Insomnia - any suggestions

[piglits pal]

Need some help getting my sleep pattern back to some sort of normality as the tiredness is not helping me in fighting this anxiety.

I have a 3 year old boy to look after who regularly wakes around 6am. I go to bed around 10pm and very often toss and turn for a good hour before nodding off. I sometimes wake 2 or 3 times during the night for no apparent reason and sometimes wake up at 4.30am and cannot get back to sleep again.

Sometimes when my boy is at nursery I grab an hour or two of sleep in the afternoon but mostly I just have to keep going till bedtime when the circle starts again.

I'm exhausted. I'm not going down the road of prescribed sleeping tablets. I currently citalopram. I gave up coffee 3 days ago so any caffeine I get is small quantities from other foods.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

[yorkylover]

Hi I have been the same since being back on citalopram so it could be them.Be careful coming of coffee. I had terrible side affects,but I did cut out caffeine altogether.
Take care

Ellen XX

[JennyW]

i'd also be interested to read any replies.

I don't have a problem getting to sleep, however my sleep is very broken. I wake several times during the night and always check the time. Without fail I always wake at 4/4.30 ish. It drives me nuts :(

I've tried kalms and night milk (which is to aid sleep),but these don't help.

[Ma Larkin]

I'm exactly the same as you and I find it uncanny that I wake up every morning at 4.30am without fail. It takes me ages to get to sleep, I wake up many times a night (my youngest child is 6 and he does come into my bed often) and I can't even remember the last time I ever slept through the night. I've been on Prozac for about 4/5 months now and don't know whether it's a side effect, doubt it cos I've been like this for as long as I can remember. I've also just turned 40 so that's my excuse at the moment! I've tried everything and last night resorted to taking a sleeping tablet. I still woke up at 6am instead of 4.30am and feel awful today.

I'll stick to the natural remedy I think. I've tried Kalms, etc., but nothing seems to do the trick for me. If you find anything, let me know.

Les

[piglits pal]

I think the meds are playing some part but it's gone on for so long now that I think my mind has just become conditioned to not switching off for any length of time.

[hopeful]

Hi,
Have you tried consciously relaxing before sleep?
I have a relaxation cd and Ive listened to it so many times now that I can play it 'in my head' without actually listening to it. When my mind is full of worries at bedtime I lie there and relax each part of my body in turn. It helps me to get off to sleep.I sleep all night so dont have the problem of waking several times but if I did Id try it then too.Hope this helps.
julie x

[sp33der]

I've had real trouble sleeping for couple of weeks now - about the time I've been taking prozac! Had sleeping pills for a week which worked until the last one when I woke at 3am anxious. I hardly slept at all next two nights and was a wreck. Took a pill on the 4th night and slept finally but don't want to get reliant on sleeping pills. Slept reasonably for a few nights then last night (after a good anxiety free day) went happilly to bed and had a terrible night, woke at 1, 2 and 3am very anxious, had to get up. Took my first ever diazepam but didn't relax me enough to go back to sleep. Love to hear a good way of sleeping, can't go on like this!

[honeybee3939]

Hi Piglets Pal


Try these posts,

Sleep zzzzz
insomnia, insomnia, insomnia etc....
Sleep problems
HELP! Problems with sleeping.

Love

Andrea
xxx

[nomorepanic]

Hi there.

Try this too... it is something I am writing on sleep to go on the website.


Some interesting facts about sleep

• Sleeping pills should not be taken for more than 21 days and preferably on non-consecutive days

• Problems with sleeping are the second most frequently reported health problem – the first is a cold.

• It takes an average of one week to adjust to the summer/winter clock changes.

• Weight loss or gain can effect sleep patterns

• The rate of alcoholism amongst insomniacs is twice that of good sleepers.

• It is more common for adult women to have sleep problems than any other group of people.

• Don’t smoke just before going to bed – the average smoker sleeps 30 minutes less than a non-smoker.

• Early morning awakenings tend to be a symptom of depression. Sleep in depressed people is usually un-refreshing.

Why can’t we sleep?

Now that is the burning question! It is rarely due to a single cause but more to a set of circumstances that form a vicious circle we call insomnia.

The “causes” or reasons that we find we have difficulty sleeping vary from mildly irritating – a dog barking or a car going past in the street – to unexpected traumas, grief (e.g. bereavement) and most frustrating of all, free-floating anxiety of all kinds.

It can also be caused by medical illnesses, or various physical sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea. Psychological and emotional issues are other obvious causes. Lifestyle factors that disrupt sleep can be drugs, poor diet and even a snoring partner.

Maybe one of these sounds like you?

Anxiety insomnia – Where anxiety rules, manifested by general anxiety, tension and feeling on edge and by physical symptoms such as butterflies in the stomach, frequent diarrhoea, dry mouth etc.

Tension insomnia – Where stress and tension rule, manifested in an ability to relax, muscle ache, head-aches, finding it hard to let go.

Sleep-centred insomnia - Obsession with not sleeping well / enough and believing that you can’t cope, can’t concentrate, feel unwell, look awful, etc if you don’t get enough sleep.

Stimulus control insomnia – Being awake, watching TV in bed; falling asleep somewhere other than your bed (e.g. the living room) or sleeping better in a bed which isn’t yours.

Worry centred insomnia – Worrying about not being able to sleep, being unable to unwind, worrying about the day, the next day, the day after …


How much sleep do we need?

There is no definitive answer for this question as it varies between the sexes and ages but the average is around 7 hours. Some individuals can function on much less (4-5 hours) and some need slightly more (up to 9 hours).

A “good” sleeper will fall asleep quickly, and have serene, deep and uninterrupted sleep; they rarely snore; they wake up feeling refreshed, and do not feel sleepy during the day. They are getting enough sleep – whatever that amount is.

A “poor” sleeper will wake up more than once during the night, they are more likely to snore more and they feel tired and sleepy during the day.

Common Sleep Disturbers

Children
Dreams/nightmares
Needing the toilet
Snoring partners
Restless partners
Room temperature
Uncomfortable bed/bedclothes
Noisy pets (I personally can relate to this one because my 3 cats are always waking me up).
Thinking
Worrying


Sleeping Environment

Look at your sleeping environment as several things will have an effect on your sleep. The main factors are as follows:

Light – Use thick curtains or blinds. Make sure the room is dark. If you can’t do this then invest in an eye mask.

Noise – In our own homes we become accustomed to the general noises that go on overnight – e.g. passing traffic, birds, the milkman rattling bottles, aircraft noise, trains, and even simple things like the heating switching on/off. You may notice that you sleep better or worse when you go on holiday or to stay away with friends/relatives and even in a hotel. I find that my sleep is even worse in hotels as there are so many more noises that wake me up an

[libbie]

i suffer from this too, my time is 5am. then of course, i think what am i waking up at this time for and the circle begins. i have found removing the clock from the bedroom helps, as you dont know what time it is, so you dont fret that its "the same time again". if you really need one, use a small clock not on display. anything is worth a try!
take care
libbie