Re: Bad anxiety at night in regards to insomnia. At a loss of what to do.
Originally Posted by
Seaster
So, I slept better last night but I want to say something in regards to the working thing. I work till midnight and my work is a physical job. So when I come home, I can be worked up but what's the solution there? I guess I could choose to stay up for a bit to wind down but that's just cutting down the amount of time I have to sleep at night. There are things during the day that could wake me if I am trying to sleep in to account for more sleep.
I worked noons. It was a very physical job - a full on cardiovascular workout - until 11pm most nights. So the adrenalin was still pumping round my system when I got in. It took me a few hours to wind down but you're getting in and exercising? What do you expect will happen?
My advice? Get in. Have a light snack (something with Tryptophan in it) dim the lights and read for a while or watch some TV where you can turn your brain off. No horror. No news. No drama. I do watch TV sometimes at night because it helps me, but I wear my 'special' green glasses which block the blue light from my eyes. But I never watch anything that gets the heart rate up, you get me?
And I USED TO drink soda, etc before bedtime. I don't do that anymore. I don't watch TV before bed, I use night mode on my laptop and phone if I truly must use them in the hours before bed. Night mode eliminates the blue light.
Apologies if I read that wrong. I'm still waking up at this time in the morning..
Caffeine has a half life of 6 hours, so if you have a drink of soda (containing caffeine) or one of those energy drinks like loads of us used to drink on noons - at about 8pm - then your body will be trying to metabolise it at 2am. My husband has developed issues around sleep and he's had to cut down on his caffeine and make sure he has his last drink no later than 4pm, or it affects his sleep. Don't just be looking at what you're doing when you get in from work. You have to go back further than that.
I did sleep better last night and even fell asleep fairly early on in the night. I was out for a good 4 hours, woke up to pee, then proceeded to sleep at least 3 more hours.
There you go. Normal sleep pattern!
The problem was the night before last night (Saturday night.) I got home from work shortly after midnight and like I said, my job is a physical job and I walk A LOT. I chose to come home, shower, go to bed. My only other option would be to stay up a bit and then go to bed but it's already late as it is.
So this presents an issue for me on how to approach it.
Your body needs to feel sleepy for you to to be be able to go to sleep. It needs to be in parasympathetic mode (rest and digest) If you feel 'wired' or energised then sleep won't happen. That means your body is in sympathetic mode in other words fight or flight - and people generally don't snooze off when they're about to be mullered by an axe murderer? It's simple really..
If you're prepared to put the effort on after a shift at work then you could try doing some yoga or light stretching (nothing cardio) and some deep breathing exercises? ASMR videos can be helpful or if you want to completely emit blue lights - try classical music or sleep sounds on the radio and use a timer.
It doesn't matter if it takes you a couple of hours to wind down. You'll know when your body is ready to sleep. Better to wind down and get some quality sleep than to sit there worrying about not being asleep when you think you should be. That's just asking for sleep issues!
I felt winded/tired from work to the point where I felt it was keeping me from sleeping I feel. I obviously need time to wind down but I mean we could be talking 1-2 hours later. Going to bed at like 1:30 am or 2 am could work but if I don't fall asleep in a timely manner,
it could be tough to sleep in because I have to be up to do things during the day.
Yet I keep reading from you that your alertness is fine? So why is this a problem? The only real concern from you - that I can see - is that you have the irrational thought that you won't be able to sleep and will die? And that's just not going to happen..
Also, maybe change the shower to a bath? Showers are great to wake us up in the mornings but not so good at night? A warm bath might be the better option for you?
You're doing a lot of things which are designed to 'wake us up' at the time when your body needs to be winding down. As I said, a few tweaks and you will see a big difference...
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