I can't sleep, help!

[China Doll]

Hi All,

I have suffered from bouts of insomnia for the last year or so, I can't predict when I'm about to have one and they generally last from a couple of days to a month. Usually this means that I don't sleep before 2am no matter what I do and consequently I'm shattered the next day. I won't take a nap but usually go to bed early when it happens to catch up but even tho I'm exhausted I still can't sleep and end up getting up and doing something to stop myself getting stressed.

Does anyone else suffer from this? What do you do about it? Does the herbal stuff work?

Cheers
China xx

[PinkFizz]

Snap!! I have exactly the same problem and it drives me nuts!! I have tried everything and nothing works for me.Last night I went to sleep at around 11pm,woke up for no reason at 1am and never managed to get back to sleep - I look like death today!

Ive tried getting up and doing something till im tired,ie reading,just laying there,relaxation tapes - but still Im a complete insomniac.

[crete]

i can totally relate to your problem chinadoll my way of dealing with it is to try and not get stressed when i am unable to sleep and just accept that it is part of my life although feeling tired and washed out at times is awful.

[redcrx]

ive never tried it (I can sleep 24/7 given the chance) but my ex hubby used the natural ones. Im sure he was trying to stay awake though as he'd lay there saying 'ooh my whole bodys gone to sleep but Im awake' as if it was funny.

You could also maybe try kalms herbal to relax you throughout the day and perhaps then you can shut down easily at night.

I presume youve done all the things like no caffeine after 6pm, getting up if you cant sleep and reading a book for an hour, warm bath before bed, lavender on your pillow etc etc

[China Doll]

Hey Pink, nice to have you back... that's the other thing that happens, wake up and can't go back to sleep.

Red... check, all done with the exception of hot baths as can't stand baths and don't find them remotely relaxing. I even switched to non-caffine diet coke during the day.

[Hellion]

Me too China Doll - I'm exhausted, go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 3 and never go back to sleep. I've tried everything yoga, reading, getting up. I don't think I'm particularly stressed although work is always hectic. One thing I did find helped which is bizarre but it works - if I'm lying in bed turning over the same 'problem' in my mind I get up write it on a piece of paper and burn it (safely of course!) for some reason the thoughts do stop popping in my head.

Once in despaeration I resorted to a spoonful of Actifed Cough Syrup but that is a route I do not want to go down.

Someone told me it was hormonal - but I don't know if that's true.

[crete]

i can relate to your problem i did try the herbal preparations but they did nothing to help but i do know somepeople who use them with sussess, my coping strategy is not to get too stressed when i cant sleep and accept it but not easy when next day you feel totally washed out .

[laurence2]

i bought a mirror yesterday, that lights up showing a waterfall in a forest, theirs a sound effect of water falling and birds whistling in the background, i went out like a light last night

[redcrx]

L2, didnt it make you want to pee, thus (hopefully) getting up constantly through the night?

[steviep165]

the g/f used to swear by her windchimes, she said they relaxed her totally.
unfortunately she cant sleep now as i chucked them in the bin because they drove me mental.

[China Doll]

Think wind chimes would drive me mental too and no doubt that running water would make me want to pee! Might try the burning paper thing, but think it's a vicious circle, because I'm awake I start to think about stuff rather than that's what is actually keeping me awake... who knows! I just want it to stop... Arrgh!!!!

[laurence2]

Red, i had a nappy on {only joking} lol

No, it did,nt want to make me pee, you know just as your about to drop off, i switched it off, my wifes just gone to bed now {nights last night bless her} i went up to see her, and shes away with the faries, so i left the sound on for her, its amazingly relaxing

[China Doll]

Where'd you get it then L2?

[laurence2]

i went shopping in the bull ring {birmingham} yesterday, and it was one of these stalls that are their until xmas, they are called WATERFALL PICTURES, something simalar to something you might find in a chinese restaurant, but a bit more classy. i bought 3 in total, cost me �180, should of been �225, but having the gift of the gab got me a discount

[pennyb04]

I used to have the same problem, but worse still was that after finally getting to sleep my husband would start grinding his teeth and wake me up! I read up on it and tried various things, but the thing that does it for me is to have a fan in the room, the sound is quite hypnotic, and if I do wake I sort of 'project' my mind to the fan and nod off again! Amazing!! It also drowns out the teeth noise. This is supposed to work with any white noise, and I hear a radio on low in the background helps too although I haven't tried that one.

[mandimoo]

i get the same thing too. didnt find herbal sleeping remedies particularly helpful. had perscription sleeping tablets but had to stop taking them, cos i still couldnt sleep and they made me hallucinate! writing down what you keep thinking about helped me a bit but i didnt burn it. now the main things i do is a)breathe deeply from the diaphragm and b) dont fidget as this makes you use energy, which is desparately needed when you are feeling like this. the problem is worse when im alone in the house, but since my lodger moved in last week things have been much better. hope you find a remedy

[China Doll]

Thanks everybody, I will try all remedies that I haven't so far. This is actually making me want to cry at the moment but it's at least good to know that I'm not the only one that gets like this! It'll pass no doubt, it usually does xx

[sue11]

Hi China Doll, I suffer too, I wake up about 2 or 3 in the morning and then all thoughts are wizzing round in my head and I have to forget about any further sleep. I have found relaxation techniques to work the best for me, simply by imagining I am laying on a beach somewhere or by a pool and then imagining hearing a waterfall or waves on the beach. As with Laurence2, the waterfall effect does seem to have something going for it! It does relax me and can help me get back to sleep, although staying relaxed can be difficult!
I find that if I drop off to sleep at any point through the day or early evening as I am so tired from lack of sleep, this mucks up my sleep pattern, so I really try to avoid cat napping.
Cheers Sue

[Litchick]

China Doll, when my hormones were going a bit wacky this happened to me. I used to get really stressed about it but now I just tell myself that my body does not need rest that night and I go downstairs to read or something for about an hour. When I go back upstairs I do fall asleep but sometimes I don't. Do you exercise? Since starting yoga two years ago I am sleeping very well. I still have the occasional insomnia night but for me the trick is not to worry about. It never lasts more than a night or two anymore. Good luck.

[jump79]

Try drinking a glass of warm milk before you go to bed and if you have trouble sleeping in your room, try sleeping on the couch or somewhere else that's snug and comfortable.

I get the best sleep on the couch sometimes because you can just lie there reading, etc and take your time to get relaxed and fall asleep when you're good and ready. (I think its a mind thing, since you don't associate couch with sleep so it comes more naturally without seeming like a chore .... if that makes any sense!).

[mimififi]

I'm very interested in that rain noise maker thing laurence2. This is my first bout of insomnia and I can't even pin it to a reason. I have had a few problems recently, but I've had problems before and it's never interferred with my sleeping.

I go to bed and lie awake for hours, then nodd off into a very troubled broken sleep at about 4 and then next thing I know i'm being woken by husband cos it's 6.30! It is very frustrating. the weird thing is I don't feel tired at all, but I know that my concentration and reactions are impaired and even wonder if i should be driving!

Then about once a week, I fall asleept at about 7 and sleep like the dead and wake up the next morning feeling hung over (even though i don't drink) and it takes me about 2 days to get back to feeling normal and waking up properly. I was beginning to think I was some kind of freak and the headaches, WOW, they are a nightmare.

This has been gonig on for about 2 months now. i even drink sleepy time tea ALL DAY and it doesn't make me the remotest bit sleepy.

weird. I shall read this thread with interest.