Around 3 hours sleep in 48 hours. Called in sick.

[GirlAfraid23]

This sleep issue is really becoming a problem.
The week before last, I had insomnia for 72 hours...finally fell asleep after taking 4 Kalms tablets and slept through the night.
Last week, I had no problems with my sleep at all. I was sleeping 7-7.5 hours a night, with no pills or help needed.
Sunday night (I had work the next day) I ended up laying awake from 11pm through to around 4am. I slept for 2 hours and then had to get up for work at 6:30am.
I put it down to one bad night. Then last night, I took 4 Kalms tablets again and went to bed at 11pm. I even wrote down all my worries on a piece of paper and put it beside the bed.
I didn't sleep at all. My heart was racing all night and I started to get chest pains.
What doesn't make any sense is that I was so tired before I went to bed...I was actually falling asleep while reading so I thought it must have been time for bed. As soon as I turned the light off, I was wide awake again!

Another strange thing that kept happening was every time I almost fell asleep, I would be jolted awake...what does this mean?

I've called in sick...this is becoming very difficult as my job is important and will end up on the line. Should I tell them at work?

---------- Post added at 11:06 ---------- Previous post was at 09:42 ----------

Also at one point when I was falling asleep while reading, I shouted out involuntarily...this is unlike me.

[tuesdayschild44]

I would do the same thing, it's the anxiety. Try not to worry too much about it it will turn into a vicious cycle. You can't sleep then you get anxiety over it which in turn causes the anxiety, which makes your body ready for fight or flight, and it won't let you sleep, try the breathing technique. Listen to some music on YouTube for insomnia that helped me a lot. Hope you will get some rest tonight. Take care.

[GirlAfraid23]

I would do the same thing, it's the anxiety. Try not to worry too much about it it will turn into a vicious cycle. You can't sleep then you get anxiety over it which in turn causes the anxiety, which makes your body ready for fight or flight, and it won't let you sleep, try the breathing technique. Listen to some music on YouTube for insomnia that helped me a lot. Hope you will get some rest tonight. Take care.

Thanks, it certainly is a vicious circle. I wish it would just stop! I'm taking Kalms one a night tonight which only contains the valerian root. Hoping this will help.

I just really don't want to lose my job over this. It would be a real disaster, but I see no way out.

[Mr.Jitters]

It sounds like you place a lot of importance on sleep, like I did. It was a safety behaviour because I was more anxious when tired. And face it, nobody likes being tired. And then, when you don't get enough sleep, other worries slip in, like losing your job. And all that tension does weird things, like jerking you awake, making you shout out in your sleep, or just simply keeping you awake.

I'd strongly advise you to discuss your issues with your doctor and your employer to help take some of this extra stress off you.

I found that medicines like kalms, valerian tea, nytol, did very little for me. Prescription sleeping tablets aren't a viable long term measure, so I take a low dose of a sedating tricyclic antidepressant at night to help - with no tolerance and no addiction. Medication isn't for everyone, and if it is, different things work for different people.

Applying CBT principles helped me a lot. I know it sounds hard, if not impossible, but I just went to work, even if I lay in bed for 8 hours with no sleep at all. At first, I would be able to stay in for half a day at most, but I began to push myself, and my focus shifted from sleep to work. And bingo!

I still have bad nights, everyone does. 50% of Brits don't get enough sleep, and 25% have a sleeping disorder like insomnia that interferes with day-time functioning at some point http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/articles/sleepdisorders.shtml but 25% of people haven't lost their jobs.

I found The Sleep Book by Guy Meadows incredibly helpful, too.

Look after yourself! Hope you have a nice rest tonight :)

[Serenity1990]

Gosh you sound just like me a few months before I pretty much broke down! I had so many nights like this. I was working too hard and coming home really tired, and even so I couldn't muster more than a couple of hours sleep. It was a horrible viscous cycle!

The only advice I can give is try and deal with the root cause of your anxiety head on. Do take some time out if you need it. Your brain is an organ like any other in your body, and when any other part is unwell such that it's significantly affecting your work and would be bettered by recuperating you'd take appropriate time out. If you feel that's the case, do it!