Sleep problems

Epicpriest

Girl i work with is not getting very much sleep. She says she has bad dreams or silly things like spiders or people in her room and she wakes up, and can't get back to sleep all night. Benn happening for a while now, she looks knackered and she's wrecked in work. Any suggestions i can give her of what the cause may be?

LegacyUser

get her to physically excert herself before she goes to bed e.g. walking, running. It's one of the best ways to make sure you get a good nights sleep

koneko

Stress maybe. Anxious about something possibly. General problems like that, if she's worried/depressed/whatever that'll have an effect on her sleeping pattern.
Has she spoken to her doctor, or anyone at all (other than you)? If she can't sleep and she's knackered all the time I think it's time to talk to a doc and see what he advises. Maybe she could try some of those herbal sleep remedies.

Marksie

head to the doctors.
i have been through this and it gets into a cycle.
The doctor may prescribe sleeping pills so be careful.
The dreams may be part of the stress depression cycle, but best to talk and then seek advice.

Is she physically active? walking swimming the gym etc.. get out and do some exercise. Has benefits A) reduces stress, releases endorphins to make you feel good, C) helps you sleep

Alternatively, could massage will destress.. we have one who comes ihto our workplace.

The Hill Billy

A drop or two of lavender oil on her bedclothes may help.
It won't get rid of the underlying cause of her dreams though.

cargrouch

My girlfriend has an absolute phobia about snakes and crocodiles. Has always had this it seems. If she has seen them on tv she will "sleepwalk" checking they're not swimming around the bed, or may wake up several times during the night very distressed.

On the occasions that it happens without her having seen something to trigger it, it does appear to be down to a combination of having something on her mind and a lack of exercise - ie going to bed with an active mind and a not especially tired body. She might get a run of 3 nights where she would not get much sleep.
The case you refer to seems more serious, but I would still support trying the simple remedy first - exercise and fresh air to wind down after work.

Strokesfan

Anxiety might be the cause. She might be sensitive to caffeine from tea, coffee, Diet coke throughout the day - she should cut all that out. A lot of people eat too much late at night and have disturbed sleep as a result so nothing heavy to eat late like Meat or a big dinner. Maybe she lacks serotonin and should eat more bananas and potatoes in her diet. There's a chemical that naturally occurs in the body called trytophan present in turkey, milk and lettuce and helps to induce sleep. When you are too hot you tend to have bad dreams so open the window a bit if she doesn't already. I used to get nightmares after suffering a loss and sleeping on my side bizarrely enough helps. Dunno really anything else.

GoldieBear

Hill Billy wrote:

A drop or two of lavender oil on her bedclothes may help.
It won't get rid of the underlying cause of her dreams though.

My boyfriend uses the lavender oil and finds it a mighty help indeed. One could also try lullaby milk, it's after getting quite popular at the moment but it can be expensive.

Cinamon Girl

Sounds like anxiety or stress related.
She could try something to relax her before bed such as a bath, yoga, warm drink, relaxation exercises, meditation.
Also eating something before bedtime is good.
Reading is great, I usually fall asleep with the book in hand and the light still on.
Try to stay away from sleeping pills. A friend of mine suggested taking travel sickness tablets, they relax you.
It may be just a matter of getting back into a routine of sleeping through the night.

Grem

A bath, hot chocolate before bed or reading has helped me in the past.

Although if you have a lot on your mind nothing will help you sleep! If i find myself lying awake in the wee hours tossing and turning i turn on the light and read till i fall asleep.

I love reading.

[Jackass]

Sleeping tablets for a few weeks will get her back into a routine of sleeping....she could get a perscription off her GP if she explains her situation.