I've lived with insomnia since 2012. If you struggle with complex health issues, as I do, sleeping well should be at the top of your priority list.

Getting to a place of sound sleep is a process of experimentation, with adjustments necessary over time. You may need only one of the therapies below, or 10 or more. 

Getting in the Sleeping Mood

In the period leading up to bedtime, keep activities light and undemanding. Movies, music and TV should be soothing rather than stimulating, so it's better to leave action movies and political news for another time.

Here are some additional essentials to get started with:

• Slow, repetitive music may help you get in the sleeping mood, or you may prefer silence instead.

• Go to bed and wake up at consistent times. Waking up at the same time every day, even if it's difficult to get to sleep, will prevent a pattern of sleeping later and later.

• If you find yourself still awake 20 minutes after getting into bed, get up and do something non-stimulating, like reading, until you feel truly tired.

• Check with your partner to see if you snore. Snoring can have a detrimental impact on sleep and cause waking difficulties with cognition.

• Exert your body and mind every day. Even with my limitations due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I notice on days when I do more, I'm almost guaranteed a decent night of sleep. Just don't exercise closer than two hours to bedtime.

Serotonergics & Melatonin

Serotonin, the key hormone for a baseline sense of well-being, converts into melatonin, the sleepfulness hormone.

If you struggle with seasonal depression, paranoia, or irritability, or if you find yourself living off of carbs, you probably have low serotonin, and by extension, melatonin.

Melatonin

Typical doses given for melatonin are .5-3 mg nightly; however, there is some evidence that higher doses have few side effects. (R)

If you're thinking of taking higher doses, I highly recommend you read some literature like the source cited above.

Tryptophan & 5-HTP

Tryptophan and 5-HTP are precursors of serotonin and melatonin, meaning they convert into it. Take one or the other.

Dosing: Tryptophan 1000-3000mg daily or 5-HTP 100-300mg daily

Diphenhydramine

Diphenhydramine, a first-generation antihistamine, is sold under the US trade name Benadryl, though generic brands are cheaper. 

It can induce drowsiness the next day.

Dosing: 25-75mg at bedtime

Gabaergics

GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter; in other words, it’s your brain’s primary chemical for getting and staying calm.

Theanine

Theanine is an amino acid that supports GABA production. It’s widely available in pill form, but if you use it long-term, consider buying the powder in bulk – it costs as little as 6 cents a gram.

Dosing: 50-800mg nightly

Lithium Oratate

Lithium oratate is an over-the-counter form of the common psychiatric medication. It chills me out and makes me a little giggly. Too high a dose may cause a state similar to drunkenness.

Dosing: 1-3 tablets nightly

Scullcap

Scullcap is an herb that has a mild sedating effect.

Dosing: Two capsules nightly

Kava-kava

Kava-kava (or just Kava), is a plant native to the South Pacific that acts as a nonalcoholic intoxicant (particularly in the high doses at which it’s traditionally consumed). At doses listed on Western products, you’re likely to get a mild buzz similar to having a beer or two.

It’s available in raw powder, tincture, tea, and capsules. Kava is an acquired taste (remember how liquor first tasted to you?), so I’d recommend starting with capsules.

Kava apparently damages the liver to a degree similar to alcohol (probably because it carries mold) (R) and shouldn’t be consumed with it. It’s best avoided if you’re sensitive to mold, also.

Herbs

Valerian, Hops, Passionflower, Lemon Balm, California Poppy Herb, Lavender

Herbal soporifics are frequently combined in sleep-supporting products. All of the above, plus melatonin and theanine, are present inVital Nutrients Sleep Aide, which I take nightly.

For a la carte dosing, try 50-300 mg of standardized 0.8 percent valeric acid, 200 mg of hops, or 100-200 mg of passionflower.

Chamomile

Chamomile is generally consumed in tea form and has a mild sedative effect.

Dosing: One teabag nightly as needed

Amino Acids

Ornithine

Ornithine is a non-essential amino acid that assists with breakdown of ammonia, a metabolite of animal protein. It has a relaxing effect.

Other Supplements

Doxylamine Succinate

Doxylamine succinate is an over-the-counter antihistamine with mild/short-term hypnotic and sedative effects, traits typically found in the benzodiazepine class that includes Valium and Klonopin, sometimes prescribed for sleep.

DAO

If your histamine levels tend to be high, as mine are, supplementing withDAO, the enzyme responsible for histamine breakdown in the gut, can help you fall asleep.

Some signs of histamine issues are anxiety/agitation or headaches from eating high-histamine foods like cheese and vinegar, and buzzing in the ears.

Spiritual Therapies

Guided Meditation

Guided meditations are audio tracks that have you visualize scenes or otherwise work with your awareness or muscle relaxation to calm yourself and prepare for sleep.

I highly recommend the Insight Timer app, which contains thousands of guided meditations in many disciplines and allows for making playlists. It’s completely free.

Traditional Meditation

Tried-and-true meditation techniques from spiritual traditions generally work with being aware of (and letting go of) thoughts and/or following the breath with your attention.

There are numerous schools within Buddhism and Hinduism that teach meditation methods, and Catholic Prayer (which can be easily modified to adapt to any or no religious background).

For a general/standard meditation style, look for videos instructing in Shamatha meditation. It’s also ideal to have a meditation instructor you meet with regularly.

Biohacking Therapies

Hyperbaric Oxygen

Hyperbaric oxygen chambers combine inhaled pure oxygen plus higher-than-normal air pressure to effectively work like a supercharged oxygen machine. This combination can improve sleep quality because it triggers a reactive anti-inflammatory effect; the immune system ramps up production of antioxidant enzymes for a prolonged period.

My chamber in Camden Whole Health is pressurized with ambient air, meaning there’s no elevated risk of fire. You breathe pure oxygen through a mask. This chamber is accessible to the general public and doesn’t require a prescription.

Molecular Hydrogen

Hydrogen has unique activity in the body owing to it being the smallest element in the universe. It perfuses exceptionally well throughout the body when inhaled or ingested and can cross the blood-brain barrier.

In the past 20+ years, research has discovered that hydrogen has an antioxidant effect as well. Research has found that it extends exercise capacity in healthy adults and benefits diseases affecting most systems in the body.

I use molecular hydrogen daily and have found that it improves mood, reduces pain, and facilitates more physical activity. My outfit, Camden Hyperbaric, also offers inhaled molecular hydrogen.

Photobiomodulation

Photobiomodulation refers to therapies that affect biology through light. Our cells evolved to coordinate processes according to the presence of absence of light over hundreds of millions of years. This is known as circadian rhythm.

Wavelengths of light boost production of the cellular energy currency ATP and hormones associated with the sleep-wake cycle. Numerous knock-on effects observed in some studies include anti-inflammatory effects; improved injury recovery and wound healing; boons to sleep quality, mood, and cognitive function; enhanced cerebral blood flow and blood oxygenation; and more.

Camden Hyperbaric offers a red light therapy sleep bag that features 2570pcs 3-in-1 LED beads, each with 660nm Red Light and 850nm Near-Infrared (NIR) to ensure even and thorough coverage. 

Dietary Strategies

Eat a Snack Before Bed

If you tend to undereat, skip meals or live off caffeine or carbs, your blood sugar is all over the place and your body is relying on the wakefulness hormone, cortisol, to keep you functional.

In my experience, a fatty/protein-containing snack before bed can improve overall sleep quality and reduce wake-ups.

Dave Asprey, in his book Head Strong, suggests up to a tablespoon of honey before bed to replenish glycogen (stored glucose) for steady blood sugar all night long.

Eliminate Caffeine

Caffeine can induce agitation and insomnia in those who are sensitive to it. It affects me at low doses for up to 12 hours, so it’s worth eliminating entirely for a few weeks to see if it improves your sleep.

Caffeine is present in coffee, black and green teas, sodas, energy drinks, many low-calorie or zero-sugar juice drinks, and cocoa and chocolate.

Eliminate Alcohol and Nicotine

Alcohol, caffeine and nicotine all inhibit sleep through stimulation and disrupting normal sleep patterns, so these should be minimized throughout the day.

Eliminate MSG and Glutamate

Monosodium glutamate is the popularly-known cousin of glutamate, the primary excitatory neurotransmitter (GABA’s twin, you might say). Their brain-stimulating effects can be experienced as agitation, hyperactivity or anxiety.

If you tend to become overstimulated by what you eat, cut back on high-glutamate foods and see if that helps. Check out this article and this article for help identifying MSG-containing foods.

Eliminate Aspartame

Aspartame is still commonly used to sweeten sugar-free soft drinks and candy, and is a nervous system stimulant (ever notice the warnings on the package?).

If you’re ingesting aspartame-containing foods on a daily basis, it’s worth eliminating them for several weeks to see if it helps your insomnia.

Environment

Beware of Noise

If you deal with extraneous noise in your bedroom, wearing earplugs or creating white noise - either with a dedicated machine, an app like Pacifica, or something as simple as a fan - can reduce or mask the irritant.

Eliminate Blue Light

Our bodies' internal rhythms are wildly affected by the availability of light. In short, if your bedroom contains any quantity of blue light (present in screens, machine displays and LED bulbs inside or outside), you need to cut it out.

Machine displays can be remedied with simple black tape; switch off lights affecting your bedroom or switch to red bulbs (smart bulbs may have pure red settings also); and turn off any screens that aren't essential (or installf.lux for computers, Night Mode-Blue Light Filter for Android, and Night Shift for iOS if they are).

Blackout curtains work well for smothering light sneaking in from outside.