[wruza]

I have a recurring insomnia too. Nothing to recommend tbh, as I am still not alright, but my anecdotes are: 1. sleep pills do “power off”, but not a real “sleep”. You wake up in the same state at the moment a pill metabolizes. 2. A neck/collar massage seems to help to some degree. 3. A strong routine may help – before things went downhill, I could feel these two “want to sleep” hours which turn you off instantly and which are easy to skip and be awake for more time. Now I don’t feel them, but they’re still there. You may try to go to sleep before your insomnia kicks in; maybe your body is just missing this period by ignoring it completely. 4. Another cause may be purely psychological – long-standing anxiety and stress, which you do not count as real problems (everyone has problems!) and do not report to a doctor, but they are. 5. Have someone to “sleep with”, in a bed-sharing sense. 6. Ensure that your nutrient levels and inner organs are fine. In retrospect, all of the above did change my average state for better or worse over a period of around ten years (or it was a coincidence, idk). I know that experiments can bring even more suffering in your current state, so please discuss them with your health care first.

>insomnia is one of the worst form of suffering

I once had a “day” that lasted four days or so. The last one was pretty hell on earth. Idk how people stay awake for weeks in stories out there. For a reader who never experienced that: it is not “I don’t wanna sleep and it’s probably bad”. No, you are tired as hell, your brain is almost failing, you want to sleep, but you just can not.

[sy7ar]

Agree with your points and I might give massaging a try. I've let go of so many things and pursuits since my condition started so I doubt it's anxiety and stress. It's been more than half a year since I need to work (fortunate to be on company's disability benefit for now). Right now I simply wish to stay alive/healthy and enjoy simple things in life. Hopefully my sleep keeps recovering to a point that I can work full time again. For several months, it was super scary that it was only going down hill.

> you are tired as hell, your brain is almost failing, you want to sleep, but you just can not.

I know exactly what you mean. I was like that for the whole winter. Fortunately this scenario's not happened for quite some time. I'm at least getting some amount of sleep everyday.

[unishark]

Have you tried sleep headphones and/or noise generation? Also does listening to guided meditation/relaxation recordings (as opposed to just following a practice you read) do anything to knock you out?

[sy7ar]

Right now falling asleep is usually not a problem. Waking up early and then again and again is the problem; plus not sleeping more than 5.5 hours. This is an example from my sleep diary: bedtime 11:39, and the subsequent wake up times are 1:50, 3:16, 4:42, 6:01, 6:35. I wrote a simple app to track them without having to look at a clock. I only know the result when I'm out of bed.