How do I get to sleep on the trail?

I've done quite a bit of backpacking. Each time it's an exercise in sleep deprivation. I'm just not able to get to sleep quickly nor stay asleep well.
What do you recommend that I take and/or do to get to sleep easily and stay asleep?

Darwin
daroos@indiana.edu

Eat some cheese before you go to bed and where ear plugs once you are in your bag/quilt.

I always wake up (to answer nature's call) at some point during the night so I never "stay" asleep for more than 3-4 hours at a time.

I'm usually too excited to sleep the first night, but after that I have no problems.

I have found that a sufficiently warm sleeping bag and a really comfortable pad are the keys to getting a good night's sleep. What is comfortable varies according to your age, how you sleep, the condition of your joints, etc. I need a 2.5" air pad, blown up about halfway (just enough to keep my hip off the ground when I'm on my side) to do the job. Your Mileage May Vary.

I strongly recommend spending several nights at home on the floor with a new sleeping pad. 15 minutes in the store is not enough. Test the pad thoroughly at home while you can take it back in new condition.

No doubt the hammockers (I spent part of the weekend with four of them) will chime in about the comfort of their setup. As I said, YMMV!

Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.

Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.

It might help if we knew why you aren't sleeping. Is it because of comfort, cold, or something else?

what time do you normally go to sleep at home? Are you going to bed earlier than you normally do? You could take some mild sleeping pills just to see if it would help.

I have been thinking about that myself. I am a night owl and when everyone wants to crash early I am wide awake for hours before I fall asleep.

Hammocker here, chiming in.... I always fall asleep and stay that way easier in a hammock. On the ground, it's not as easy. Comfort and position matters.

What keeps you awake, and what wakes you up?

The only eight full hours of sleep I have ever gotten were on the trail, in a hammock, with an underquilt. I can't say that I have gotten a full night's sleep every night - bears, wind, rain, a full bladder, snoring campmates in tents with flies that flap around, little creatures that chew trekking pole handles and argue vociferously around the campsite, and random other factors tend to come up from time to time.

But, the solution lies in a better understanding of why you can't sleep and what options you have to combat it. So we can guide our suggestions, you could post more details.

Vitamin T works for me.
(Tylenol PM)
-Barry

Regular Tylenol works for me. I am just not sure how healthy it is.

EAR PLUGS!!!

Jim

Yeah, ear plugs are a huge help.

Yep, on the trail I go to bed 2-3 hrs earlier than I usually do at home.

then you are like me. I have decided I will take some mild sleeping pills to help me get to sleep. It is either than or sit up by myself which isn't a lot of fun.

If by some slim chance I do fall a sleep right away I will be up in 6 hrs. I hate waking up at 2-3AM and everyone else is still a sleep

Seems like it should be sort of self-correcting over time if you are out more than 1-2 nights and covering any kind of mileage. If you didn't get sleep the 1st night, despite the extra exercise and outdoors, the second night after another dose of exercise plus lack of sleep should pretty well do you in.

Also, perhaps more of a "comfort food" supper and hot chocolate just before going to bed.

Or, if you are awake, how about reading for a while?

I know it used to be for me that all the stealthy little creepings and snappings out in the woods kept me in alert mode. I've gotten over that now, but if that bothers you, the earplug suggestion may be helpful.