Insomnia

Insomnia is a common ailment among college students, one which may or may not be brought on by caffeine or internet addiction. If you're refreshing the Recent Changes and see somebody making edits at three in the AM or later still, it is possible this person is suffering from insomnia (or is working a late shift or has a young child).

• Get some exercise or other activity during the day.
  

• Instead of waking up in the afternoon, wake up early in the morning.
  

• Stay up all night and the rest of the day and get your sleep schedule back on track.
  

• Cuddle up against someone.
  

• Have sex.
  

• Listen to some soothing music (some might suggest opera music, nothing like falling asleep listening to Nessun dorma).
  

• As a last resort, use medication. There are some over the counter ones that you might want to try first. 25-50 mg of Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) will work very well.
  

• Make a tea using Valerian root (available at Co-op). Use 1 Teaspoon per cup of boiling water, let steep covered for 5-10 minutes and drink. The tea should be covered when steeping to prevent the active ingredients in the essential oils from escaping as a vapor. Valerian tastes kind of bad so you might add some chamomile or other flavorful herbs to offset the taste.
  

• Read before bed, reading stimulates the brain very differently than watching TV, many people find reading helpful to get them tired (especially if it's a textbook for an important class that you need to study).
  

Got cures for it? Or stories? Post them here!

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