Cant Sleep

[ouchmyfinger]

Iv,e been going through this phase of waking up about 3ish in the morning lately , going downstairs making a cuppa, exhausting fleabay, and coming on the forum, its pretty quiet, just me and maybe Wozz! in pain bless him, any ideas how to pass the time.....i wont take sllepng pills, and lose count of the sheep after about 12.

 

[Engineer1964]

same here, I woke up at 2.30am, went downstairs had a coffee started doing some invoices and then went to bed about 3.30am, Up again at 5.30am to go to work at 6am

Not sure about why i don't sleep much, might be because i fall asleep when i sit down to watch tv after my tea ??I have a long drive to get to work 40 odd miles there and 40 miles back, in the morning it takes me 45 minutes at best but coming back i get stuck in the rush hour and can be anytime between 1.5hrs and 2 hours so i'm home about 7ish, Have my tea and then tend to go on the PC for an hour before finalluy falling asleep about 9-10pm.

if i don't work saturdays i still wake up at 5am, Even on Sundays, So i try and get back to sleep otherwise i come down and go on the PC.

Mrs engineer swear by using those herbal Kalms tablets, helps you get some more sleep, I've yet to try that

Might have a couple of cans of beer tonight see if that makes any difference?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Usually it's the brain not switching off.

I think the 'coming downstairs for a cuppa' during the night very easily becomes a habit that ends up hard to break.

I am lucky in that I enjoy reading and treated myself to a kindle which I find passes the occasional hour until I fall asleep again.

Always have been an early bird though, about 5:30am in the dark of winter and sometimes 4am in summer..the best part of the day in my opinion..love walking the dog on an early summers morning.

Without a doubt don't get into prescription sleeping aids, wife did and struggled badly to get off them again.

 

[reedx]

BBC1 9pm, tonight and tomorrow

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p010p74w

Colin

 

[xhead]

Iv,e been going through this phase of waking up about 3ish in the morning lately , going downstairs making a cuppa, exhausting fleabay, and coming on the forum, its pretty quiet, just me and maybe Wozz! in pain bless him, any ideas how to pass the time.....i wont take sllepng pills, and lose count of the sheep after about 12.

If you've a partner, wake them up.

 

[Superbad]

It's the norm for me,I average about 5/6 hours sleep per night. Throughout the day I'm tired
reedx has mentioned the BBC programme I was going to mentioned

and lose count of the sheep after about 12.

can you count pass 12? If not count backwards

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

You might think this baloney but it works for me.

Change your bed direction.

Once you have started to get to sleep at an appropriate time you need to stick to that routine.

Have you been the doctors and questioned it with him?
A bloke I knew in his late 50's went to his doctors and was sleeping badly,turns out his ticker was missing a beat during resting(more to it than that though).

 

[Superbad]

Change your bed direction.

A bit of Feng Shui

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Have you been the doctors and questioned it with him?
A bloke I knew in his late 50's went to his doctors and was sleeping badly,turns out his ticker was missing a beat during resting(more to it than that though).

I used to suffer the same. My wife came with me to doctors and pointed out she thought I had Sleep Apnoea. Hospital tests later it was confirmed as a serious case (I was told 46-47% chance of me having a fatal heart attack or stroke when asleep !) and issued with a CPAP machine to assist me breathing. Further tests showed I'd got left side heart problem (Left Ventricular Dysfunction) probably casued by years of untreated Sleep Apnoea.
Now I have no trouble getting a good nights sleep and wished I'd gone to the doctors years ago.

Paul H

 

[Wallace]

Having just woken up I can confirm my sleep pattern is not normal and that's after half a sleeping tablet! As Cumbriasteve says try and avoid the prescription route as they can be addictive, I use mine sparingly as I don't like the dry mouth and fuzzy hangover feeling I get when I wake up even without drinking Kronenbourg. Echoing Georgieporgie, speak to your Doctor about it as there may be an underlying condition, stress or depression can be a cause and often you don't know you are suffering from them. I went to the Doctor because I had a lack of get up and go (it had got up and gone!) and to my horror found myself sat on the settee watching Trisha and Jeremy Kyle istead of being out in the garage.

Not wanting to worry you but I did have an underlying medical condition causing the problem and luckily it was caught early enough to be treated and monitored as it is incurable. A low red cell count was causing the lack of get up and go at the time so I guess I have Trisha and Jeremy Kyle to thank for bringing it to my attention! I'm still working on the sleeping problem after 6 years.....


Mike

 

[ouchmyfinger]

In truth ive been like it all my life but i ve never got used to it, i lost my labrador about 18 months ago she was a great comfort in the wee hours, but too early to get another, i do like a good read and that does help , my passion is rock autobiography,s i got a small collection, slash, clapton, aerosmith and so on but nothing coming through at the moment, any recommendations lads, re the health thing apart from arthur ritis im in okish shape.
paul

 

[Wozzaaah]

A bit of Feng Shui

More like Fung S***e!

Welcome to my world Ouch!
As a close-to-20 year veteran of shift work my sleep pattern is appalling, sometimes just 3-4 hours a night and almost always poor quality.
I have a terrible habit of falling asleep on the sofa, waking up in the small hours then being unable to sleep properly when I go to bed.
Tesco herbal 'sleep-aid' works well for me, it doesn't get me much more sleep but it gets me off quicker so at least I get decent quality sleep for a bit.
I often wake during the night, sometimes needing the loo, sometimes not.
Having said that, since my accident on Saturday I've had the best sleep I've had in ages with no herbal assistance which tells me it's a psychological thing.
I'm fortunate that I can get by with very little sleep but I must say, it's been nice to be able to recharge the batteries a bit.
Try the sleep-aid, they're on 3 for 2 so work out very cheap.

 

[ouchmyfinger]

Yea know what you mean Wozz, takes me ages to straighten me head and neck after a sofa nap.

 

[Wozzaaah]

I seem to have trouble shutting my brain off, it goes into overdrive and I end up with allsorts of rubbish whirling round in my head.
Those sleep-aid tablets seem to calm everything down and it gets to the point where you can't actually think about things, even if you try!
It's weird to describe, seriously, they cost pennies, try some!
Also you might want to try earplugs and a blackout mask, the week I work nights they've become standard morning wear.

 

[breezer]

Not an auto biog but have you read shakey the neil young biog?

Helluva read and thick enough to see you through a few restless nights.

Only a few quid from hmv

 

[stuvy]

i struggle with getting to sleep and turning my brain off too. Iv been nagged into drinking a hot choccy and reading the paper to divert my mind.

The other thing i do is always have a pen and paper next to bed so if i do dream of a solution to my problem going round my brain, i dont beat myself up for forgetting what it was!

 

[mike os]

I suffer from this regularly... and can sometimes go 3-4 days on no sleep at all, or a couple of weeks on less than one "normal night" ...even strong sleeping tabs dont work...you always know too...

what works for me is:-

regular bed time (it really helps) early or late is the exception
bedroom is for sleep or sortin the missus, not tv, reading etc
no caffine after about 3pm... includes stuff like coke, energy drinks etc try decaf (vomits) or water
avoid alcohol for 2-3h before bed ( glass with dinner but no later) it really will not help even if it helps you drop off
Dont eat for 2h or so before bed... anything
bed direction can help, as can changing it... sounds like a POS but it can work
Do you need a new mattress/pillows?
over the counter "sleep aids" can help just push you over the edge.... ime better than persciption meds for semi regular use ( be careful some can leave you "under the influence" the next day
half hour with a book or sat in front of tv before bed.... computer is out

It is advisable to see your gp too as there can be other reasons for it i understand

 

[Angusdog]

I can't recommend zopiclone or other prescription sleeping pills. You get acclaimatised to them, they lose effectiveness over time and the required dosage goes up. Then you can't get to sleep without them.

Google sleep hygiene. All common sense.

Another worthwhile treatment is melatonin. Cheapest is to buy it over the internet (Not available over the counter in NZ, customs didn't blink when I imported some). Take it an hour before bed. My doctor suggested a routine based around sleep hygiene where the most important thing is to reserve bed for sleep or sex. Which makes it hard to sleep when you realise you're not getting either...

 

[stuvy]

thats the other thing i do, not cuppa tea after 9pm i find that helps the most

 

[madkayaker]

Wife has banned me from caffeine or sugar after 9