poor sleep

[laurence2]

does anyone have any suggestions to help me get quality sleep. i can lie in bed for hours clock watching, it dose'nt help that i work shifts { last 20 years}. i,m married with two boys {12 & 9] and lead an active life ie keeping fit/D.I.Y etc, its as if i can,t switch of, always trying to be one step ahead of the game.

my wife tells me to relax more,swich of etc, is it that its taken me all these years to work out that i,m hypoactive as when not working can,t lie-in as believe the day will be wasted, would appreciate any advise.

ps, i drive trains for a living so any any advise on sleeping pills etc is out of the question, apologies if any similar question has been posted before as 1st posting on this site

thankyou

[cliffsdoll]

warm bath an hour before bed, a milky drink such as horlick or cocoa, listen to some relaxing classical music or read for half an hour, avoid alcohol as that creates a disturberd sleep as opposed to natural sleep, a trick i've learnt is to imagine i've won ten million pounds and i buy a house and furnish it, plan exotic holidays, buy presents for everyone, all the details of how you spend the fortune, believe me, i dont get to spend even half of it, before i know it i'm waking up in the morning feeling refreshed , try it.

[Lonnie]

Something i've been doing for years, but it takes a little time to get used to it, Lay in bed on your back, with your eyes open, make yourself as relalaxed as possible, focus if possible on one point, then sart counting, slowly, from ten backwards to one, then from nine, eight etc, if by the time you've reached one, start again, if it woerks, you should feel your eyes get heavy and tired,.

ps, I'm also a train driver, for LUL, so I know the value of a good nights sleep, and where, in bed, not on the handle. Good luck.

[snook]

Laurence, you say you�re active, so this might suit you. Spend five minutes or so just before you get in bed doing some physical exercises, including lots of stretching. People think this will leave them wide awake (and for some people it will, no doubt) but I find that if it�s at bedtime it�s as though my body knows it�s a last chance to stretch and flex and be active, and that it will enjoy winding down immediately after.

Then, when you�re in bed, close your eyes, breathe slowly and evenly, and �turn the lights out�. What I mean by this is, imagine all your body�s systems are being manned by tiny workers, and they�re all getting ready to go off shift. See them, in each area, turning the machines off and clearing things away. Imagine them in various parts of your body, pressing the big red �off� button, brushing up, switching lights off, walking out and closing the doors behind them. You can imagine them turning on emergency systems, if you like, to take care of you during the night, and you can see the dull glow of the emergency lighting in these now deserted work areas. See streams of printout filled with important details of the day pouring out of the worry section of your brain. Then someone rips the printout off the machine, glances at it, screws it up, throws it in a bin and says, �That�s it for the day, nothing going on here that can�t wait�� Then he hits the �off� button and walks away.

I know it sounds involved but it takes longer to describe that to do. You�ll find that as you do this, you physically and mentally wind down, switch off, and drift into sleep. Worked for me anyway. I used to have sleep problems, sleep like a baby now, and never even have to think about it.

Good luck! Let us know if you're successful.

[rampart]

Laurence, years ago I had this trouble and really was frustrated.

When I would go to bed, I would turn out the lights and get ready to lie back but would first stop. I would say aloud (I was unmarried at the time) a list of things I could worry about. I would list each one and what I was going to do about it. Some worries had no immediate solution, but still, I would say the worry aloud then whatever steps I was going to take. Then I would lie down.

Over time, I guess my brain realised I no longer had to worry over these things at night. I would lie down, fall asleep, and dream of other things. It has worked for me ever since.

I also find it useful to plant an idea in your own head sometime during the day. For example, as you drive, just say out loud Tonight I am going to fall asleep quickly and have pleasant dreams. Just say it and forget it. This also works for me if I have been having dreams I do not like. I will say just at any point in the day to myself: If I do not like what I am dreaming tonight, I can change the dream. For whatever reason, this seems to help.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

[rampart]

Your other posts in this thread are great. They made me think of something else.

It is helpful to have an evening routine of some sort. It is helpful to me if I also start dimming the lights before bedtime. So in the late evening, my wife or I will turn off all but one lamp, watch the television, then off to brush teeth and to bed. Darkening a room helps your body to produce the hormone melatonin that aids sleep. We produce less melatonin as we age.

http://www.vitacost.com/science/nutrients/melatonin.html

[joko]

try the herbal remedy kalms - not a sleeping tablet but will help you settle - also eating lettuce is supposed to help sleep.

lavender essential oil on your pillow or in a burner before bed should help too.

i also find floaty music on a loop helps - i know not everyone can stand it but you could try the library and see if any help - i find the natural sounds of the sea and forest are the best as some of the very musical ones are just annoying.

i also find comedy cds very low on a loop. or audio books - you will never hear the end of the story though! i usually go for half hour comedy episodes or stand up, as if you drift off or tune out for moment it won't be annoying when you tune back in and realise you don't know whats going on in the story.

also, as people do to loosen up just before exercise - give yourself an all over shake. this should relax your muscles and not wake you up too much

[laurence2]

Thankyou all for your reply's, would,nt mind winning �10 million pounds, and no doubt about the milky horlicks cliffsdoll, will also attempt your routine lonnie, nice to hear from someone in the same profession, snook what a great bed-time storey you ever thought of taking up writing for a living, was relaxing reading it, also thank to rampart i,ve always liked the light dimming/candle routine, i will try to put things on the back-burner and switch of especially at night prior ti early turn.

Thanks all again

ps Will keep you posted

[laurence2]

Thanks also joko, sounds very soothing will try all avenue's.

[msemma]

I swear by a few drops of lavender essential oil on my pillow.

[WendyS]

Being married to one of the world's worst insomniacs I can sympathise with you. There's a very informative book called Sleep Really Well, written by Dr. Paul Caldwell published by the Daily Telegraph. �9.99 via www.constablerobinson.com ISBN1-84119-672-X which covers all the causes of sleeplesness and suggested cures.

[laurence2]

Many thanks msemma & wendy.