The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Bananas
Posted by Eric (Mt. Airy, Maryland) on 03/07/2007
★★★★★
For me, its not eating a bannana before bed, rather incorporating bannanas into my diet. If I eat 1 or 2 a day I can fall asleep with no problems whatsoever.
Sam-E
Posted by Sharon (Boston, MA) on 02/04/2007
★★★★★
My husband had a habit of waking up at 2:00am in terrible anxiety every night. ' The rest of the night was toss and turn, toss and turn. I started him on SamE and overnight, the pattern ceased. Now he loves it and takes it every night. No more insomnia, no more anxiety, no more depression. Good stuff!
Bananas
Posted by Leah (Victoria BC) on 03/06/2006
★★★★★
Try eating a banana at bedtime. My stepfather suggested this when a girl he knew had a hard time sleeping after getting into drugs. I tried it & it worked!!
Ear Plugs
Posted by Rose (Newport News, VA) on 11/27/2005
★★★★★
Earplugs, earplugs, earplugs. After attending an airshow, I realized that if earplugs worked to quiet the sound of jetplanes, they must surely work to muffle the sound of a snoring husband! They have allow me to fall sleep more comfortable and wake up much more rested. Highly recommended inexpensive solution to a serious problem.
Ear Plugs
Posted by Diane (Gulf Shores, AL) on 10/06/2005
★★★★★
20 years ago a DOCTOR told me to try ear plugs when I could not sleep and was waking all hours of the night. Sure enough that was the problem he said I had excellent hearing and that the night noice kept me awake. Now the noice = is muffled enough for me to sleep.
Onion by the Bedstand
Posted by Rich (Las Vegas, NV)
★★★★★
Cut an onion in half and place it by your nightstand. You will sleep like a baby. My mother did this for years.
Don't Stress!
Posted by Coty (Gray TN)
★★★★★
Stress is a leading cause of not being able to sleep well. Be careful though. You don't want to stress about not stressing. Don't stress about not sleeping either. Just enjoy being able to relax and be there in your warm bed.
GABA
Posted by jake (Chicago) on 10/15/2022
★★★★★
Tracy: I used to have sleeping issues. I cured myself and now am regularly soundly asleep within minutes after taking a third of a teaspoon of GABA powder. It is tasteless. I am 78 years old and have among other issues, prostate issues. When I awaken every 2,3 or 4 hours to go to the bathroom, I just take another dose. Of the many people I have turned on to GABA, I've heard many rave reviews and no failures. The same goes for the people turned on to it from those my friends and family forwarded the remedy. I take high doses of melatonin and other herbs for health reasons, but the GABA works like a charm by itself. My son btw takes it in a capsule, and it works as well for him - his comment the first night he tried it the the next morning was - it is intense -LOL. Try it - I think it will change your life, maybe dramatically.
Brewer's Yeast
Posted by Candy (Stuart, FL) on 06/15/2022
★★★★★
I started using Brewer's Yeast (Nutritional Yeast) about 30+ years ago. I have discovered over the years how it has cured the worst diarrhea and vaginal candida. Since 2016 I started taking it not as a solution to a problem but an almost daily supplement and have amazing results. I sleep so well when I take it regularly. Cures all types of insomnia. I also have been taking it to keep me healthy. I have not had a cold for years and I was using it while working in the classroom. If I forget to take it I have gotten sick over the years but I have learned to take it right away when I am coming down with something and it helps amazingly.
I use 2 heaping tablespoons in a small cup of warm water. (tastes the best). Make sure you stir it and taken best like a "shot". I really don't mind it. I look at it as feeding the health gut bacteria that works for me.
D3, B3, B12 and B Complex
Posted by Ivanka (Nevada) on 07/12/2021
★★★★★
The supplements that I had the most success with for my severe insomnia were:
- Vitamin D3 5000IU every night for a couple of weeks and then one every other night.
- Vitamin B3 (niacin) 500mg every night plus
- B12 5000mcg
- and B complex in liquid form.
I hope this helps you too.
Vitamins D and B Complex
Posted by Tessa (Okanagan) on 03/30/2021
Hi GertJr -
That's a really good question! I found this article very informative:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d2-vs-d3#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6
Vitamin D3 is only found in animal-sourced foods, whereas D2 mainly comes from plant sources and fortified foods (it's cheaper to produce).
Vitamin D3 appears to be better than D2 at improving vitamin D status.
You can also get Vitamin D3 through sun exposure on your bare skin. The further you are away from the equator, the harder it is to get proper D3 levels from sun exposure alone.
If your total Vitamin D levels are in the optimal range, I wouldn't worry about the breakdown between D3 and D2 (none of my tests had a Vitamin D2 category - just D3).
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
Tessa
Sunflower Seeds
Posted by 2q&learn (Southern California) on 10/11/2020 148 posts
★★★★★
When I want hell to relax & get sleepy at bedtime, I've found that eating Sunflower seeds soon helps me relax & start yawning! (For extra help, I add a Banana.)
When I've eaten foods high in Phosphorus it creates an imbalance, & I wind up getting painful leg cramps, usually at night. When I eat either Sunflower seeds (or Almonds) that same day, I never get those cramps!
Calcium
Posted by Jacqueline (El Paso, TX) on 02/19/2024 24 posts
Hi Clatterbuck! Would you please share which brand, and which kind of calcium and dose you take?
Melatonin
Posted by Gertjr (Madison) on 08/01/2020
Do you really think I would say I cannot take magnesium if I haven't tried? Trust me. With my ibsd, ANY form of magnesium will trigger my bowels. Period. I can use mag oil but only up to a point. As I said in my post, I swim several miles on the days I don't lift weights. I am doing everything in my power to get myself some sleep. Not much works and, like the melatonin, what works one day may not work the next.
Melatonin
Posted by Gertjr (Madison) on 08/03/2020
Art, is the LDN over the counter or by prescription? I would definitely try it but, when I look at Amazon, I don't see it. Can you tell me where to get it or recommend a brand? Thanks. I see my gastro doctor at the end of August, so a prescription would probably be doable.
Sleep Smoothie
Posted by Canadianguy (Victoria ) on 05/11/2019 15 posts
★★★★★
I use mango,coconut water, banana, and sweet potato for sleep, and it really works!
I read that these ingredients help with insomnia, which is typical for me now, and decided to try them, and they're great!
I make a smoothie with mango, banana, and coconut water right before bed. I usually eat more banana then and also eat some previously còoked sweet potato then too. Any kind of sweet potato works, but the purple colored ones work even better than the orange coloured ones, which are just fine. It's even better when I add GABA and tryptophan powder, but it's mostly the regular smoothly that does the work.
Ps the book says if you eat greens of some kind with the mango, it KEEPS you awake instead. I wonder if that means at dinner too.
Gelatin
Posted by Beryl M. (Nottingham UK) on 03/17/2019
★★★★★
I came across this remedy quite by accident. At the time I couldn't lose weight and wondered if it had anything to do with my thyroid (it didn't) but a particular website recommended taking a tablespoonful of gelatine in orange juice before going to bed. I tried this and discovered that it helped me sleep. I now get between seven to eight hours sleep a night, apart from one trip to the loo! The gelatine is readily available from your local superstore, and mine come in individual packets containing one tablespoonful. It does not dissolve easily, but keep stirring. I have mine mixed with a small amount of milk. Worth a try, and it certainly will not harm you.
Borax
Posted by Tammy (Australia ) on 11/12/2019
TeSa, I have not slept for 2.5 years, except for some dozing. I experience hypnagogic hallucinations (this is what a sleep scientist calls it) - like dreams but more vivid & strange, & no REM is involved (so there's no rest or any of benefits of REM sleep). I know this b/c around the dozing and hyp. hall., I am either alert or aware orboth. I experience time passing. So if someone says they're not sleeping, I'd take them at their word. It's possible, of course, to think you're not when you are, but I think that's the case for ppl with difficulty sleeping, not total lack of sleep. It is definitely a possible situation & the effects are evident for us & others - in a different way to when we were having "just" difficulty sleeping, not complete insomnia.
Borax
Posted by Tina (Croatia) on 12/12/2019
To answer on my own question I have insomnia because of high cortisol and aldosterone levels.
Doctors didn't gave me any medicines because I don't have cushing syndrome.I know that cortisol is stress hormone but I am not stressed and I have this problem for 10 years.I tried adaptogenic herbs and they didn't work.
Can someone recommend me something to lower cortisol levels.Thank you
Calcium, K2 + Holy Basil Tea
Posted by Maureen (USA, Maryland) on 03/11/2019
★★★★★
I've, by accident, discovered a couple of new things that have improved my sleep. With aging a good nights sleep has become harder to accomplish. I noticed that when I started taking a low dose calcium supplement with a vitamin K2 supplement in the evening I started getting sleepy about an hour later. This happens every time I take them so I don't think it's just a coincidence. The calcium and vitamin K2 give me a really good night's sleep. Also, I noticed that when I drink tulsi tea (holy basil) I get very sleepy and when I drink it in the evening I don't wake up to go to the bathroom. I'd like to see if these things help other people with their sleep problems.
Valerian
Posted by Betty (Florida) on 03/07/2019
★★★★★
Valerian helps me sleep at night, deeper+ longer.
Occasionally I also take tryptophan along with valerian once or twice a month if I am stressed out. I take a valerian capsule around 8pm, about 2 hours after dinner. Not too early and not too late.
