My relationship with sleep

yamaha4life

Hi there,

So this post is about my experience in this department.

Ive been this way since early teens but the effects of poor sleep now that im in my 30's is much more profound. Barely able to function, forgetful, irritable. Earlier in life i could survive on 2/4 hours of sleep without too much issue.

I find it very difficult to maintain a good sleeping pattern, even when working getting up at 7am or 8am I would find it difficult to get to sleep at a reasonable hour even if physically tired and stay asleep for enough time to wake up refreshed. When not working its even more difficult.

Also when i was working, stress from work used to give me nightmares half awake looking for nuts and bolts in my bed! Realising then im in my bed at home. Also waking up every hour until it was time to go to work was another feature.

It can take multiple attempts to reset my sleep clock theres two ways. Example If im falling asleep at 9am after being up all night or longer. The next time got to sleep at 10am and continue this until i get to 10pm-ish. Can be awkward but once there if i go to bed constantly at this time or when i get in the sleepy stage.

If for some reason i don't catch the window ill revert to being awake until im exhausted and then poor cycle will resume. Things that most definitely effect the good pattern for me would be coffee past 2pm, exercise too late in the day, other strenuous things too close to bed time, stress also a big one. Screens to a lesser extent, sharing a bed and finally how comfortable i am in bed too hot cold and the like.

Ive seen two doctors about this and the first said its sounds like your just lazy lol great clinical diagnosis there I definitely found that interesting! The second doctor put it down to anxiety and gave me something to help me with the anxiety and make me kind of drowsy.

All the medication did though for the most part was make me fairly checked out didn't do much for the sleep problem. I've often tried lying in bed with eyes shut for hours but doesn't really achieve anything.

Anyone else have a similar experience? If so how did you deal with it?

riffmongous

Pretty much the exact same xperience for me, waking up early every hour if I have an appointment in the morning, stopping myself from getting to sleep early, the sleep windows, all of it. I'm just lucky so far it hasn't affected my life quality.

My theory was that I am a night person, working night shifts was never an issue and sleeping from 4/5am until midday feels to me more natural than 23-7am

yamaha4life

Well at least im not alone in this, its good that it hasn't effected your quality of life hopefully it will continue that way for you.

It definitely has had an impact on mine sadly, i had a very bad 2 hours one morning at work couldn't concentrate properly had text the boss close up to go home! Lack of sleep + medication = not fit to perform complicated tasks!

Id agree with the 4/5am to mid day feeling more natural, yesterday i went to sleep at around 9/10 am and got up at 2pm been up since aiming to try get to 8/9pm today.

The last goodish cycle i was in id get sleepy 9:30/10pm wake up at 4am and get up then try maintain that for as long as possible but never seems to last always seem to have something knock me out rhythm.

riffmongous

Yep, I've been doing much better since I changed job and with the lockdown don't go out anymore. Nothing like a late night and a hangover to mess up my sleeping rhythm for a few weeks after.

I also struggled with going to bed early, I'd always wake up in the middle of the night then so I'd still be tired by the time work started.

Sorry I can't give you any real advice, but you're not alone man! I'm just lucky my jobs usually allow me to put off work till later if I've slept too badly, but a few times I've just had to call in sick too as I was exhausted.

Have you ever tried any sleeping medication or herbal solutions?

yamaha4life

riffmongous wrote: »

Have you ever tried any sleeping medication or herbal solutions?

only the one medication and it wasn't really a dedicated sleeping pill the results were not really here nor there. Definitely reduced anxiety though.

Nothing herbal only tea didnt do much but im not a huge tea drinker so probably need to drink it every night for a decent spell to really test it out.

Tried some relaxation techniques from google and YouTube type videos didn't really work, was suggested light therapy but didnt try it yet though.

The mrs got some spray for the pillows but i think a bottle of chloroform would be needed to be applied to the pillow to be fair.

I think since im not working now i dont have to worry about it as much but still a pita when it comes to making appointments for this that and the other the world doesn't operate on my changing time zone lol

riffmongous

yamaha4life wrote: »

only the one medication and it wasn't really a dedicated sleeping pill the results were not really here nor there. Definitely reduced anxiety though.

Nothing herbal only tea didnt do much but im not a huge tea drinker so probably need to drink it every night for a decent spell to really test it out.

Tried some relaxation techniques from google and YouTube type videos didn't really work, was suggested light therapy but didnt try it yet though.

The mrs got some spray for the pillows but i think a bottle of chloroform would be needed to be applied to the pillow to be fair.

I think since im not working now i dont have to worry about it as much but still a pita when it comes to making appointments for this that and the other the world doesn't operate on my changing time zone lol

You can also get stuff that you only need to take a shot of, it was like an elixir or something it had hops, baldrian and lavender I think, tasted rotten (bit like jägermeister) but I don't drink much tea either so it was at least possible. But it only helped for a little while cause then my bad sleeping habits stopped it from helping.

Never tried therapy either, but it might worth a shot, something where they teach you some relaxation techniques.

Fathom

riffmongous wrote: »

relaxation techniques.

Works for me.

riffmongous

Fathom wrote: »

Works for me.

Did you learn any specific ones for helping you get to sleep, or just general relaxation ones that help you sleep as a consequence of being relaxed?

Fathom

riffmongous wrote: »

Did you learn any specific ones for helping you get to sleep, or just general relaxation ones that help you sleep as a consequence of being relaxed?

My housemate was once an MA instructor. Stretching and a form of momentary meditation was a part of training. She passed it on to me. I now stretch so often during the day it has become a routine. I do it unconsciously now. Exhibiting automaticity. When studying, fictional reading, chatting, working online, or whatever, you will find me on the floor stretching. Sometimes I just look out the window, without a thought. The physical and mental attributes seem to be relaxing, both during the day, and just before going to bed. I know my behavior is anecdotal. I do not have any research to support this. Perhaps it exists, but I am too busy to look it up at the moment.