The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Vitamin A
Posted by yearningtobreathefree (Tennessee, USA) on 07/01/2026
★★★★★
Read an ebook claiming vitamin A is not a nutrient, but a poison! (It is needed but can build up to toxic levels over time if you greatly overdo it.) I'd been taking 50,000 I.u. a night for years. Had a very scurfy scalp. Then avoided vitamin A supplements for most of a year. Scalp issue came back - symptoms of excess and of deficiency much alike! Got to where I could not sleep near enough hours, would awaken very early and not fall asleep again, after only 4 or 5 hours of sleep at most, every night.
One day I read about a study where people with the lowest levels of vitamin A slept the least hours! I started taking vitamin A again and did much much better. These days if my eyes get uncomfortable, sore, red, I take 4 25,000 unit capsules, then no more until my eyes bother me again. I have a high need for vitamin A, had terrible night vision, calluses on feet, bumpy skin on backs of upper arms before I ever took the stuff. Zinc helps night vision too. Individual needs vary.
Cognitive Shifting
Posted by Ruralady (Illinois) on 03/18/2026 223 posts
I wasn't asking for anything but I can tell you that the difference between ADHD and Bipolar is onset. ADHD appears between 2-3yrs of age and we usually treated it in our office. I was a Pediatric Physician Assistant and we would see it from time to time. Bipolar starts around the ages of 18-25, almost the same age for Schizophrenia and we didn't see that in our office because it's considered more of an adult mental illness. In many cases it's degenerative. As for the milk being for cows, nope, they drink water but give milk. I have ADHD, not Bipolar aka Manic/Depressive. I used to drink approx 3 cups of caffeinated coffee in the am but now that I have fibromyalgia that's in my past. The coffee was my Rx, in medical school it's called the "poor man's amphetamine"....I think Dolly Parton calls it her cup of ambition.
Cognitive Shifting
Posted by ariley394 (USA) on 03/13/2026
Check my two posts I made in the general section of ADHD, This gives you the answer for ADHD. More that what you where asking.
Cognitive Shifting
Posted by Ruralady (Illinois) on 03/07/2026 223 posts
★★★★★
Many of us can't sleep due to racing thoughts in this fast paced, ever changing society that we live in. I have ADHD and it's very difficult to sleep most of the times. I take GABA, Sleep Assist, and CBD at night to calm down my brain but sometimes that isn't even enough. I came across an article about Cognitive Shifting and found it works wonders for me. Upon reading the posts about it, it's also used in our military. Many of our soldiers have an abundance of work they have to do so when it's time for sleep their minds just don't want to relax and allow it. Here's where Cognitive Shifting comes into play. When your body starts to relax but your mind keeps going 1000mph close your eyes and picture the alphabet. With the letter "A" picture something that begins with the letter A like apple, next B, I choose bananas. Cat for "C", dog for "D" and so on. You can use anything that the letter starts with, just make sure you put a mental picture of what you're putting to the letter. What this does is occupy your brain with other thoughts and before you know it sleep comes. Brain starts to settle down and the quiet happens. This doesn't cost anything and it's all natural. It quiets my fast paced brain into calm and quiet. If you use external uses like a white noise machine eventually your brain requires that in order to calm down otherwise insomnia will keep happening, this requires no machine. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Melatonin
Posted by Art (California) on 01/07/2026 2891 posts
Melatonin
Posted by Helen (Uk) on 01/07/2026
Can you please mention the brand and dosage you used and how often?
Melatonin
Posted by Helen (England) on 01/07/2026
Hi, I am 42 female and for the past 2 years I am having sleep problem. I have no issue falling asleep, I fall asleep instantly. My issues is staying asleep. I go to sleep at between 10-11pm and almost everyday I wake up between 1-2am. Thats it, I cannot go to sleep and then alas at around 8am I sleep very deep till around 1pm as I have work. I thought of going to sleep later like maybe 12am or 1am but the thing is if I resist sleep at 10 pm (i am very sleepy at that time) I totally loose the wish to sleep which results in not sleeping till like 5am. Please can you tell me what dose and brand I should take for supplements in the UK? Thank you
Reduce Cortisol Levels
Posted by Pat (Long valley nj) on 12/10/2025
★★★★★
What was the natural supplement you took to be able to sleep? I read your post and I had several nights where I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I hit up and took a spoon of coconut oil and it worked all 3 times so that I cld fall back asleep. On one occasion my afib started up and my heart had started to race & the coconut oil stopped that attack as well! So then I began to suspect that maybe I have a cortisol spike in the evenings and during the night so for the past several nights I took a spoon of coconut (cold pressed, unrefined) before bed and each morning my weight was down 1 pound each day! So I'm gonna continue to keep experimenting… thanks for your post!
Castor Oil
Posted by Bee (Phoenix, AZ) on 07/31/2025
★★★★★
Omigosh. I had the worst bout of insomnia this past week where I barely slept at all for 6 days straight. It was severely affecting my ability to function during the day. I tried the things that had worked in the past (magnesium, melatonin, B6) but was having no luck. Then I came on this site and read about castor oil. I thought no way it could be that simple, but I was desperate. I rubbed castor oil on my upper eyelids as recommended by one poster and I'm not kidding, within 15 minutes I was out. I slept without interruption for the first time in almost a week!
Blackstrap Molasses
Posted by Lois (Victoria, Canada) on 04/02/2025
★★★★★
Yes! It is my go to remedy for insomnia. I actually do put it in my thyme tea at night and it helps me have a restful and uninterrupted sleep. It's by far the best remedy!
L-Ornithine
Posted by Desertpunky (Southern California Desert) on 02/13/2017
★★★★★
Hello. While killing parasites and candida, a great help for sleep is L-Ornithine. Ornithine will remove the ammonia from your brain produced by the kill-off of parasites and help you sleep. A couple 500mg capsules usually will do the trick. If not, take one extra.
Avoid Sugar
Posted by Michele (Los Angeles, California) on 06/13/2024
★★★★★
My big problem for years was my sleep but I managed to solve the problem. I worked a lot on nutrition and I had eliminated, as is often said, gluten and dairy products and lots of other things to no avail. Well, I finally found: it's the sugar and so I no longer have dessert and from the first day I had a big improvement in my sleep. It's really hard not to have dessert and nothing sweet but it's worth it. All I have now during the day is a few fruit.
Mexican Oatmeal Drink
Posted by Mama to Many (Tennessee) on 05/24/2024
Mary,
Thank you for sharing. This sounds amazing. I love oats in many forms. Oats are so nutritious. I will definitely be trying this. :)
~Mama to Many~
Mexican Oatmeal Drink
Posted by MARY (ARCADIA, CA) on 05/22/2024
★★★★★
I am so sorry. After many years of searching for the Mexican Oatmeal drink, I finally found it.
When I could not sleep, my mom would make this for me. Enjoy. Here is the recipe
OATMEAL DRINK
Ingredients
▢ ½ cup ground rolled oats or oat flour
▢ 3 cups unsweetened almond milk or milk
▢ 1 cinnamon stick
▢ ⅓ cup brown sugar or 2 oz Piloncillo or Turbinado more according to taste
▢ ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Grind the oats in a blender or small food processor until it reaches a thick flour consistency.
½ cup ground rolled oats
2. In a small pot, add all ingredients and bring to a soft boil
3 cups unsweetened almond milk, 1 cinnamon stick, ⅓ cup brown sugar or 2 oz Piloncillo, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
3. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often making sure the milk does not boil over.
4. Remove from heat and serve hot in mugs.
Linen
Posted by Cindy (Illinois, USA) on 04/13/2024 563 posts
★★★★★
I've just been reading that blind people have trouble sleeping but that linen sheets and pillow cases create a significant difference.
Along with the sleep issue, I've come across reports of linen pillow cases doing tremendous things for other issues before but, apparently linen sheets, pajamas and other clothing are useful for all sorts of issues.
I was looking at this because I got some new yoga pants for sleeping and was having "bursitis" (undiagnosed) pains in my thighs and someone suggested wearing my old pj pants, instead. So, last night, I slept in my old pj pants and NO PAIN!
I've always known of the magical properties of linen and that it can prevent bedsores but NEVER heard of it helping with so many things like this. But it actually makes sense, just due to the electromagnetic "frequency" of linen but still, WOW! I've always said linen was like a "mother", providing precisely what's needed to stay either warm or cool, as opposed to cotton, but apparently it does much more than that.
Supplements
Posted by Clatterbuck (Maryland) on 02/24/2024
★★★★★
I've written several posts over the years about treatments for my insomnia. I've come to the conclusion my insomnia is mostly caused by nutritional deficiencies. I have tried so many things to try to get a good night's sleep with some success but never felt fully "cured." The problem I had was waking in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep. KNOCK ON WOOD, I think I have finally found what works for me. This is what seems to be working:
1. Iron supplementation. I don't take it every day because too much iron is dangerous but I have noticed I am able to get back to sleep more easily after I have taken iron that morning.
2. Calcium supplementation. I take one capsule at bedtime, the dosage is three capsules a day. I also don't take too much of this supplement. It is my understanding that taking too much calcium at one time can cause problems because your body can't absorb too much at a time. Calcium makes me sleepy and doesn't cause loose bowels.
4. Colostrum. I take one capsule at bedtime. I just started taking this and it seems to keep me asleep for a full 7 hours with no waking up to go to the bathroom.
5. Here is a crazy thing that also seems to work for me; eating coconut at bedtime. I will eat a small chocolate covered coconut candy at bedtime and it seems to make me sleep really well.
6. I also recently tried a product that contains both magnesium and L-theanine. It worked great but gave me diarrhea so I had to give it up.
I don't know if any of these remedies will help anyone else, but they are all worth a try.
Iron
Posted by Kevin (LA) on 02/20/2024
Glad that you have positive results. Just be aware of that Biology is almost never as simple as "low" or "high" on a lab value. Your body always has a reason for the adaptations you're looking at in the form of blood biomarkers and this is the art of listening to what your body is trying to tell you. Iron supplementation can enhance the growth of pathogenic bacteria and inhibit the growth of beneficial bacteria. Supplementing with iron, especially for those who have GI symptoms, has the potential to create more problems than it solves. We need iron for many important physiologic processes, but bacteria also require iron to multiply and grow. During an active infection, this results in our body competing against our gut microbiome for the currently available iron. Our bodies have a defense mechanism to win this competition and starve bacterial overgrowth. Essentially, when an infection is detected, our bodies limit the amount of iron available in the bloodstream (lowering the blood biomarker serum iron) and increase the storage of iron (increasing the blood biomarker ferritin) so that bacteria cannot gain access to it. This presents a problem because if one views their blood test as simple as "Oh, I have low iron, I better add more iron to my diet" without taking into consideration the big picture view of the situation (for example, if they also have GI symptoms) they may be directly offsetting the defense mechanism the body had in place to intentionally lower iron to starve an unhealthy bacterial overgrowth. Micronutrient manipulation as a whole is a game that needs to be treated with care because there are feedback loops for everything in physiology. Supplement protocols prescribed without proper analysis create way more questions than they do answers.
Iron
Posted by Ted (Melbourne ) on 02/20/2024
★★★★★
I would recommend checking your iron levels. I had an iron infusion after discovering I was iron deficient and it transformed my sleep, such a relief!
Calcium
Posted by Jacqueline (El Paso, TX) on 02/19/2024 32 posts
Hi Clatterbuck! Would you please share which brand, and which kind of calcium and dose you take?
Calcium
Posted by Jacqueline (El piso, TX) on 02/19/2024 32 posts
Hi Maria could you please share which brand and dose of alfalfa tablets you take?
5 HTP and GABA
Posted by Barbara (FL) on 11/30/2023
★★★★★
5 HTP and GABA for Insomnia
This combination also puts me to sleep but I need to take it an hour or two in advance of bedtime. 600 mg of GABA and 100 mg 5htp. Pure Encapsulations brand. If I have anxiety, I take 2 5htp.
Avoid Sugar
Posted by brad (Ontario) on 11/09/2023
★★★★★
Consuming any types of sugar will greatly impact your quality of sleep, regardless if its organic cane sugar or processed sugar. If you crave sweets try keto snacks like (stevia/malitol/xylitol, etc.) sweetened chocolate or make your own. Honey and pure maple syrup are considered sugars, as well, keep it to a minimum.
Calcium
Posted by Judith (Massachusetts) on 11/05/2023
So are you taking the alfalfa tablet and calcium together and the alfalfa is acting to get the calcium in or are you just taking the alfalfa as the calcium source? many thanks, judith
Taurine and L-Glutamine
Posted by Raphael (TX) on 10/31/2023
★★★★★
Taurine and L-Glutamine for Insomnia
I had tried Glycine, Mg Glycinate, Theanine, GABA, Inositol, and they don't seems to help my sleep one way or the others. Finally as my last resort, I looked what else I have in the cabinet, I got Taurine which is for my brain fog and L-Glutamine for my leaky guts. Last night I took both before going to bed, my sleep lasted like 12 hours. I did woke 1 time for pee-pee. I have tinnitus long time but it gets louder after I had COVID-19 2 months ago, that may be the culprit bothering my sleep. I am sure to try this combo again tonight.
Inositol
Posted by Art (California) on 08/10/2023 2891 posts
Hollyhock,
That post was from 2015, so a reply from the original poster is not likely.
Inositol helps with sleep by increasing GABA levels. GABA is a known sleep aid and like most sleep aids, it does not work for everyone. There are multiple forms of inositol available and the original poster did not mention what version they used or the dose they used.
Various articles around the web suggest dosing as low as 1000 mg up to 60 gm.
The following 2020 study used 2000 mg of the Myo-inositol form of inositol with 200 ug of folic acid, both in powder form to achieve improved sleep parameters :
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32933356/
Here is a relevant study quote :
' The research confirmed that myo-inositol supplementation can improve global sleep quality, subjective sleep quality, and sleep duration during pregnancy. Therefore, these findings applied to minimize the rate of poor sleep quality in pregnant women. '
Here is a typical myoinositol product in powder form :
https://www.amazon.com/Zazzee-Myo-Inositol-Servings-Serving-Non-GMO/dp/B01JZNBP92/ref=sr_1_6?crid=DUPUU72H5CBV&keywords=myoinositol+and+folic+acid+powder&qid=1691701482&rdc=1&sprefix=,aps,124&sr=8-6
It should be mentioned that if you are not deficient in GABA, Inositol may not be as effective for improving sleep as it would be if you have a low GABA level.
Art
Inositol
Posted by Hollyhock (America ) on 08/10/2023
Gary, what dosage are you taking?
Inositol
Posted by Gary (Oregon, US) on 04/05/2015
★★★★★
I have had Insomnia for more than 20 years. I have been taking Unisom every night for 20 years, finally I started trying everything, Nothing worked for sleep, till I looked up Insomnia in the Nutritional Healing book, it said Inositol was one of the items as it helps you to fall asleep and get you into REM deep sleep. I have been taking it every night with great success, 7-1/2 hours of deep restful sleep, No more Unisom or the Unisom's terrible side effects.
Inositol has changed my life for the better, or should I say the Best.
Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy (PEMF)
Posted by E. Rawlins (Birmingham, Alabama) on 07/27/2023
May I ask what brand PEMF mat you purchased? I am considering buying one too.
- ER
Lavender Tea
Posted by mr blake (Ontario) on 07/07/2023
★★★★★
A cup of lavender tea before bed is good for insomnia. Add about 1 tbsp or 4 tsp to 2 cups of hot not boiling water let steep.
Thyme Essential Oil
Posted by mr black (Ontario) on 06/20/2023
★★★★★
Thyme tea for insomnia
Thyme can be consumed in tea form to help with sleep issues.
Brewer's Yeast
Posted by Viji (Bangalore, India ) on 04/12/2023
Hello,
Is this Brewer's yeast (slightly bitter) or Nutritional yeast (Nutty/Cheesy tasting)?
There seem to be two different things and I am not sure which one would help.
Thank you
Spinach Powder
Posted by Clatterbuck (Beltsville, Md) on 04/01/2023
★★★★★
I know this will sound strange but I think I accidentally discovered a treatment for my inability to get back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night. Like a lot of people my age sleeping straight thru the night became a rare occurrence. Recently I read about spinach powder helping to control your appetite so I bought some. It tastes really disgusting so I mixed a spoonful in a glass of orange juice and held my nose while drinking it. That night I slept through the night without waking up. I drank this concoction for a couple of days and continued to sleep well. Sometimes I would wake up but I fell back asleep immediately. I stopped drinking the concoction because I got busy and didn't think about it and within a day or two my night time waking issue returned. I started drinking the disgusting concoction and once again I started sleeping through the night. I don't know if this is just a fluke but it's working for me.
Papaya
Posted by Clatterbuck (Beltsville, Md) on 03/22/2023
★★★★★
You're right!!! Quite by accident, I discovered papaya helps me get back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night. My grocery store had a sale on papayas and I decided to buy a couple. I had first tasted papaya when I went to Vietnam a few years ago and I liked them. I ate a small papaya before going to bed and slept through the night. That was incredible. I didn't have a papaya the next night and when I woke up in the middle of the night I had trouble getting back to sleep like I usually do. The next night I had a papaya before bed and once again slept through the night. These things are like a magic sleeping potion.
