Dave, Firstly my sympathies on the loss of your wife. This has got to be unspeakable for you.
 
I at 50+ and self employed with a mortgage have every reason to have sleeping issues.
My wife suggested Benadryl which I now take every night before bed. I remember nothing but
gee, I must have slept well. It's non addictive except you won't want to turn in without it as it is
so effective.
 
If you are asthmatic or have other respiratory issues they will exasperate that though.

bitflipper
I've been a pot smoker for literally half a century.....
 

No... I would have never guessed..... 

Man, I used to be a heavy user myself back in the day.... but I never gained any weight.... nothing I do makes me gain weight. Been 150lbs (5lbs give or take) since my late 20's. I stopped for a few reasons.
 
1. I got a really bad chest infection from the heavy smoking of said plant.... and I was growing my own so I knew it wasn't chemically treated.
 
2. The price went through the roof for the black market variety, as well as the unsavory characters that tend to work in that part of the business.
 
3. The sheriff showed up at my door one morning at 3AM. It was a case of they had the wrong house and were looking for the guy who lived in the house next door for something totally unrelated to weed.... but that scared the living daylights out of me.
 
So those were the main reasons I gave it up. I haven't touched it in decades now. In NC we're still back in the stone age regarding progressive laws like recreational or even medical weed.
 
For sleeping, my wife uses melatonin. It's the natural hormone that regulates and promotes sleep. Kudo's to you on your resolution....
 
Edit: I don't know if you read the story about my SG getting stolen and then recovered the very next day. But.... the police called me to tell me that had recovered the guitar and could I come down to the station to ID it. I was kinda scared to go ID my guitar because I had left half an ounce in the pick compartment in the guitar case. But fortunately, the guy who broke in and stole the guitar found it and removed it before the police got the guitar......

I've tried melatonin but it didn't do anything for me. A daily walk helps, but it's been too frickin' cold around here for that - maybe once it gets above freezing I'll resume. Switching to decaf after the first cup of the day also makes a big difference. Not watching TV in bed, that's another tip.
 
But falling asleep usually isn't the problem, it's staying asleep. I'll wake up between 1:00 and 3:00 AM and can't go back to sleep. After 30-45 minutes trying, I say f*ck it, get up and go out to the garage/office/studio, open the forum and see what the UK delegation is talking about. Maybe that's my problem - I just live in the wrong time zone!

I guess i am glad i forgot to give you that bag i set aside for you.

And melatonin is worthless

GABA is another one you might try if melatonin doesn't do anything for you. They're usually side by side in the health food store. Personally melatonin works very well for me - it's not a sleeping pill, it just seems to get your natural sleeping cycle back on track. What's good about GABA though is that it's quite effective at stopping your mind racing when you're trying to nod off.

Over the counter demazepam here. I save it for when I know have to get a good sleep, if my pattern has been off, or sometimes to try a reset my body clock. I was travelling with friends on overnight buses in Argentina years back and few had a little stock from previous travels. They were sharing. My last trip back to the UK, I was due to land ad 7:15. So at 11pm UK time on the plane, I necked two after a couple of drinks and woke up just before landing. I wasn't 100% steady on my feet, but Jetlag was not a problem.
 
I too have to curb the coffee intake. No more than 3, usually two, never after 4pm. Veitnam is Coffee shop culture. Everyone one is, lets meet for coffee after work. really coffee 'after' work. They don't get it at all, and will be up often before 7 am, but it's also a siesta culture.
 
My New years resolution I post above was to train, but resistance training late in the day, seems to kick off hormones that stop me sleeping. So I can only train in the first half of the day. Cardio helps though, I always seem to sleep well after cardio.
 
Have you tried evening walks, cycling or swimming. That may keep you under after you've nodded off.  I've found some beers, will wake me up after I've fallen asleep. I've learnt to avoid those, but you say you don't drink.

My observation is that regular use of pot hardly ever improves anybody. I have known some people who operated at a high  intellectual level while high, but I got the feeling it was in spite of THC, not because of it. More often, I detect subtly corrupted/non-productive thinking and behavior in regular users.
 
On the other hand, some moderate ETOH ingestion can be a very good social lubricant. I've had many amusing conversations over glasses of Cabernet or bottles of IPA. And from my readings of history, I gather that Winston Churchill apparently successfully lead Great Britain to victory in WWII with a scotch in one hand and a cigar in the other, every waking hour of every day, 1939-1945. And he wrote an entire shelf of good books in the same condition. 
 
Yes, alcohol is very bad for some people. My medical experience tells me that people involved in fatal automobile accidents, bar room fights, and acts of domestic violence, are frequently extremely drunk. 
 
Enough blogging, I think I'll crack a bottle of Bohemian. It is Friday night.
 
Cheers! May you fulfill your excellent resolution! (hoist,sworp)
 
Happy New Year!
 
Bert
 

Sheanes
Hey Bitflipper,
 
Currently on venlafaxine for depression, smoked a few trucks of pot in my younger years but quit 20 years ago.
Falling a sleep without pot will be hard for you now probably, just by you told your brain you can't without it.
Is it that you need to calm down in your head ?
There's exercises for that if your brain keeps 'running high speed', every now and then that stupid relax excersize realy saves me going down into very dark periods.
Melatonine is a harmless and available to everyone sleep help pil, and ofcourse no coffee in the evening.
 
What helps me a lot is just walking 30 minutes, once or twice a day, and if I can do a little sports....while walking your brain generates 'dopamine' which makes you happy.
 
Anyway, wishing you best and get help if you should need it.
Talk to people and let them help you, they really want to.
Hang in there !

 
Seanes,
 
BTW it helps to combine an SSRI (or derivative) with a tricyclic.  It's the only thing that has ever worked for me.
 
Good luck!

thanks EPH, wrote it down should I ever need it....appreciated.
 
from what I've learned there's a million things that can get people back into a positive flow again.
Just finding what it is that will do the trick for you (as it's different for everyone).....is difficult for someone else to advise.
 
Dave only if you want to let us know please if you like further suggestions/tips & tricks (on- or offline via pm)