Can't sleep

[countrygirl]

I have never been a good sleeper I wake up 2-3 times a night but I am used to that but a few night a go I suddenly felt wide awake when I went to bed and literally didn't sleep all night. I get these episodes usually a couple of times a year that last a few weeks.
The problem is that if I don't go to sleep within 15 mins of getting into bed I get into a terrible panic, the usual thoughts - I will never sleep again - I have very rare sleep disease that kills you- the not sleeping is really bad for your health etc etc and by the time these thoughts have come into my head I am a panicked wreck who had no chance of getting any sleep.
So I have a weeks supply of sleeping pills always just in case but then worry about taking them because they are addictive and they have been proved to shorten your life and my Dr will only let you have 2 weeks worth so what if run out and he won't give me any more and I still can't sleep at all.

You get the drift of my nightime panic!

I have tried getting up but that just keeps me awake, tried all the usual remedies but unless I can curb my panic stricken mind nothing other than the sleeping pills will work. I have even in the past taken a pill and still had no sleep at all all night, hows that for mind overide!

Its as if I always always have to have something to worry about grrr

Anyone else suffer??

[Traceypo]

If I go to bed, thinking I won't sleep, guess what, I don't sleep. From 7pm I tell myself that I'm going to have a lovely sleep. I don't do anything to stimulate my brain from 10, I try to read, watch TV or do mindless puzzles.
I have a bath too and read in Bath.
If I'm anxious before bed, or anxious about sleep, I have a bad night.
Xx

[MyNameIsTerry]

I had the problem with not being able to get off to sleep and feeling tha anxious frustration the more it went on. It started when I went on Citalopram. Getting up and moving around as they tell you to do was getting me nowhere.

I found reading helped me the most when I had my relapse though and a good hour of it in bed before sleep was enough to take my mind somewhere else. I didn't always work, but it worked better than trying to sleep.

[Crystalhiggs]

Hi Countrygirl, isn't it just so debilitating not sleeping?!

I know exactly what you're going through and it's just awful.

My advice personally would be to stay away from the sleeping pills - they are all the things you say they are and more. It's not the answer.

I've been struggling for 8 months although bizzarly since I came off medication for it I sleep better! I had an awful blip this week where one night I slept 2 hours and the next night none! I was in a right old state! You can read my post in the GAD forum.

But I do know I'll always sleep eventually and you said you get this a couple of times a year, so how does it normally resolve itself?

I'm having CBT for it and doing headspace each day and it is helping, albeit quite a slow process!

Anyway good luck with it and hope you get some sleep tonight - remember natural sleep is the norm and anxiety/insomnia are temporary. Hope that helps x

[Wanderlust]

At times sleep is a problem, particularly after a particularly anxious period, if my mind is full of worries or if I have overstimulated too late into the evening.

I try, when time allows, to have a half hour wind down or yoga/meditation, either guided or simply with just music, to distract my thoughts and calm my mind. It would be a lie if I said it always worked, sometimes no matter how hard you try to relax you cant, but sometimes it does and we must give ourselves every opportunity :)

Other times when I am having difficulties drifting off I will do progressive relaxation exercises whilst in bed, slowly moving through each part of the body in sequence, tensing and relaxing, the process can be calming.

[angavatali]

That's really interesting for me!

[Phill2]

I had the same problem.
I now use Rescue Sleep and I'm usually asleep in a few minutes.

[NoraB]

The problem is that if I don't go to sleep within 15 mins of getting into bed I get into a terrible panic, the usual thoughts - I will never sleep again - I have very rare sleep disease that kills you- the not sleeping is really bad for your health etc etc and by the time these thoughts have come into my head I am a panicked wreck who had no chance of getting any sleep.
So I have a weeks supply of sleeping pills always just in case but then worry about taking them because they are addictive and they have been proved to shorten your life and my Dr will only let you have 2 weeks worth so what if run out and he won't give me any more and I still can't sleep at all.

Personally, I'd sod those sleeping pills off! I think they are useful for short-term problems with sleep, such as after a trauma, but anxiety is generally a long-term issue for which there is no 'quick' fix.

I have a delightful health condition known as fibromyalgia and a perk of this (for me) is 'alpha wave intrusion' which means that I wake up numerous times throughout the night but I also had severe insomnia/panic disorder years ago so I understand sleep issues..

Firstly, make sure that you're not using any screens before bed. That's phones, computers, Kindles, tablets, and TVs. The light from these tricks the brain into thinking it's daytime and needs to be awake and this will cause issues with falling asleep or staying asleep..

You basically have to tell your brain that this sleep thing isn't an issue. At the moment your dialogue is fearful/ panicky and your brain will respond by flicking on the fight or flight (adrenalin, cortisol etc) and if you imagine that cortisol is the hormone which naturally wakes us up in the morning and adrenalin makes our hearts pump faster, maybe you can see how this is not conducive to sleep?

What I used to do was to tell myself that it didn't matter if I slept or not. If I woke up after an hour I would do some deep breathing or I'd read for a while. If that didn't work I'd get up and go do something light and boring. Or I'd listen to my CALM app. What I didn't do was to lie there and allow thoughts like' I will never sleep again' or 'this will kill me' to take hold..

A few more tips..

Don't keep a clock or phone by your bed.
Keep your room dark and cool.
No electronics for a few hours before bed.
No TV in bed. (it might help you to go to sleep but staying asleep will be the issue here)
Don't eat a big meal in the evening (it takes a LOT of energy to digest food) - have a light snack if hungry.
Don't drink coffee after mid-day. (or at all) Or soda/pop which contains caffeine (also chocolate etc)
Don't watch drama TV when anxiety is high.
No stimulating music or literature.
Make sure you drink enough water..

It's all very simple really, you just have to listen to what your body (and mind) needs and if you feel wired with anxiety you need to calm it all down and what I've listed above will all help. Basically, you have to be aware that every single thing that you ingest - body and mind - throughout the day because this will affect how you sleep..

[angavatali]

A few months ago, I had a rather difficult period in life. Several close relatives of covid died, which caused enormous stress to the body. I started sleeping 2-3 hours a night and feeling super exhausted. I looked like a zombie at work, and as long as my boss didn't ask me to go home to sleep, I explained that this was impossible. Then I decided to go to the family doctor to see what he could tell me. Without many findings, he told me to buy NiaCel (https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/niacel-200) for sleep. And if I use them regularly, the rest will return to normal in a few weeks, and now I sleep for 8 hours, and the stress is gone.