Glo to sleep mask is awesome and cured my lifelong insomnia

[DougalMcDougal]

Thought I would just share my great news about curing lifelong severe insomnia

I have had it all my life (41 years old), typically taking me between 1 to 3 hours to get to sleep. I've just gotten used to it and have tried numerous things including

1. relaxation tapes

2. relaxation apps on iphone - i particularly like the app called instantsleep which i find frequently but not always works - however it takes around 20 mins to listen to it and you fall asleep with headphones so its fiddly

3. philips go-lite blue http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BL ... B001I45XL8 - this was somewhat helpful

4. back massage - this generally works quite well but is impractical unless you have a very loving partner or pro masseuse who can massage you to sleep every night

5. retimer glasses: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2012/11/22/retim ... ix-jetlag/ -this did not help me

6. good sleep hygiene - i use f.lux for mac, do not drink coffee etc my main vice from a sleep hygiene point of view is comptuer use late at night

7. meditation - no good for me as my mind wanders

8. progressive relaxation - where you systematically relax your body parts and pay attention to relaxing breathing slowly etc - - just not effective for me

there are numerous other things I've tried over the years none of which has consistently helped

I've been using the glo to sleep mask http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Sleeping-Ma ... B0014LZ162 for the last 6 weeks and since the first time i used it I have had 100% success in getting to sleep within 30 minutes - its awesome!!! (for me anyway) - just wanted to share this breakthrough as i was sceptical about it and definitely did not expect it to work however I've tried most sleep products on the market and thought I'd give it a go

[cosmo]

Congrats on finding yourself a solution that did not involve meds!

I practice good sleep hygiene as well and I try to maintain a stress free life. When I go to sleep, I zone out and think about nothing. I fall asleep within minutes. I don't have insomnia these days.

I don't know if that Blu lite works but I have the same one I use daily I also bring it to work and use it while I eat my lunch.

This thread below was a good one about sleepy hygiene as well:
Fortunate to have a good sleep doc w/ sage advise.
viewtopic/t86763/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=86084&p=784012

[Otter]

Sleep is wonderful stuff, eh?

7. meditation - no good for me as my mind wanders

That's what happens when you relax. It's common in meditation, in fact, it's actually part of some basic meditation techniques. If you try meditation again, don't worry if your mind wanders. That's a good sign. Don't kick yourself. Don't think about your mind wandering, how you will ever stop your mind from wandering, etc. Just go back to whatever you were using your focus for meditation (candle, mantra, sunlight on water, etc).

Give your focus your complete attention. Avoid focusing on the thought, "I am meditating on this candle," and instead focus simply on the flame itself. You'll relax. Your mind will wander. You'll notice eventually that you've stopped meditating. Then just go back to your focus. Repeat for 20-30 minutes twice a day. Reap amazing benefits.

[DougalMcDougal]

I think the glo to sleep mask is essentially a kind of facilitated meditation as you have to look at a blue dot and it stops your mind from wandering when u do so

Sleep is wonderful stuff, eh?

7. meditation - no good for me as my mind wanders

That's what happens when you relax. It's common in meditation, in fact, it's actually part of some basic meditation techniques. If you try meditation again, don't worry if your mind wanders. That's a good sign. Don't kick yourself. Don't think about your mind wandering, how you will ever stop your mind from wandering, etc. Just go back to whatever you were using your focus for meditation (candle, mantra, sunlight on water, etc).

Give your focus your complete attention. Avoid focusing on the thought, "I am meditating on this candle," and instead focus simply on the flame itself. You'll relax. Your mind will wander. You'll notice eventually that you've stopped meditating. Then just go back to your focus. Repeat for 20-30 minutes twice a day. Reap amazing benefits.