A personal problem

[fpb]

I have a growing problem with sleeplessness at night. I tend to wake up at about two, and, in the last few weeks, I have had serious problems with going to sleep again. That is no damn good, because it tends to make me fatigued and useless the whole day long. And then the cycle begins again.

Comments

[kikei.livejournal.com]

I unfortunately have massive sleep issues... they start up periodically and then go away. usually these are stress related, though, so I find having a cup of chamomile tea before bed always helps me to relax enough to sleep the whole night through. most times, anyway.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

The trouble is that when I do go to bed in the evenings, I do not know that I will be waking up in the middle of the night. To the contrary, I am usually full of sleep and drop off quickly. So it does not occur to me to take a sleep aid - camomile, Horlicks and chocolate are all useful in that respect as well as all tasting nice. But I guess I will have to start.

[elise-the-great.livejournal.com]

I know this might be too obvious to be useful, but have you tried a) melatonin and b) B-vitamin complex supplements? The two of them together-- B-complex in the morning, melatonin thirty minutes before bed-- pretty much saved my life in college.

[stigandnasty919.livejournal.com]

I use Radio 7. It does not help me sleep but the time between 2:00am and 5:00 when I usually get up pass very quickly and usually quite pleasantly.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Radio 3 does that for me - whatever horrors it may perpetrate at odd times in the daytime, from one o'clock in the morning it reverts to its supposed task of broadcasting classical music.

Alternately...

[wemyss.livejournal.com]

... there's a glass of port at bedtime, surely?

Re: Alternately...

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Alcohol makes my insomnia worse.

Re: Alternately...

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Um, I don't think you were meant to take wemyss' suggestion totally seriously.

[sanscouronne.livejournal.com]

Perhaps this is stress related?

My other guess would be some form of sleep apnea.

[marielapin.livejournal.com]

I have a similar problem that happens on and off. Things that have worked for me: chamomile or "sleepytime" tea once I'm awake, and exercise during the day. The exercise usually breaks the cycle better than anything else. And it is pulling teeth to make myself exercise when I'm so exhausted.

I've had friends highly recommend melatonin as well. I've never tried it but I would be willing to if necessary.

[eliskimo.livejournal.com]

If you're not allergic to any of the ingredients try this:
a cup of warm milk mixed with half a mashed banana and honey to taste. I make it in the blender just to give it a smoother consistency.

The milk and honey contain tryptophan which helps with seretonin production which helps you sleep. The milk also contains magnesium with helps with sleep and the banana vitamins B6 and B12. And the mere fact that the milk is warm really helps also of people calm back to sleep in and of itself.

It really works for my husband (who also has recurring bouts of insomnia).

Of course, I agree with sanscouronne and wouldn't rule out the possibility of sleep apnea. It might be worth having yourself checked out if it's really a serious problem and you haven't done so already.

[becomethesea.livejournal.com]

I would suggest a repetitive, deep breathing exercise--this is what I do when I have trouble sleeping, and was taught to me by a psychology teacher. The following is anecdotal, but nonetheless effective for me:

1) Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth is relaxing to the autonomic nervous system and also releases toxins in the body. Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose is energizing to the autonomic nervous system.

2) On the full inhale, think to yourself, "I am", and on the exhale think, "calm". This acts almost like a mantra. You could also replace "calm" with "sleepy" or "tired", etc.

3) Visualize a scene that is comforting to you. Some options include a favourite geographical location, a star in the night sky, a totally white room, a garden, a mountain scene, etc.

4) Allow yourself to drift. This tends to be the most difficult aspect of this exercise, but it does improve with practice over time.

I hope this and other suggestions can help you!

[rfachir.livejournal.com]

Been there - much sympathy. I found that exercising helped a lot (as your other friends said). Getting to sleep is never a problem for me, either, but I stayed asleep much longer if I had an hour or so walk in the evening. (Not right before bed, but after work and dinner.)
Sleep issues should be discussed with your clinician, but the best treatment for it is still losing weight, which is also treated nicely with exercise. (Yes, I am fixated on this - I decided to join my dad on a diet, and he's already backing out of the program. So I'm going to do it without him and demonstrate how much more fun being healthy can be.)

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Terminal insomnia. I get that a lot.