Problems after evening events

Posted by judybradford @judybradford, Oct 30 12:20pm

Does anyone have a problem getting to sleep after attending an evening event with lights and loud sounds and music, like a basketball game? What do you do, besides take Xanax, to get to sleep that night?

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gloaming | @gloaming | Oct 30 5:33pm

Go for a walk. Seriously. If you can do so safely late in the evening, go for at least a 30 minute walk. If you have a hot tub/spa, get into it for about 8 minutes, not much longer if it is set to the max recommended temp, When you get into bed, create something in your imagination. If you have an intense or complicated hobby, go through the several steps it takes to create something. Or so sums, subtractions, multiplications, and divisions in your head.

At some point you should find yourself having trouble staying on topic. Your mind will drift repeatedly. and you should soon drift off to sleep.

Try 3-5mg of melatonin about 20 minutes before getting into bed.

Keep your room cool. No more than 66 degrees ideally, but if you can sleep well with a few degrees cooler, bonus.

Consult a sleep specialist who can prescribe. Sometimes, may up to twice a week, you can take half a tablet of zopiclone or similar sleep aid. You do NOT want to use it regularly, and this includes the melatonin. Drugs/supplements/aids should all be used sparingly. I rarely use melatonin more than twice a week, and I haven't use zopiclone in 19 months. You don't want your brain getting used to any medications if you can help it, so even if you're prescribed it regularly, try to do it more sparingly after the first few good nights of sleep per the regimen prescribed. IOW, do follow the instructions/prescription, but try to get off it ASAP by using it every other night after a week or two, then every third night. See how it goes. If it doesn't work, continue with the prescribed dosage and let your doctor know of your experiment. There is no danger in that kind of experimentation (it's not like we're dealing with an antibiotic or some other drug like a steroid that does need to be taken as directed. If you take a night off your sleep prescription, the worst that could happen is you have a bad night. If heavy machinery and other driving is involved, there will be other warnings in your prescription about that, which you should follow. It wouldn't hurt to ask your prescribing physician if it would be okay to experiment like that after, say, the first week. I'm sure he/she would encourage you to use the aid as seldom as you can get away with, and if you could stop altogether, great!)