Jump to content

Any ideas on how to improve sleep quality?


Recommended Posts

Hi all,

Allthough I sleep for 8-9 hours almost every night, I look and feel quite tired every single day. Also, since a few months i have been suffering from a cold, you know: running nose, coughing, sore throat, which does not seem to disappear. As you might know, the performance of the immune system is closely related to the amount of quality sleep a person gets, and I think this is the reason for my chronic cold. This has made me think that although the quantity of my sleep is fine, the quality of my sleep might be sub-optimal, possibly because of the disinhibition in my brain caused by HPPD.

I use an iPhone app that determines sleep cycles by measuring nightly movement and it shows that I have a fairly normal sleep pattern. Furthermore, the fact that I remember my dreams ocasionally suggests that I am able to enter REM sleep (although perhaps this says nothing). Anyway, I'm hoping to increase my sleep quality to an extend that it will be more refreshing/restorative and perhaps increases my general well-being (physical and psychological). Probably, a better night of sleep might be beneficial to all of us.
 

I'm interested in any of your experiences with supplements or medications that increases the quality of your sleep. Up untill now I often take magnesium before going to bed, I sleep in a very dark and quite room and even use a sleep mask now and then. Also, I don't have a hard time falling asleep and I usually do not wake up during the night. Its just that I do not feel (and look) very refreshed the next day.

 

I have been searching around a bit myself and I stumbled upon some articles about Gabapentin (links below), that proposedly increases sleep quality. I know some of the members here have used or are using Gabapentin, can you share your experiences about that? I would not want to take it every night, to prevent the build-up of tolerance against it, but perhaps once or twice a week to just give me a better night of sleep on some days. What are your experiences with the build-up of tolerance?

Any other ideas are welcome as well, thanks alot!

 

Cupasoup
 

Treatment effects of gabapentin for primary insomnia. (2012)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20124884

 

Gabapentin versus pregabalin in improving sleep quality and depression in hemodialysis patients with peripheral neuropathy: a randomized prospective crossover trial. (2013)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22644743

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I saw the topic of the post, my first thought was to mention Gabapentin as one pharmacological drug for sleep. 

 

I have my leg shaved from a skin graft and last night I could not sleep one minute -- I did not have my refill and there is a withdrawal. 

 

I am on 600mg three times daily. The first few days will give you a euphoric high and general sense of well being. This is a good reason they are finally investigating it for antidepressant use, 

 

It is both activating & calming at the same time. It is hard to describe, but I would say that I get more benefit in long term from gabapentin than I do/did clonazepam.

 

A gentleman from an insomnia group just followed me on twitter and posted about gabapentin, There are a lot of good things going for it: Not metabolized in your liver, no lethal dose possible without using the pill as a bullet and it is now generic and $15 for 90x600mg at a private pharmacy is the going rate. 

 

Also, 100mg can be very effective as well. Gabapentin can give a sense of mania without purpose and you will clean or do projects, but generally this is not a bad thing. 

 

I think gabapentin is superior to Lyrica ($355.00 for a month) for price and efficacy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks alot for your input guys!

I will try melatonin (time released) and valerian, which both seem to improve slow wave sleep, in addition to the magnesium I already take each night. If it is necessary I might add supplementary GABA to this stack.

 

I'll keep you updated! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gabapentin is alright, I take 2.4g daily and have been on it for over 2 months.  It is good for the first week but after that I don't notice anything. I know it is helping a little bit but it is so subtle I don't notice. As for sleep it does nothing for that either. This is for me, other people react differently. The first time you take it is awesome if you abuse it lol I took 3.6g the first time along with some other stuff and it was great but after that nothing lol. On the post above about Lyrica, I haven't tried Lyrica, I REALLY REALLY want to. The price blows like he says it can run you up to almost 400 bucks for a months prescription without insurance which is ridiculous and a generic won't be available until 2018. But from 99% of people who wrote about Lyrica compared to Gabapentin, Lyrica is bar none better. You are suppose to feel Lyrica everyday. It is much stronger, better results yada yada yada. I also want to try Gabapentin Enacarbil. It is just a better form of Gabapentin basically, I haven't read anyone taking it on here, I don't know what the cost is and I don't know how this compares to regular Gabapentin. If someone can answer this please do so.

Thank you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.