Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- 32.1K All Categories
- 27.1K LSAT
- 16.5K General
- 5.1K Logical Reasoning
- 1.3K Reading Comprehension
- 1.7K Logic Games
- 72 Podcasts
- 193 Webinars
- 9 Scholarships
- 193 Test Center Reviews
- 2K Study Groups
- 108 Study Guides/Cheat Sheets
- 2.4K Specific LSAT Dates
- 7 June 2024 LSAT
- 1 April 2024 LSAT
- 11 February 2024 LSAT
- 23 January 2024 LSAT
- 37 November 2023 LSAT
- 41 October 2023 LSAT
- 12 September 2023 LSAT
- 38 August 2023 LSAT
- 27 June 2023 LSAT
- 1 August 2024 LSAT
- 30 Sage Advice
- 4.8K Not LSAT
- 3.9K Law School Admissions
- 11 Law School Explained
- 9 Forum Rules
- 580 Technical Problems
- 275 Off-topic
Related Discussions
3 Likes
Zzzquill to help fall asleep
Hey everyone,
So I have been seriously considering some sort of sleep aid to help me form the habit of going to bed at an earlier time. The problem is I like to fight my sleep. Like I really fight sleep and I could be super tired.... So I have been thinking of trying out ZZZquill to see if that might help me just fall asleep faster. Have anyone of you tried it? Would love to know what you guys think.
Also, I want to give it up as soon as I feel like my habit of going to bed early has been formed. So I need it to be non-addictive. It says on the bottle it is but I do want to confirm that.
I want to go from this:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/dd/3f/fa/dd3ffab90cc338666f192fd86f6a4f8f.gif
To this:
http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/sites/default/files/inline/ariel-comfy-bed.gif
So I have been seriously considering some sort of sleep aid to help me form the habit of going to bed at an earlier time. The problem is I like to fight my sleep. Like I really fight sleep and I could be super tired.... So I have been thinking of trying out ZZZquill to see if that might help me just fall asleep faster. Have anyone of you tried it? Would love to know what you guys think.
Also, I want to give it up as soon as I feel like my habit of going to bed early has been formed. So I need it to be non-addictive. It says on the bottle it is but I do want to confirm that.
I want to go from this:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/dd/3f/fa/dd3ffab90cc338666f192fd86f6a4f8f.gif
To this:
http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/sites/default/files/inline/ariel-comfy-bed.gif
Comments
Sami, I personally don't have experience with any sleep aids but I've heard positive things about zquil. If I remember correctly, I believe @"Cant Get Right" has used it
I was going to recommend melatonin pills because they're usually better for you, but you have to 'TRY' to sleep as you take them otherwise you can develop an immunity for them -- so based on your situation, I would not recommend these at all
@lawschoolstuff16 That's really great to hear that they are not addictive and don't have any serious side-effects. So I am definitely leaning towards giving it a go.
Seriously thank you both @"Cant Get Right" and @"lawschoolstuff16". This was some great advice and knowledge.
@"Alex Divine" lol I know dude. And part of the problem with my sleep is you
I think @"Cant Get Right" has it pretty much down to a science. His method seems pretty legit and I know tons of others who have followed suit. My whole problem is my brain won't shut off. I have some prescription stuff that helps, but leaves you feeling groggy. No Bueno
Anyhow, the ingredient in Zzzquil that causes sleep is diphenhydramine (an antihistamine, the same one found in Benadryl). Plenty of people use diphenhydramine as a sleep aid. But, one thing that you need to keep in mind is that it promotes sleep via sedation. What you should aim for, instead, is sleep promotion via sleep-pattern adjustment. In other words, your sleep-pattern is probably out of whack - I'm guessing you're either in college, or a recent grad. You need to readjust it so that your body naturally wants to sleep at a certain time. Melatonin tends to aid in the aforementioned task.
Diphenhydramine works wonders if you're just not having a good night, and really need to knock out ASAP. But using it every night isn't going to correct your sleep pattern.
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with me. I did take it into consideration and it was really helpful. Thanks!
@Lawschoolstuff16 @"Cant Get Right" @"Alex Divine". Once again thank you for all your help! I really appreciate it and it means a lot to me that all of you shared your experiences with me and tried to help me. So thank you! : ). And a special shout out to @bjphillips for checking up on me and making sure I had support
I guess a little update: At the end I did not end up taking Zzzquill. lol! I seriously intended to and I went and bought it yesterday evening and put it on my nightstand with a glass of water. But at first I decided to drink some Jasmine tea and do some meditation. @bjphillips5 You would be so proud, I finally bought a subscription to Headspace and I used the 10 minute sleep exercise. I wasn't sure it would work and in case it didn't I was ready to take Zzzquill and I remember tossing a bit but then suddenly I was out!
I don't know how but I woke up by myself at 3:49 A.M! No Alarm! and surprisingly felt super refreshed; I worked out, ate breakfast, read a book and its only 6:40 A.M. but I am sitting on my desk ready to study LSAT.
I hope this becomes a habit, and I am going to do something similar tonight too. But in case it doesn't there is always Zzzquill right there ready for me.
Thank you everyone! You guys are great.
How I feel right now:
https://media.giphy.com/media/DYH297XiCS2Ck/giphy.gif
Thanks : )
This is what I use to get back into a 11-6 sleep schedule when I fall out of it
Have you tried going for a run a few hours before bed? I always sleep better after working out.
Zzzquil worked for me, but only the melatonin gummies. For some reason the liquid form doesn't work as well.
have u tied warm glass of milk with a pinch of turmeric before bed?? it is an age old natural remedy that will have u dozing away soon after...has to do with being a natural laxative and easing the digestive functions to trigger body into rest mode...
also yoga helps naturalize regular sleep patterns....
had to suggest the hippie way of doing it
I think it’s very important to have a balanced study routine....this includes taking time to unwind. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, I’d highly recommend taking anywhere from 30-60 mins at the end of the night to unwind.
Watching an episode or two of Netflix and drinking a glass or two of wine (I personally prefer whiskey) will help you get those sleepy eyes real quick. Plus anti-oxidants from the wine is an added bonus lol
Lol - I'm reading this thread and its nearly a year old!
lol definitely very old. But probably still relevant.
For anyone wanting to know progress on this I have found that an evening routine where I start with yoga at 8:30 pm, take a shower at 9 pm, and drink some warm tea in bed while reading a book to be immensely helpful in falling asleep. I also have my room set up with smart lights that start dimming at 9:30 all the way till 10 pm. This way I am basically asleep by the time lights go off naturally. I have also found that not having any more screen time after yoga to be helpful. I used to try to fall asleep by watching tv shows on my laptop. It just doesn't work. I think having the screen on, even cell phone, can interfere with sleep.
@RJmazo14
lol I don't know about alcohol. I have found alcohol to cause me headaches the next day and not worth it.
I love hippie stuff
. For some things at least. lol 
Actually my mom is Indian and I remember she used to give me home made fresh keifer mixed with turmeric right before bed. She used to get fresh turmeric from Indian stores. I no longer live around those so I don't know where I would get them from. Walmart never seems to have them
I run around 6 pm. I do think I sleep better on those days
Haha yes this thread is old but always relevant. I'm a terrible insomniac too! Just naturally a night owl, and then sometimes I get anxiety at night that just doesn't allow my brain to shut off. Sometimes I'll be SO tired but completely incapable of falling asleep; it's the worst.
I take melatonin - I like 3mg of the Nature Made brand specifically. It's readily available and for some reason works better than others for me. I feel like it is faster acting so it makes me sleepy faster. (Beware with melatonin: per my naturopath, taking 3mg is safe but taking any more of it regularly can make your body stop producing as much melatonin on its own. So that should be max dose.)
That said, I also recently started taking a magnesium supplement and it is magic!! It's called Natural Calm. You dissolve the powder in a glass of water and drink it before bed. That in combination with the melatonin has nearly cured that anxiety-ridden insomnia for me! It's definitely not cheap, but if you want to invest in it I think it's worth it. It's a natural de-stressor and anti-muscle cramping. Side benefit is that I've been sleeping sooooo much better. But those other uses also sound good for LSAT study haha.
Melatonin is my favorite too!
10 mg maxiumum strength Melatonin do the trick for me.
Yes, routines help; maybe a year ago, I listened to a podcast of "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" where she interviewed people with insomnia, and it was good and helpful to hear people's empathy for each other's struggles. I'm really glad to hear things have improved.
hi, zzzquil is great, but i don't recommend taking it the night before a PT or the actual test unless you wake up 4-5 hours before the test. I'm usually really slow and groggy the morning after. I take it when i experience bad insomnia and it's worth feeling a bit groggy and get 8 hours of sleep over getting 2-3 hours a night for a long period of time.
You can try melatonin pills instead of zzzquil. It helps me fall asleep.
Y'ALL. I am very much a night owl. What has helped me for years in maintaining a regular sleep schedule is melatonin. It's naturally produced in the body and really powerful -- you only need about 10mg. Take 30 mins before falling asleep and you'll be out. It doesn't make you groggy the next day either.
Relevant article from the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/01/how-to-sleep/508781/
And this:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/10/better-than-ambien/543771/
Honestly, the glasses the dentist gives you to protect from the bright lights, wear those as early as 2 hours before bed.
https://www.shoplet.com/Honeywell-Uvex-Ultra-spec-2000-Eyewear-S0360X/SEPTLS763S0360X/spdv?gclid=Cj0KCQjwm9vPBRCQARIsABAIQYdwYdyS-iAOuk4iv_lGOeZhvpzn_kzfrl6h3G4LO1v4CrDD5c6NSBoaAorpEALw_wcB
I haven't read this entire thread but the best thing for me was marjoram oil, not sweet marjoram. There's a difference. I tried all kinds of melatonin. Def brands and dosages and I got no results. I was abusing Benadryl but I need it because I'm allergic to a lot of crap so I figured I needed something else. I was taking Tylenol PM but eventually got a prescription for Ambien. It worked but I wasn't able to stay asleep and I also hallucinated. I saw a gorilla at the foot of my bed, there were chicks making out in my bed and the Grim Reaper was standing in a corner in my bedroom. I stuck with that for about a year but that wasn't for me. The oil was about $10 and I've never looked back. Highly recommended. You can put it in a diffuser and run it about an hour before bed, swipe a little under your nose, put a few drops on a cotton ball and put in your pillow case or inhale a few times sniffs in each nostril.
I have been wanting to give an update on this for a while now. It's always good to reflect and see what has worked and what didn't. So here are a few things I tried.
Watching shows on Laptop: I think this is like our default strategy to fall asleep. It has never worked nor do I think it ever will. lol
Zzzquill: I tried this and although it definitely put me to sleep, it also knocked me out to the point that I would feel tired well into the day. My brain would feel sluggish for a big part of the day and it required a lot of coffee to get myself to start being productive. It's not something I felt that was conducive to LSAT. Maybe it doesn't have the same effect on everyone but for me, I had to ditch it if I wanted to study.
Meditation/Headspace: I felt like I didn't really get helped by this. I used the sleep session a lot and at the end you have to count down from 1000 very slowly. I remember I could keep doing this for a long time and just still not be able to sleep. Some days it would work, some days it wouldn't. I had to find something else that was consistent.
So what did work....
Funny enough, when I found a solution, I completely forgot that I solved my problem. It wasn't until recently that some events lead me to be without it and my old problem came back that I realized how effective they had been.
So what did work was a combination of things. I have a hard and fast rule of not having any screen time after 9:30 pm. When I go to sleep, I keep my phone charger extremely far from my bed. This ensures that I don't stay on my phone lying in bed. This also means when the alarm goes off in the morning, I have to get up to snooze it and what's the point of snoozing if you are already out of the bed. Might as well now go and workout! lol Besides, once I am off the bed, my dog ensures that I don't get back into it. She gets super excited and jumpy because out of bed means its her walk time and later on we run together. But its not sufficient. I also started around the same time a bed time ritual. I brew a cup of herbal tea and take a fun book to bed. I have basically re-read all the the harry potter books and I am now reading the Casual Vacancy (any book suggestions are welcome
. A couple of weeks ago I ran out of my herbal tea and I ordered some online from Rishi tea. Little did I realize they take about a week and a half to arrive - I guess I am spoiled by amazon! Within two days, I could no longer fall asleep. I would just lay there or go annoy my boyfriend because he could stay up -he didn't find it funny. lol It suddenly occurred to me that I used to be like this a year ago but it hasn't been a problem for a while because I had found a solution! So the next day I went to Walmart and picked up their "fancy" tea i.e. Tazo. I quickly learned that not all tea's are created equal. I was so excited that night to fall asleep with my tea but as soon as I took a sip of it -the less said the better. Needless to say I had to ditch Tazo. But when my Rishi teas did arrive, I brewed one cup of it, took it to bed with my book and immediately feel asleep. Maybe its the floral aroma and smooth honey notes of my tea. Either way, it works!
I think the biggest lesson is, none of them are sufficient but together they work wonders on me! They make me look forward to going to bed and having the phone away ensures that I don't get distracted from taking that time out for myself
.
I haven't tried rishi teas! I drink yogi teas quite a bit and I like some of stash's caffeinated blends (like breakfast in Paris). I'll have to try!!
Bedtime routine is super important. I think minimizing screen time is huge, I need to be better about that as well.
My favorite bed time tea is mugwort tea, super aromatic and earthy. It can be kind of hard to find a reliable source for it though. My local hippie health food store often mistakes their mugwort for wormwood. Those fools! Artemisia vulgaris is not artemesia absynthium, but they are pretty easily mistake for each other. I tried buying my own seeds to grow the plant myself but I think I accidentally bought wormwood seeds x.x anyway you could just buy tea bags online, but I like loose leaf. If the tea is super bitter it's wormwood. If its super calming and earthy it's mugwort.
Also I recommend Never let me go by Kazu Ishiguro
lol about the seeds!! I may give it a go since I love having a garden. Are they easy to grow?
I have seen mugwort tea before in health food stores but the name is so weird that I couldn't muster the courage to try it! I'll give it a go and do my best to not mess up.
Thank you for the book recommendation! It looks good and its in my amazon cart!
I havn't tried Yogi teas but I might give it a go! I am just scarred from teas that Walmart store sells. But when I emotionally recover, lol, I'll actually get that to try.
Yeah, do give Rishi teas a try!. They are just so delicious. My favorite one is Valerian Dreams. It has rose petals, cardamom, licorice, strawberries, and other good stuff. I also love their turmeric chai. There is no black tea in that one and its caffeine free. It's just spices like cinnamon, ginger, coconut, turmeric etc and once I mix it with coconut milk, its very dreamy and aromatic.
I think Rishi teas look expensive, but the ones I got are not that expensive. I think by weight and how many servings I get out of them, I think it might be a better deal. I buy about 1/4 pound each and they last me more than a month.
Yeah, even with tea if I have my phone on me, I end up staying awake. So its super helpful to make it a rule that as soon as I enter the bedroom at night, the phone goes on the charger by the door. Only then do I walk over to my bed.
I wouldn't advise anyone to use sleep aids like zzzquil to aid sleep when preparing for the LSAT.
Most of these inexpensive OTC sleep aids use diphenhydramine as the main ingredient, which is a gen 1 antihistamine. It has a long half-life (up to 13 hours IIRC) and so the drowsiness can persist well into the 2nd day. Diphenhydramine is also pretty notorious for causing brain fog and cognitive decline on nootropic forums.
A low dose of 300-600mcg of melatonin 30 minutes before bed coupled with blue light filters on electronics is a much better way to adapt to a new sleep schedule.
Mine are all dead. But I think that speaks more to my nurturing capabilities than to how hardy they are.
Thanks for the advice! That would explain why each time I felt so groggy for so long the next day. How do you know so much?
Lol
Fair enough!
I like Trader Joe's sleepy time tea. It's a mint and chamomile blend, very soothing.
I discovered a new thing that helps me though! It's maybe a little counterintuitive, but probably depends on why you have trouble sleeping. I now often fall asleep listening to the podcast "Sleep With Me". It's designed to put you to sleep! It's really weird but it does actually work for me.
Part of my problem with sleeping is I get that brain-going-1000mph thing where I just can't shut it off. Random thoughts going through my head, replaying the day, thinking about the next day... lots of mind wandering. So when it's just quiet, my brain spins around and around in circles. Enter, Sleep With Me podcast! It's really odd, kind of surreal-ish nonsensical storytelling in a super droning voice. It's like it gives my brain just enough to focus on that I stop hearing all of my own thoughts. But it's not engrossing enough to make me stay awake listening to it. I also use the Sleep Cycle app to track my sleep as well the alarm functions, and it has white noise that will fade out once you fall asleep. So now when I am ready to go to sleep, I set my alarm on Sleep Cycle and start the white noise, then start up the Sleep With Me podcast with the sleep timer set so it turns off after 1 episode. They'll run simultaneously, so you get a nice white noise with the podcast over the top of it.
It's not a cure-all, I take melatonin and my magnesium supplement, and still often have a hard time getting to sleep. But the podcast has helped a ton to cut down on the time that I'm just lying awake in bed and getting overrun with anxiety.
Extra strength melatonin works for me and it's all natural. I have tried Zzzquill, but it doesn't seem to work as fast as melatonin. The only downside I have experienced with melatonin is the occasional feeling of grogginess when I wake up.
Would also like to add that for Melatonin, less is more, and you may not necessarily want to take huge doses. I see a lot of people on this thread advocating for 10mg doses, but IMO that's way too much. You only need 100-300mcg to get the full effect.
Relevant research:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8127888
This is relevant because Melatonin is a hormone, and overloading your body on it each night could cause down-regulation and other unintended effects. If you take 10mg (30-100x the effective dose) each night, you could affect your body's ability to react to your naturally produced melatonin.
@"Return On Inference" Agree in theory, but 100-300 mcg does absolutely nothing for me. That's such a tiny dose. But I've also discussed with my doctor (who is a naturopath) and she encouraged 3mg every night. More than that (on a regular basis) and you can affect your body's natural production. But I'm very happy with my 3mg dose.
I haven't read all of the comments above so, sorry if I mention something someone has already suggested!!!!
Anyways, I have had a history of chronic insomnia that I've sought out medical help for. Unfortunately my doctor says he doesn't prescribe Rx sleep aids to people who are my age range (I'm 22) and/or to those who have a history of depression. He told me I'd have to fend for myself with OTC sleep aids. Anyways, it's really hard for me to find anything cause not only do I have trouble falling asleep -- I have trouble staying asleep. Sometimes, I'll wait up at like 3am and won't be able to go back to sleep afterwards. I'm practically immune to melatonin and I've taken like 90mg at a time before just cause I CAN'T GET TO SLEEP!!!! And even when I do get to sleep sometimes, my sleep isn't of high quality. As in I don't spend a lot of time in the 'deep sleep' cycle lol.
Anyways lol sorry for the rant --- but here are a few things that I have deduced are a great help to ~sleepytime~-
1) The Vitamin Shoppe sells a tea made by Triple Leaf tea and it's the 'relaxing' one. It's gotten rave reviews and I find that it works more often than not for me. But most people say it's like a godsend to them. https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/triple-leaf-teas-relaxing-herbal-tea-20-bag/tf-1003?mr:trackingCode=E64C5D84-C9E0-E511-80ED-00505694403D&mr:referralID=NA&sourceType=sc&source=SHOP&acqsource=adlucent&utm_source=Shopping&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=Triple Leaf Teas&utm_content=TF-1003&gclid=CjwKCAjw_tTXBRBsEiwArqXyMvxmsz6GMbmtyvkJeTr-u5XRFKyV8dj029M-qC9BjTp27yjeiQ6jsRoCrnoQAvD_BwE
2) Valerian root capsules. They are like vitamins and are the main ingredient in the tea I mentioned above! Sometimes I take one capsule and a cup of the tea.
3) Benadryl. This is dicey but it gets the job done. Sometimes it could make me sleep for like 12 hours lol other times I can run a marathon at 2am.
4) Unisom; an OTC sleep aid. This works but I built a tolerance to it. The standard serving/dosage is one tablet. But after ti stopped working on me, I started taking 2 tablets but then it made me sleep way too much, with groggyness upon waking and lethargy throughout the day. I didn't want that. But the one tablet works especially if your insomnia isn't so serious.
I use some of the methods mentioned above when I have trouble sleeping cause Nyquil, zzquil, and melatonin don't work on me unfortunately. I hope it helps you choose your ideal sleep aid!!! #1 & #2 or a combo of both are typically my method of choice
But alas, all forms of sleep aid are prone to developing tolerances. So they should only really be used to help push you to improve your cycle on your own. I also find that waking up early, no matter how tired I am or not, grinding through the day and going to the gym -- puts me in a better position to sleep at night.