Sleep pattern is crazy

Danyella · 08-09-2018 2:36pm #1

So I work as a health care assistant in a nursing home and my sleeping is all over the place. I started here a year ago, and I am well settled in , I don't do nights. I'm mid 20s!
I've began on zopiclone 3.75mg which doesn't really work for me so I stopped taking it mainly because I don't want to be taking pills to sleep as they are so bad and make me so groggy the next day. On my days I am working, I fall asleep at approx 11.30pm, and I could wake at any time, it could be 2am, 4am, any time..but whatever time I wake , that's me done! No getting back to sleep from whatever time I wake.
A lot of the time I work off 2 hrs of sleep, doing a 12 hour shift! I'm not worried about work, I love it, but I think im so worried about not being able to sleep, and then I don't sleep. This problem has caused such unhappiness in me. I'm so sick of it. Because on my days off, i sleep from about 10pm to 2pm the following day (16hrs). It's crazy i never had this problem before.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am at my wits end.

Fathom · 09-09-2018 5:39am

Danyella wrote: »

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am at my wits end.

When my sleep cycles are offset by work, school, play, I may have sleep problems. Found that a balanced diet. Avoiding caffeine drinks. Daily, heavy exercise. And a good novel helps me sleep.

J_A_F_A · 09-09-2018 6:50am

Danyella wrote: »

<snip>
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am at my wits end.

What do you do when you wake up...get up and do something or stay in bed?

I often wake up at 2AM or so. I've learned that there is no point in lying there trying to go back to sleep. I get up and read / go for a walk / disappear into the internet for a few hours then go back to bed around 5AM for a second sleep.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biphasic_and_polyphasic_sleep

Malayalam · 09-09-2018 7:46am

Yes, embracing the biphasic sleep cycle (above) is what generally works for me.

I used to be a fantastic sleeper for most of my life then went through a long period of extreme insomnia, often barely sleeping at all for weeks on end over a period of a couple of years - a truly hallucinogenic horror not to be wished on anyone. Don't know how I survived it. It left me with a weird sleep pattern.

I often wake at 3 am. And cannot sleep again. What I do to compensate is to go to sleep very early, between 8pm and 9pm. Usually the earlier time, and in winter often even earlier. This might seem crazy, but I discovered from friends who came back from traveling that loads of people in New Zealand go to bed at 8 or 9pm - it's considered quite normal.

I sleep quite well then, and even if I do wake at 3 or 4am I have slept 7 or 8 hours. If I have fallen asleep later because of thinking too much or reading, and then wake at 2 or 3 or 4 am, I get up, have a cocoa, read for a bit, then go back to sleep for a couple of hours. So usually I end up quite rested overall.

Very early mornings are lovely anyway, everything is new and peaceful, and you can go for a walk to meet the dawn. Love that too. You can even meet nocturnal animals on their way back to their beds.

_Brian · 09-09-2018 7:58am

I worked 12hr shifts for 13 years with shifts starting either 7am or 7 pm, month of days then a month of nights.

I stopped as my sleep was destroyed and now 8 years later I still get bouts of sleep problems, my doctor says it likely will always affect me.

Wanderer78 · 09-09-2018 8:58am

_Brian wrote:

I stopped as my sleep was destroyed and now 8 years later I still get bouts of sleep problems, my doctor says it likely will always affect me.

Shifts are a train wreck for sleep, done them myself. Psychologist recommended no sleeping tablets of any kind, to sleep as naturally as possible, plenty of exercise and watch the diet, but like yourself, I ll probably always have some sort of issues with sleep

Fathom · 09-09-2018 6:26pm

J_A_F_A wrote: »

I often wake up at 2AM or so. I've learned that there is no point in lying there trying to go back to sleep. I get up and read / go for a walk / disappear into the internet for a few hours then go back to bed around 5AM for a second sleep.

My strategy too.

trick · 16-10-2018 10:05am

Danyella, I am also in healthcare.
I went through a really bad period a few years ago where I barely slept.
I was only managing about 3 hours in 24 hour period.

Here are some of the things I did and I haven’t had sleep issues since then..

1) No tv in the bedroom. No electronic devices at all. Trust me if you have any in your bedroom take them out even for a trial run for a couple of weeks and see what happens

2) black out blinds on your windows. This is especially important for night shifts. Your body won’t produce melatonin (sleepy hormone) unless it’s dark. When you get home in the morning try to go to your bedroom straight away if possible. Make sure it is pitch black. It shouldn’t take you long to get sleepy.

3) try to get away from the sleeping tablets. They will mess up your cycle & leave you feeling groggy. It will be better to get yourself into a natural sleep pattern which will take time but be patient.

4) if you do wake in the night and can’t get back to sleep give yourself about half an hour or so and get up out of bed. Don’t stay in your bedroom. It’ll induce a type of anxiety about your bed and sleep.

5) treat your bed and bedroom as a place for sleep. That is all. Make sure it is tidy. Make sure your bed sheets are changed regularly. Don’t read in bed. Try not to be on your phone at all.

Do you drink a lot of caffeine? Do you exercise? What type of exercise and how often?

I hope these tips help you & your sleep improves

Fathom · 10-11-2018 11:10pm

Danyella wrote: »

So I work as a health care assistant in a nursing home and my sleeping is all over the place.

Neighbor in health care. Long hours. Shifting schedules. She troubles over sleep.

Sleep pattern is crazy

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