If you can help it, steer clear of zolpidem (Ambien) — it’s an EEEVIL drug. Especially when you try to wean yourself off of it. That combined with the night eating and weight gain = bad times.

What’s helped me sleep better? In addition to all the great things you mention, the one thing that has really helped me is daily exercise. If your schedule allows, it I highly recommend getting away from the keyboard for an hour during the day (lunch hour?) and getting outside and going for a long, brisk walk. Not only does the vitamin D from the sun help, but what I find is that all the stresses and anxieties that usually keep me up at night can be worked out in my head while I’m walking along to some good tunes in my earbuds. I find that my best work gets done while I am out hiking. And if the walk/hike is challenging enough, I guarantee you’ll sleep better at night.

Thanks again for the great article. And sweet dreams right back atcha

I use Ambien now and again, never tried Clonazepam but I may do so–Ambien works pretty well, and I really need the knockout punch effect it has. Lunesta and Sonata both often fail to actually make me sleep. I also seem to be kind of resistant to painkillers (ask me about my throat surgery for sleep apnea) so maybe it’s just a general resistance thing, I don’t know. I don’t get Ambien-drunk the way some people do and have never called any exes or other behaviors they warn you about on the label.

The late-night eating really is a huge hurdle, since you might be awake long enough that you haven’t eaten in six or eight hours depending on when dinner was and your body is fairly sensibly telling you to get on that. I’ll drink milk sometimes if I have it, that seems to help soothe hunger for me.

Anyway I am sorry that you suffer from insomnia and I am super-jealous of your work at homeness, though my bosses don’t care much if I nap in my office a little.

I get the ‘cultural’ argument, given that I work where I do because I wanted a mission I could believe in (as one of many reasons but still), but it seems improbable that companies can keep asking workers to live in perilously expensive urban areas and commute several hours a day to reach a chosen office location, at least every day.