you "rarely" have sleep problems. This stuff might help at the margins. Beth: The book written by the former director of the Mayo Clinic Insomnia Program and Sleep Disorder Clinic is titled "No More Sleepless Nights." Here are the herbal meds it lists as potentially being useful, particularly because our bodies produce less of them as we age: B vitamins (although B12 can get you all hopped up and energized) Calcium (but is really hard to properly absorb, as you probably know) Zinc Copper and Iron Tryptophan (amino acid) Melatonin (sex drive downer) BUT there are no definitive studies on most of this stuff or those that exist are not well documented. They have side effects and can interact with other meds. So be careful with this stuff. If I have a bad case of insomnia, none of this stuff works for me. But everyone is different and there are many different types of insomnia (hormonal, physiological, psychological) and different insomniac-draculinas/draculas. Behavioral therapy is the recommended treatment. Some people also have success with deep relaxation and breathing technique. I am too impatient for this and not meditative enough. Most importantly, we are supposed to be taking a lot of vacations. I think the lack of non-swim-related vacations are depriving me of sleep. Ack. We need Gull or fanstone. I'm just the daughter of a doctor, not a doctor myself.

In the RARE instance that I can't sleep, I take melatonin. You can get it amost anyplace that sells "dietary supplements". It usually comes in 3 mg tablets, but I only need 1/2 of a tablet to do the job. Take it about 1 hour before you want to sleep. It can have a bit of a "hangover" effect, so don't drive or skydive in the AM unless you are sure you are wide awake. As an added bonus, it seems to make the day after a bit calmer. -LBJ Bah! That's because you "rarely" have sleep problems. This stuff might help at the margins. Beth: The book written by the former director of the Mayo Clinic Insomnia Program and Sleep Disorder Clinic is titled "No More Sleepless Nights." Here are the herbal meds it lists as potentially being useful, particularly because our bodies produce less of them as we age: B vitamins (although B12 can get you all hopped up and energized) Calcium (but is really hard to properly absorb, as you probably know) Zinc Copper and Iron Tryptophan (amino acid) Melatonin (sex drive downer) BUT there are no definitive studies on most of this stuff or those that exist are not well documented. They have side effects and can interact with other meds. So be careful with this stuff. If I have a bad case of insomnia, none of this stuff works for me. But everyone is different and there are many different types of insomnia (hormonal, physiological, psychological) and different insomniac-draculinas/draculas. Behavioral therapy is the recommended treatment. Some people also have success with deep relaxation and breathing technique. I am too impatient for this and not meditative enough. Most importantly, we are supposed to be taking a lot of vacations. I think the lack of non-swim-related vacations are depriving me of sleep. Ack. We need Gull or fanstone. I'm just the daughter of a doctor, not a doctor myself.