Melatonin works pretty well for me, but I find its strength fades every once in a while too. To up the effectiveness I take some with a couple of tylenols (or equivalent), and it seems to work better. And it makes for some pretty rad dreams.

sorry you can't sleep hope you find a solution soon.

Sounds like you have too much on your mind! find something to keep yourself at ease eg music, book e.t.c.

You've been through a lot of changes lately, a new job being the latest. It's not unusual to have some sleep problems in that scenario. Hopefully it'll gradually get better as time goes by, without any drastic intervention being required.

You can't become dependent on benadryl but you'll have a nasty hangover unless you take it with acetaminophen. I hear good things about melatonin but I've never had success with it. I'm lucky I work late, and I just take benadryl or a low dose of klonopin every once in a blue moon if I have to fall asleep early. I hope you get better sleep soon, lady.

I wouldn't worry about becoming physically addicted to Benadryl. So long as you're not having side-effects, don't have epilepsy, aren't breastfeeding you should be fine. Then examine what might be causing your insomnia and either take care of that or adjust your exercise and diet to promote sleep. Good luck!

-TTm

i don't know if your schedule will allow it, but when i have spells of sleeplessness, exercising myself into exhaustion generally works. the hard part is finding the gumption to exercise when i'm already so tired.

I take clonazepam. I don't have to take it all the time but my level of anxiety is high enough that I can take it during the day and function. I actually function better with it.... :/

But I don't think it's addictive. I'm sure you'd need a prescription, though...

I think it's amazing how much work screws you up. For real. The times in my life when I didn't have a job I slept much better and my stress was lower...then again, I never was in a position where I had severe, long-term stress from lack of a job. My jobless times have always been pretty short.

The best time in my life is when I quit working full time at the age of 28 to finish my bachelor's degree. I was working like a dog at school and money was pretty tight, but I felt a MILLION times better when I didn't have to sit at a desk 8 hours a day and deal with all the stress and bullshit of a job.

I know that's not an ideal solution though. In a perfect world, maybe...

Some people find chamomile tea to be soothing, to the point where it helps them fall asleep.

Or, milk that you've heated up until it just starts boiling, and then let cool down a little bit. Apparently bringing it to a boil changes it chemically, but you have to turn off the heat after that or it starts to burn.

I wouldn't expect either of these things to be a total cure, but they might help.

Insomnia is hell. I hope someone has some answers because I certainly don't.

My sleeptime is somewhat varied, usually I sleep in the afternoons or after midnight when i know my body is tired. Depending what type of book you read, maybe something you are only able to read a few pages at a time might help. Another thing I do is put on music very quietly to help regulate my breathing, don't know if it will help you or not? you could try that.

Another thing is to try and talk out your problems, I see that you work in a area that are able to do that. the one thing they teach nurses and doctors is how to turn yourself off from work. Maybe you should ask how they do it?