anxiety causing insomnia, which causes anxiety

[TJTJ]

Hello all. I am starting a new job soon. For 10 years I've been working afternoon shifts and finishing work at 11pm. My new job requires a 730am start. I have tried to do this early shift recently in my current job and I cannot sleep. I become extremely anxious thinking I'll get no sleep. I get physically sick from the anxiety. This makes the insomnia worse. Normally I have no trouble with sleeping. But now I'll have to be up at 5am every day. Does anyone have a similar problem? This only happens if I need to get up so early for work. I have had nights where I won't sleep at all, still awake 6am and my anxiety refuses to let me sleep. 

[Dwwmills]

Hi TJTJ.

I think you have two things happening here. The first one is your body is used to going to sleep with an afternoon shift and needs to be adjusted to your morning shift. There are lots of strategies to doing this. The other is you being anxious about not sleeping.

There are sleep clinics with doctors who are trained to diagnose sleep problems if the problem becomes chronic. There are some general principles though that can help you adjust. Light levels can be important. Lots of bright light when you wake up in the morning and lower light levels an hour or two before you go to bed help que the brain into sleep cycles. Avoid stimulants such as coffee, mental stimulants such as computer games at least six hours before you plan to go to bed. Keep your sleep routine constant. Waking up late on weekends can throw yours sleep cycle out completely. Getting up an hour later than you normally would can push your sleep cycle two hours forward in one go if you are sensitive to it. Sometimes if your sleep patterns can’t be bought backwards towards an early wake-up time, sleep physicians will push you right the way around the clock in the other direction by keeping up later and later.

You could see your GP and possibly get some short term sleeping tablets to try and help reset your sleep patterns.

 Melatonin is a sleep hormone that your brain uses as a trigger for sleep. It is higher at night just before you go to sleep. Your GP could prescribe you this short term which may help.

I think the problem is temporary. You could tackle some of the anxiety which will help but learning more about sleep patterns and changing them would be extremely helpful.

Good luck

 Dean

[Zoostar84]

I work shift work and the amount of quality sleep is important for my job performance.

READING!

I suggest reading before going to bed. Only in recent months when I found a book that interest me that I realised how important this was to me for getting a good nights rest. There have been some nights where I only have read one page and my eyes have felt that heavy that I could read another sentence and knew it was time to sleep.

Dwwmills said light levels are important. Having a dark room is important. I'm always thinking what could potentially wake me up in the morning. I don't have a sleep mask. Hey, I've even nailed blankets to my window frames at home when my girlfriend and I slept downstairs where it was cooler to get a better sleep on a hot night.

I try not to sleep in too much on my afternoon shifts and weekends

I try to get some exercise and sun exposure during the day

Using essential oil and even putting a few drops on my pillow before going to bed helps

I sometimes leave my bedroom window open to let cool air in

If having difficulty sleeping I find tossing and turning in bed is not ideal and the best thing to do is to actually get out of bed. Have a warm bath, have a warm glass of milk, do some reading, meditate, have a small snack and then try getting back to sleep.

I find natural sleeping tablets are quite helpful.

I usually have a herbal tea before going to bed.

Hopping into bed thats nicely made is always good

There is a certain sleep spray that works wonders. Sometimes I wake up, reach for the spray, use it, roll over and go back to sleep straight away.

I avoid caffeine after 3pm and I don't drink alcohol

I don't have a TV or a stereo in my bedroom

I try to avoid napping during the day if I can

I try not to drink much after 7PM to avoid having to go to the toilet during the night.

Hope this helps

[TJTJ]

Thank you all for these ideas. I am going to try all of them as I am desperate for this to work out. This new job will be great for me. I just have lost confidence in my ability to sleep when I need to get up early as I've had a number of times where I haven't slept even a minute. I am going to buy some pillow mist and spray it on my pillow before bed. I went to the doctor and he gave me benzodiazepine tablets. Going to take one the night before I start the job. I'm confident that once I see I can do this job and finally one night get sleep- I'll get better with the anxiety. I really hope all the tips you've given help me. 

[Zoostar84]

All the best, I look forwward to hearing how you how your sleeping habits go

[TJTJ]

Thank you all for these ideas. I am going to try all of them as I am desperate for this to work out. This new job will be great for me. I just have lost confidence in my ability to sleep when I need to get up early as I've had a number of times where I haven't slept even a minute. I am going to buy some pillow mist and spray it on my pillow before bed. I went to the doctor and he gave me benzodiazepines, I have tried the ones for sleeping before, they done work. Instead I am trying the anxiety ones. Going to take one the night before I start the job. I'm confident that once I see I can do this job and finally one night get sleep- I'll get better with the anxiety. I really hope all the tips you've given help me.