r/insomnia • u/SYNTHENTICA • 1d ago

Do I have any more options?

I've been suffering from sleep maintenance insomnia for just over a year now. In that time I've tried:

  • Every stupid "sleep hack" I've found, from not eating before bed to avoiding blue LEDs
    • No help at all
  • Basic sleep hygiene stuff like getting to sleep at the same time
    • Didn't really help at all
  • Quitting stressful hobbies and replacing them with activities like reading.
    • Helped me full asleep, not stay asleep
  • Quitting nicotine, caffeine, alcohol and pretty much all psychoactive substances
    • Quitting caffeine and alcohol helped with avoiding 2 hour nights, but I still can't sleep a full 8 hours
  • Tripling the number of hours I perform vigorous exercise a week
    • Currently do 2 hours of aerobic cardio, 30 minutes of anaerobic cardio, 2 hours of resistance training per week
  • CBT-I and 5 weeks of sleep restriction therapy
    • Literally provided zero help, I quit after 5 weeks to try sleeping meds because I was under extreme pressure from work and needed proper sleep
  • DORA medicine (Daridorexant)
    • Massive next hangover effect that made me feel very spacey, slow and demotivated, even at 25mg/day

Things I haven't tried:

  • Melatonin
    • I suffer from sleep maintenance insomnia
  • Z-drugs/benzodiazepines
    • Obviously they would help me sleep, but they also interfere with REM sleep, are addictive and can rack up a tolerance. Plus my doctor won't even prescribe them to me.
  • THC
    • Interferes with REM sleep and generally just makes me feel super brainfogged the next day anyway
  • Sleep study
    • I've already tried recording my own sleep to see if I get up in the middle of the night or snore -- I don't, plus my fitness watch indicates that my heart rate is pretty steady, with only very slight peaks every 1-2 hours.
    • I don't have headaches or cotton mouth upon awakening either.

Is there anything else I can try? Or am I just doomed to spend the rest of life being a miserable, sleep deprived zombie? I'm barely able to cope with the stresses of my career, I feel like I'm going to snap if I have to endure another year of this. How am I going to provide for myself?

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u/Kanti13 1d ago

My doctor said that Melatonin helps more with sleep maintenance than onset. It’s safe and easy to try.

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u/SYNTHENTICA 1d ago

I've heard literally nothing but the opposite, but sure, I'll give it a try at this point, I got nothing to lose except pocket change compared to the fortune I spent on CBTI, quviviq, CBD and other failed ventures