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I Find It Really Hard To Fall Asleep

by Mariah

My problems with sleeping have always been pretty frustrating. This is because even if I am really, really tired, I can't fall asleep. I don't know why or how, but it happens to me all the time. I try not to stay awake past 23:00, but most times it is almost impossible to accomplish that.


This is my last year of school, and I have always been a pretty busy person. So it is not like I don't do anything at all during the day so that by night I am not tired. It also happens to me that sometimes, when I'm trying to sleep, I feel the NEED to move my legs. And it is a very unpleasent feeling. Most of the times I have to stand up, take a little walk and the feeling just goes away, but sometimes it doesn't.

I have gone to a lot of doctors to see what's going on with my sleeping problems, but I never get an exact answer. I've been taking sleep pills for like three years now. At first I took melatonin, but they didn't work, then I started taking (with my doctor's concern) muscle relaxants, but by the time I had to wake up is when I was finally getting some deep sleep. And now I am taking sedative pills, which I am not very fond of because I've heard that they are addictive, so I don't take all the time. So i pretty much don't know what else to try!

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About This Site

Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?

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Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

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Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.

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Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide

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