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kally
10-29-11, 7:13pm
It is like my mind just doesn't want to surrender to the night. It is a real pain in the a$$ because I get tired. Then I get anxious the next day that I won't be able to sleep again. Anyone else on this treadmill.

I am never a very good sleeper, but I have these trends from time to time that get really bad.

Thoughts, ideas?

Mrs-M
10-29-11, 9:34pm
Here are a few things I feel add to ones quality of sleep.

Don't go to bed until you are truly tired. (Forget about what time it is). IMO, sauntering off to bed at a time you know you won't fall asleep right away/quickly, only sets one up for a night of tossing and turning and fretting.


If you can, take the edge off with a short afternoon nap. Try not to nap too late in the day. (Nothing after 3 pm). Continued/extended over-tiredness has a way of compounding the effects of poor sleep patterns.


Try and relax your mind prior to settling down for the night.

catherine
10-29-11, 10:05pm
I agree with Mrs-M.

I terms of relaxing your mind--it becomes a spiraling self-fulfilling prophesy if you are trying to force sleep and then you can't sleep so you get more anxious so you can't sleep and it's one vicious cycle.

The way you said "surrender to sleep" is the key. Meditation is a really, really useful tool. When I wake up at 3am and can't go right back to sleep, I just use meditation to try to just accept it. I think sleep is one of those "supposed to's" that aren't helpful..... 'It's 3am. I'm supposed to be asleep." Ignore that feeling--that alone can stress you and keep you from sleeping--and relax into a meditative state.

Personally, I use rosary beads to "count sheep" as it were. It's really the same thing. If you're not Catholic or don't have rosaries, you can use any beads and just say an affirmation or a mantra or some kind of calming, repetitive phrase over and over, using your fingers to count--one prayer/mantra per bead.

Works for me.

Juds
10-29-11, 10:44pm
All good ideas, and simply staying in bed, resting, is supposed to be beneficial somewhat. That said, a night or two of no sleep is rough and I fix that with a single Benadryl tablet. Half an hour later, after settling myself and reading a few pages of something not too engaging, I am asleep and wake without any kind of druggy hangover. Certainly not a long-terms solution and certainly not for everyone, but it works nicely for me.

Rosemary
10-29-11, 10:57pm
When I can't sleep, it's nearly always the middle of the night... I sleep for a few hours and then am completely awake. I usually get up and do something, because it's better than laying there thinking about not sleeping or, worse, whatever it is that's on my mind and keeping me from sleeping.

domestic goddess
10-29-11, 11:25pm
Everyone has sleepless nights sometimes, and it is helpful to remember that when you start having those panicky thoughts about will you be able to sleep the next night. When you are tired (exhausted) enough, you will sleep. This is from someone who routinely has 1 or 2 twenty four hour or longer sleepless periods in a week. Good sleep hygiene is essential, as is having a night time routine and a regular bedtime. Be sure the temperature in the room is comfortable for you; I need to be quite warm, but I think most people prefer to be a little cooler. Don't use the television to fall asleep; the flickering images and sounds will stimulate you and keep you awake. Don't eat too late in the evening, she says as she sips her cup of tea. When I am awake during the night I often pray. Hey, God and I are both awake, so we may as well have a conversation. I find it soothing, and often fall asleep before the "Amen".

Heidi
10-29-11, 11:27pm
I think insomnia worsens with age. As we get older the melatonin level in the body drops off and we have a harder time getting to sleep. I usually wake up early in the morning like 2 or 3 am, then I get up and meditate for an hour before getting back in bed. Usually I can go back to sleep quite well. If there is something special in the morning, I cannot fall sleep at all. That is when I take a melatonin pill and doze off. I am retired, so losing some sleep is not a big deal, since I can sleep in in the morning.

kally
10-30-11, 12:30pm
some good ideas here. Seems it is a very big problem in our culture.

frugal-one
10-30-11, 12:39pm
I also get up in the night (2-3am) and sometimes have a nice cup of chamomile tea and settle down with reading material. It usually lasts for an hour and then I am ready to sleep. If something is bothering me I write down everything and then find I am able to go back to sleep also.

puglogic
10-30-11, 1:42pm
It's also a very big problem for women of a certain age. There's a very large percentage of perimenopausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal women who suffer from sleep issues (that's my issue). There was a another long thread here not too long ago that dealt with various remedies and suggestions....there were lots of good ideas in there too. Wait a sec......here it is: http://www.simplelivingforum.net/showthread.php?2621-Sleep

kally
10-30-11, 2:08pm
last night I took something to help me sleep. Well it worked, because a big black bear was right outside our window eating garbage and I didn't even hear it. I DID have to clear it up today though.

mrsflib
10-30-11, 2:14pm
Great. Wondering what you took to help you sleep. Also, don't know if this was brought up...but underlying (not allows obvious or understood) stress/anxiety can inhibit sleep.

Mrs-M
10-30-11, 8:45pm
Originally posted by Catherine.
I think sleep is one of those "supposed to's" that aren't helpful..... 'It's 3am. I'm supposed to be asleep." Ignore that feeling--that alone can stress you and keep you from sleepingSuch an excellent point this is. My recommendation for any clock watcher is unplug the clock/turn the clock around.

Rosemary, brings up another good solid point. Whenever I struggle with getting back to sleep (middle of the night), I find getting up and doing something helps. In speaking for myself, if I lay and fret, I almost always get stiff and wake with a kink in my neck. Plus, fretting and stirring only disturbs DH's sleep.

Have you tried having a relaxing bath/shower before bed, Kally? Additionally, herbal tea works magic with me. (Not too much though). And, as Heidi mentioned, the quality of our sleep worsens with age, that's a fact.

kevinw1
10-31-11, 12:02am
I often get "galloping brain" at night, planning projects and all kinds of stuff - I have to get up, and write it ALL down so my brain can let go of it. Sometimes as much as 3 pages of notes!

Lex_Dura
10-31-11, 3:39am
Lack of exercise can get me to the point of insomnia sometimes. I prefer to ride my bike to work, but sometimes I have to drive to work by car and when I do that for a week or so, I have difficulty getting to sleep because I worry about small things or stuff I still have to do.

DonkaDoo
11-5-11, 12:32pm
I get monkey brain at night - and I normally just let it runs its course - it calms down eventually. I also tell myself that just laying here in bed is better for my health than getting up - and that thought usually relaxes me into sleep.

HappyHiker
11-6-11, 8:51pm
Oh yes, the long restless nights of spinning brain cells and racing heart...I don't fight it anymore...if the Melatonin and the herb tea and the yoga breathing don't do the trick, I just give in and reach for the book on my nightstand and read through the night. I rarely go more than two nights w/o sleep before exhaustion claims me.

Is anyone else affected by certain full moons? That's often when I'm too stimulated to sleep--and no, I've not noticed any fangs growing or hairy palms--just restlessness and hyper-active brain churn.

puglogic
11-6-11, 10:12pm
Full moons! Oh, yes. They tend to keep me up for some reason too......

Greg44
11-9-11, 6:29pm
For me this helps -- a before night routine.
Brushing my teeth, flossing, washing my face, etc.
Try to go to bed and get up about the same time each night.
Dark room, slightly chilly.
No TV & no reading for me.


I heard a doctor on a talk show one time tell a guy who thought he never went to sleep, say he probably was sleeping and just didn't realize it...if that makes sense.

On Sunday afternoons I take a LONG nap (ahh and it feels so good) sometimes 3 1/2
hours. But then Sunday nights I pay for it. I sleep very lightly. I use to lay and look at the clock and lament that I have to get up in XX amount of time - and really obsess over it. I now accept the fact I am sleeping - though lightly - and turn the clock away and actually get a good night's rest.

kally
11-10-11, 11:55am
well I think I am in trouble with sleeping. For the past two weeks I have slept a handful of days. It is as if my body is on alert and won't go under. My dr. is helping me with various prescriptions, but I know these end up being so addicting I am using only the minimum and only when I am desparate.

What gives? I am going through medical testing and I think this might be a huge stress reaction. I have tried all the sleep hygiene ideas and am really stuck.

Well I am just moaning here because I am fed up and very very tired. I am turning into somone I don't even recognize these days. I need to believe that this too shall pass.

Sorry for the downer note, but I am just feeling very sad and not me.

treehugger
11-10-11, 12:19pm
Sorry for the downer note, but I am just feeling very sad and not me.

No need to apologize. Too little sleep affects every aspect of our waking hours. It makes everything more difficult. I am dealing with this myself, and am constantly aware of how my entire personality seems to be changing, and not for the better.

Hang in there,
Kara