The Epic Quest of an Insomniac

[maxzar100]

Insomniacs unite!!! In this thread, I am going to share all of the things and recipes I have tried for my chronic insomnia. Please feel free to list some of your experiences and saviors as well.
Deep Sleep Tincture: contained hops, passion flower, valarian root, no effect
Potent Hops tea: effective with fresh hops, 5g dose, 3 hours acetic acid cook
Valarian root (extract/tea): no effect
Dan Shen: slight effect, not reliable
Cannabis: Worked for a little bit, but did not improve deep sleep. No longer works, even with tolerance break.
Alch: Works, but feel terrible the next day

Tonight I am trying a new combo. It consists of the following:

1 dropper fennel/catnip tincture
15g cielo caapi (tannins removed)
5.5g fresh whole hops (nugget variety)
splash of white vin.

Caapi brewed separately, aya technique. Then hops added to caapi brew. Simmer for 30 min. Finally, a drop of tincture is added just before ingestion. I will report back on the effects.

Edit 2/7/2012: Caapi/hop/fennel/catnip combo was to stimulating, and I prob slept worse then if I had not ingested it at all. Strange indeed. I am at a loss here though. Twas my final trump card.

 

[ms_manic_minxx]

Orgasm 8) Oxytocin is a powerful sleep-inducer.

Faster than counting sheep and it's free.

 

[PrimalWisdom]

Hey Maxzar
Great thread idea – I think insomnia is becoming more and more prevalent and I for 1 would appreciate any tips.

I used to sleep very well, then around a year ago I got a promotion at work and my stress levels have shot through the roof. One of the side-effects of this stress is that I barely sleep anymore. I’m not sure what constitutes chronic, but I’m pretty much at my wits end.

I got some melatonin 3 weeks ago which helped a bit, but I’ve run out now and am back to lying awake staring at the ceiling. – It costs a fair amount to get it here – I know I should just get it online, but I’m also lazy. I was taking 2.5mg's an hour before bed and I would sleep soundly till around 5am.

I use passionflower and caapi leaf tea (2 grams of each boiled for 30mins) nearly every night and it helps me doze off in around an hour after getting into bed, but I wake up at 2am or so and just can’t get back to sleep.
I think I might try the hops tea – hopefully I can get some today.

I generally smoke weed on a daily basis but I don’t smoke at least 4 hrs before bed.

I really feel like a wreck lately. I haven’t slept properly the whole weekend, and could crash at my desk right now.

Happy snoozing

PW

 

[maxzar100]

Sorry to here about that primalwisdom I DO NOT RECCOMEND THE CAAPI AND HOP COMBO!!! It was rather stimulating, surprisingly!? I would try an ounce of FRESH hops simmered for 3 hours with a splash of vinegar. Then reduce and split into a couple of doses. Ingest 1.5 hours prior to sleep. The hops does well with keeping you asleep for a longer period. (the more bitter the hops are, the better.)

ms_manic_minxx, Thanks for the advice . Does not work for me though.... even when there is another person assisting.

 

[maxzar100]

Update:

Tried 5g of schizandria berries two hours before bed. No noticeable effects, but my immune system is working very well. Going to make a hops infusion with apple cider vinegar, and see how that goes.

 

[۩]

When I am not using cannabis indica for sleep I have found that a well made cup of kava kava is mild but relaxing enough to get to sleep. It's basically the only thing I have found that's actually effective for me other than stuffing my face full of tryptophan rich foods and passing out in a food coma.

 

[maxzar100]

Thanks house, I will give kava a t ry

 

[۩]

Recipe in case you're interested: I bust out the blender and put a good heaping of kava kava in there with some pretty hot water but not boiling. I add 1tbsp lecithin (emulsifier, any emulsifier works in this case but its pretty important imo) some cinnamon, maple syrup, and I let it blend for 5 minutes. After that I pour it into a cup without filtering and drink, leaving the sediment on the bottom. It's pretty lovely, especially combined with a low dose DMT. Kava kava is contraindicated with harmalas just in case you didn't know.

 

[jamie]

stop being in any unnatural light after it gets dark. I know it is hard but it is very normal and your body requires this to have a normal melatonin cycle. If I had problems getting to sleep this along with melatonin would be one of the first things I did.

Also, stop eating sugary things at night..even too much fruit at night for some people will slow down the melatonin release..fats at night actaully stimulate your melatonin cycle and slow you down.

 

[universecannon]

every try combining a decent dose of harmalas (whatever form) and a good dose of melatonin?

If i meditate while on that its very easy to drift into sleep, no matter what time of day

 

[maxzar100]

Thank you all for the good advice. Going to order the kava once I get some more money. I don't eat much at all once the sun sets down, and harmalas keep me awake now. I try to turn off all lights in my room and sleep away from electronics. Tried the schizandria combo again, did not get a wink of sleep. Last night was night 3 of 0 hours of sleep. If I have one more of these tonight, I will most likely be hallucinating tomorrow. The hallucinations start after the fourth day of no sleep for me.

I am afraid that I must resort to cannabis again, if not only to get a couple hours. I know its just gonna mess with my sleep pattern even more, but maybe I can sneak in a couple hours if I make a 5g edible or two....

 

[jamie]

did you just quit smoking? If so this can just be some withdrawls..it is common. Melatonin does help. What harmalas were you using? For this sort of thing just pure harmaline might be better as it is not stimulating like harmine.

 

[jamie]

did you just quit smoking pot? If so this can just be some withdrawls..it is common. Melatonin does help. What harmalas were you using? For this sort of thing just pure harmaline might be better as it is not stimulating like harmine.

 

[polytrip]

If your bio-clock is a bit off, there´s only one thing to syncronise it again: keep a rigid pattern for a few months. Go to bed the same time everyday, get out of bed the same time everyday etc.

And just keep going untill it becomes an automatism. Then one day, you´ll find you no longer need an alarm clock to wake you up because your own clock is finely tuned.

 

[jamie]

I would cut out all caffine in your diet as well..maybe things like cacao as well. No stimulants. Get some chamomile tea instead..that stuff is real sedating for me.

 

[maxzar100]

I rarely take any stimulants. I have learned to avoid them the hard way. As far as cacao, maybe once every couple of weeks.

I did recently quit cannabis, but my insomnia started before my cannabis use. Recently, I felt like cannabis was making my insomnia worse. It is now only effective for sleeping when I ingest large amounts of baked cannabis. Even then, it will help me fall asleep, but only for a short period of time. I have tried chamomile and have felt no effects at all, even with fresh material. As for harmalas, I have tried caapi tea, rue infusion sublingual, caapi copy, and long time ago pure harmaline from FV. I might try harmaline again and see how it goes.

Thanks for all of the good advice everyone.

 

[jamie]

have you tried just spending time in candlelight at night and listening to really mellow music? something not upbeat at all and laying down and maybe doing some meditation? Maybe dont try to sleep or get tired but do something that might promote it anyway.

Also what about exercise? Do some yoga and go for a run or bike ride durring the day..do enough to get physically tired and hungry.

 

[maxzar100]

I have been running 2-5 miles a day, I play raquetball for an hour, and I mountain bike a mile or two as well. Meditating does not really help to well for me. However, I will try candlelight after dark. The problem with that method, is that I am a university student, and I often have classes that go past sunset. I often go to bed exhausted, but I cannot fall asleep or stay asleep. It is very strange. The doctor has proven that it is a genetic problem, but none of the doctors I have seen or my family have seen have come up with a chemical reason for the sleep troubles. They told me that it is mainly a problem with REM sleep, that I am not able to fall into REM sleep for more then 20 min.

 

[slewb]

It's not like an herbal remedy or anything, but I have periods where I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and nyquil does the trick for me.

 

[boogerz]

I have found that a well made cup of kava kava is mild but relaxing enough to get to sleep.

Using house's idea I went to get some kava kava from a fijian man. My recipe will be using 4oz strained into 1 gallon of tap water. I will have 3- 9oz cups before dinner for 3 days and report back.

edit: first night- actually had a very difficult time sleeping
second night only one cup [after dinner] and went right to sleep
third night one cup and slept ok



i really believe more than anything else- exercise and being outside helps me sleep better.


sex works too!