lack of sleep

sarahbro

At least twice a week I have nights when I don't sleep at all.
It's really getting to me. I just lie there getting so frustrated that I can't sleep.
I do all I can. Keep the room clean, I have my alarm clock faced to the wall so I can't see it, no coffee after Evening etc.
I used to suffer with extremely violent nightmares but have managed to get them under control.
I was prescribed sleeping tablets years ago but hated them.
Have lavender beside my bed now.
I have no problem sleeping and I love sleep!
It's the getting to sleep part that I really struggle with!!
It's really getting me down lately. All the short term affects are affecting my life - muscle aches, short temper, lack of concentration, slight depression on the days I Haven't slept etc.
Any advice for me?
I don't want to go to the doctors about this again
Thanks

Edit: I either work til 5pm or 10pm and I find it very hard to go to bed as soon as I come home at 10pm especially when I'm back in early the next morning

blatantrereg

Shift work can have an impact on sleep patterns alright.
Try only having caffeine in the morning if at all possible...I understand that if you are sleep-deprived you may find it hard to function well without it.
Getting sunlight helps a lot, and it can be hard to do so during the winter if you are working inside during the day.
I've heard good things about melatonin pills helping to regulate sleep patterns.
Finding ways to relax before bed - and maybe in general - might be the best thing I think.

GregoryD

hi sarahbro

I can see you have already tried a bunch of things, so I will try to add to that:

- do you get physically tired enough? If not you might consider joining a gym or making a home gym or going for jogging to get you to become tired

- the more you think about getting to sleep the more it will be difficult to fall asleep. this is actually your stress levels increasing which is directly going to affect your sleep. you have to put your problems to one side and learn to relax and then concentrate on that relaxation by force. learning meditation can help, but not the kind where you make noises or some peaceful stuff, but specifically the concentration type where you focus on your breathing with active concentration and as your mind runs off you force it to come back to your breathing.

- finally see if my article called 30 Great Tips | What Can Help Me Sleep? can help you, there are tons of little tips there, surely one of them at least will help

- oh i thought of 1 more thing. before going to chemical kind of medications maybe you can try the natural kind, i.e. melatonin / valerian root

sarahbro

I'm actually going crazy with the lack of sleep!!!

Bought Natra Sleep tablets at the beginning of the week. Took til last night for them to work. Slept great! First proper nights sleep in god knows how long!!

Now tonight I take them, fall asleep at 11.30 - wide awake at 3am.

I can't take much more of this.
My life is being ruined by my lack of sleep

I really don't want to but i think I'm gonna have to go the doctor about this

Sorry for the rant

Joe10000

sarahbro wrote: »

I'm actually going crazy with the lack of sleep!!!

Bought Natra Sleep tablets at the beginning of the week. Took til last night for them to work. Slept great! First proper nights sleep in god knows how long!!

Now tonight I take them, fall asleep at 11.30 - wide awake at 3am.

I can't take much more of this.
My life is being ruined by my lack of sleep

I really don't want to but i think I'm gonna have to go the doctor about this

Sorry for the rant

Did you read the previous post from GregoryD ? Some good suggestions in there methinks.

sarahbro

Yes I did and it was very helpful.

I stuck to a routine, kept the bedroom clean and nice cool. To my boyfriends disgust I moved into the spare bedroom to see if sleeping on my own made any difference but it didn't.

Milk. Lavender. Chamomile tea.
Removed my alarm clock. Charge my phone on the opposite side of the room. Lower wattage bulbs. Now close the hall door so the cats can't come into the bedroom. We've stopped having sex late at night because it wakes me up.

I:m at my wits end

Joe10000

You sound so stressed about it that when it comes to sleep you haven't a hope of nodding off.

Sounds to me like something else is causing the lack of sleep, maybe you are under a lot stress at the moment but I am not qualified to offer any advice in that regard.

Other than that my tuppence worth would be a half hours exercise between work and bed time, a book beside the the bed and to learn some new relaxation techniques.

GregoryD

hi again,

If you are suffering from lack of sleep (sleep deprivation) then your body must be so exhausted and fall asleep straight away. Since that is not happening to you according to what you are saying then something is keeping you awake.

The first and biggest known criminal keeping people awake is caffeine. So if you are consuming a lot of that (soda drinks, diet or normal, energy drinks, tea, coffee, etc) then stop that!

The second factor is light. We are programmed to sleep in the darkness, not in the light. So if you stay up late regularly, etc, you will disturb your circadian rhythm and have sleeping problems.

At this point I would suggest:
- if you can fix the above 2 factors, do so
- if you still have problems go straight to the doctor there could be some other issue keeping you awake

P.S. for circadian rhythm, sleep deprivation and all sleep related issues you can visit my sleep disorders website and read in detail about the various issues.

agaetisbyrjun

I've been having a similar problem too, the herbal remedy tablets do help a bit..