Some of my first memories consist of lying awake at night, sleep eluding me until the early hours of the morning. I didn’t think much of it as a child. But as I grew older, lack of sleep became more and more of a problem. This happened periodically for so long that pinpointing a cause was difficult.
Insomnia is complex and varies from person to person.
Mine would occur in episodes — lasting weeks or months at a time — and then disappear after experimenting frantically with a number of treatments and proposed solutions. There were times I would go days functioning on only 1 or 2 hours of sleep, dreading nightfall and the hours I would spend lying awake.
Throughout these episodes, I tried a number of over-the-counter and prescribed sleep aids that both worked and didn’t work to varying degrees. I also tried more holistic remedies, and meditation, and lifestyle changes.
The process involved a lot of trial and error, but I learned a lot about insomnia over time and how to handle it.
I sleep much better nowadays, armed with an exhaustive arsenal of practices and remedies for tackling insomnia.
Read more: Can’t Sleep? A Former Insomniac Discusses What Causes Insomnia & How To Fall Asleep Fast