View Full Version : trouble falling asleep
hikingshoes
03-23-2011, 23:45
Is it just me?When we did our section hike,i had trouble falling asleep.Its not the hikers that keep me up,its things going thru my head like Bears coming into the shelter at night or making sure the GF is ok(she new to backpacking) etc...I didnt have this when i was in the military,but just when im backpacking on my time.I was thinking about taking some type of PM meds.to help with this until i can sleep on my own.Hope this doesnt sound to crazy,because i love to backpack/hike so I want to enjoy it.
Im sure there is a Thread on this some where.I did a search on it and didnt see anything.HS
vamelungeon
03-23-2011, 23:45
Try Nyquil
This is common to a lot of backpackers - somewhere along the way it goes away.
an mp3 player can help. If you're not opposed to meds, some tylenol pm or benadryl... Or just hiking til you're ready to drop.
Oleskool
03-23-2011, 23:51
Honest truth, I just very slowly count in my head. That seems to put me right out. Keeps all the bear, ghost, aliens, and bigfoots out. Meds give me a groggy hangover deal in the morn.
fiddlehead
03-23-2011, 23:53
Double your mileage (or at least try)
You'll sleep like a baby.
WILLIAM HAYES
03-24-2011, 00:09
try melatonin you can buy it in a health food store take three and you will sleep like a baby or you can take a couple of benadryl and an aspirin
banjo_dog
03-24-2011, 00:29
+1 on the melatonin. i dont like perscription or other OTC sleep meds, its natural and leaves me clear headed in the morning. and its available in doses from 1mg-10mg i think.
Contrary to some previous posters, I have had bad experiences with melatonin. Nightmares, to be exact. Nothing like waking up covered in sweat shaking with fear to spell "good nights rest." I've also met others who experienced the same. Might not cause you the same problems, but something to watch out for.
vamelungeon
03-24-2011, 01:41
Contrary to some previous posters, I have had bad experiences with melatonin. Nightmares, to be exact. Nothing like waking up covered in sweat shaking with fear to spell "good nights rest." I've also met others who experienced the same. Might not cause you the same problems, but something to watch out for.
Me too. I had to quit taking it.
If I have trouble sleeping I take about 1/4 of a dose of Nyquil, just enough to get me to sleep but not enough to give me a groggy feeling the next day.
I too sometimes have trouble falling asleep the first few nights out there. If Melatonin gives you vivid dreams and nightmares, you can switch to an RX drug that I have had pretty good luck with. It is the generic Ambien or Zolpidiem. I got a 10 mg RX, but can snap these in half for a 5 mg dose. That's all I need. As soon as I get in the bag, I take the dose and I'm out in 10-15 min. The stuff basically is out of the body in 3 to 5 hours so there is no next day drowsiness like I get with benadryl or Nyquil.
Like all of this stuff, don't get dependent on it. You should be adjusted to the trail in a week and able to fall asleep without an aid just from the effort of hiking. I can tell you from experience that over time, the drug won't work as good if you keep taking it. It is a hypnotic and won't affect your ability to get up and pee. It will only temporarily affect your ability to reason or calculate or plan or plot (for a few hours).
Note: Others may have a different experience... and for God's sake don't abuse this stuff.
hikerboy57
03-24-2011, 07:58
I usually have an issue the first night or two, as I learn to adjust to the sounds of the night. Advil PM works for me for the first couple of nights.
Gray Blazer
03-24-2011, 08:00
Double your mileage (or at least try)
You'll sleep like a baby.
That's what I'm sayin'.
royalusa
03-24-2011, 08:51
The only problem I've ever had sleeping on the trail is when I heard that the hotel at the next town stop had make your own waffles for breakfast. Dang if I did not count waffles all night long the night before we were to hit that hotel.
Just go without the meds especially if out for several days. It is a challenge for the first couple of nights, but gets better and worth the wait. We prepare our bodies for the physical challenge of carrying weight over long distances and up the hills, but forget about training the mind and body for resting in the new surroundings.
Tennessee Viking
03-24-2011, 09:53
Doctors told me to take Benedryl or Melatonin.
I tried Goody's NightTime powder after a long hike. And it hit me like freight train to the point I could barely move.
I've never really had that specific problem, but sometime for whatever reason sleep is slow in coming. A good dram of scotch helps to calm the mind and make sleep come faster. :sun
Blissful
03-24-2011, 10:03
Use ear plugs, read while you are in your sleeping bag to relax or listen to an MP3. Some people say eat before you retire to help you stay warmer but it can also keep you awake.
how many of you wear earplugs?
hikingshoes
03-24-2011, 10:11
:sun
That's what I'm sayin'.
Maybe so,but just starting out im not going to push anything at this point,its to early in the game for that.Thanks for the post.HS
hikingshoes
03-24-2011, 10:12
how many of you wear earplugs?
I have them,but i only use them when needed.HS
canoehead
03-24-2011, 10:47
I think the more time you spend in the woods, you get to see, feel, and understand how the woods works, understanding what's going on around us leads to comfort and a sense of feeling of safe. Anxiety is most likely the culprit here. So spend more time in the woods, try camping in a place you trust could even be a state park campground, hike by yourself in local areas you know, you can build on safe fun successful experiences. Oh yeah a good sleeping pad helps to.
WingedMonkey
03-24-2011, 11:25
Vodka
:sun
ShelterLeopard
03-24-2011, 12:06
Is it just me?When we did our section hike,i had trouble falling asleep.Its not the hikers that keep me up,its things going thru my head like Bears coming into the shelter at night or making sure the GF is ok(she new to backpacking) etc...I didnt have this when i was in the military,but just when im backpacking on my time.I was thinking about taking some type of PM meds.to help with this until i can sleep on my own.Hope this doesnt sound to crazy,because i love to backpack/hike so I want to enjoy it.
Im sure there is a Thread on this some where.I did a search on it and didnt see anything.HS
When I hike (for the first week or two) I ALWAYS have trouble falling asleep. It isn't the thought of bears or snakes or dehydrated food for me- I think it is the sudden change in my daily routine and so much exercise. Or the lack of squishy, comfortable bed...
I go to health food stores and get sleep supplements- there's one called "Sleep 'N Restore" with melatonin and Valerian- it actually works. For my thru, I went to my doctor and she prescribed me enough sleeping pills for a couple weeks. I only needed them for the first couple days, then maybe two more times in the next couple weeks. After that, I feel asleep just fine.
Chester Copperpot
03-24-2011, 14:24
two words: EAR PLUGS!
that, or:
-antihystamine tablets (or tylenol PM, etc.)
-a shot or three of fine spirits to give you that "ooooh so warm" feeling in your tummy
Fog Horn
03-24-2011, 14:34
I don't know if this will help or not, but when I came home from deployment I couldn't sleep at all. I think it was the tempo change. Either way I started taking OTC sleep pills and just never stopped. My tolerance got so high that I literally had to OD on them to get the affect of them. I'm not saying don't take them, but I found that my mind got so used to having them available that it refused to sleep without them. Like a placebo for sleep. No matter how tired I was, I couldn't sleep without them, once I started taking them. I stopped taking them entirely, and now once a month or so I might take melatonin, but thats only when I have to.
What I did to get over the non sleeping issue (what I am still doing) is letting the chips ride. If I don't sleep well tonight, I know I'll clonk out tomorrow. The body will exhaust itself until you are on your normal sleeping schedule again without the help. If you are hiking every day, I doubt you'd have that problem for more than a week. Resolve that you might be sleepy for a week but you'll have more time to journal or put in miles. Your body will work it out on its own.
hikerhobs
03-24-2011, 16:36
I also had trouble sleeping, Until i moved up from a self inflating pad to a big agnus insulated air core pad 2.5. What a differents it made.
peakbagger
03-24-2011, 16:56
Bad things can happen with Ambien or other similiar drugs. They are really a hypnotic rather than a sleeping pill and once you have taken them, if you do need to be alert its not going to happen. Plus some folks end of sleepwalking. I do carry and use earplugs.
Oleskool
03-24-2011, 17:11
how many of you wear earplugs?
I stay out of shelters, feel like thats where you need em. So no plugs here.
vamelungeon
03-24-2011, 17:21
Bad things can happen with Ambien or other similiar drugs. They are really a hypnotic rather than a sleeping pill and once you have taken them, if you do need to be alert its not going to happen. Plus some folks end of sleepwalking. I do carry and use earplugs.
I'm a lifelong insomniac and have tried just about everything. I took ambien/generic substitute for a while and had to quit taking it because of "behavior" when I was supposed to be asleep. I had no memory of what I was doing.
I we are talking about two different things in this thread. I always have trouble sleeping, not just when hiking. I suppose the OP meant just hiking.
I can't sleep with earplugs.
CaptChaos
03-24-2011, 17:46
Hello all:
I would have to agree with Blissful about ear plugs. After I started using them I don't wake up much during the night. I have a cheap mp3 player that I take and I listen to music and then I put the ear plugs in and out I go. While I have not tried the OTC drugs, many seem to feel that it works for them.
Capt Chaos
takes me about 2 weeks of hiking before I can sleep my regular hours, after about a month I can even do it on a thin foam pad, just getting used to it
ShelterLeopard
03-24-2011, 18:31
Bad things can happen with Ambien or other similiar drugs. They are really a hypnotic rather than a sleeping pill and once you have taken them, if you do need to be alert its not going to happen. Plus some folks end of sleepwalking. I do carry and use earplugs.
Ambien has always worked fine for me. I think it affects different people in different ways. So, you'd want to try it before heading to the trail. Or, of course, you could take advice from your doctor instead of me. But, whatever. :D
Trailbender
03-24-2011, 19:13
I sleep on the floor when I am home, really helps with when you are sleeping on the ground in a tent, no real change in surface hardness, or not much.
double j
03-24-2011, 19:16
best thing to do is hike alone and sleep alone for awhile . And you will get use to falling alseep.
hikingshoes
03-24-2011, 23:01
I think the more time you spend in the woods, you get to see, feel, and understand how the woods works, understanding what's going on around us leads to comfort and a sense of feeling of safe. Anxiety is most likely the culprit here. So spend more time in the woods, try camping in a place you trust could even be a state park campground, hike by yourself in local areas you know, you can build on safe fun successful experiences. Oh yeah a good sleeping pad helps to.
Id say your right there canoehead.We are camping more and im thinking of camping by the river(State Park) for about aweek,just to check out my gear and see what i need and dont need for my thru-hike.Plus just to get use to sleeping out in the woods again.Im good on the sleeping pad too.Thanks HS
I focus all of my attention on the little area at the base of my nostrils. Feel the cool air as you inhale and the warmed air as you exhale. The longer you focus you will find that you relax. If your mind wanders gently refocus. It often works for me.
If it doesn't work you can try counting sheep or bears.
I focus all of my attention on the little area at the base of my nostrils. Feel the cool air as you inhale and the warmed air as you exhale. The longer you focus you will find that you relax. If your mind wanders gently refocus. It often works for me.
If it doesn't work you can try counting sheep or bears.
Good to do anytime - checkout lines, waiting in traffic, just sitting around.
Definitely will help you keep our feet where your head is - and keep you in the moment too.
XCskiNYC
03-24-2011, 23:33
I also had trouble sleeping, Until i moved up from a self inflating pad to a big agnus insulated air core pad 2.5. What a differents it made.
Love my Big Agnes Clearview. It doesn't really feel like sleeping on a mattress, but it also doesn't feel like sleeping on the ground.
Also I stuff all the soft stuff into the center of my pack and then use that as a giant pillow so my head is held up and nothing can sneak up on me. Not like it would be hard to sneak up on somebody staring at their feet at the bottom end of their tent.