Depression and lack of sleep.

[Encourager]

Hi everybody.

This is my first post, so I will try and make it brief. Although I seem to have suffered some form of depression most of my adult life, lately I have noticed it is very hard to have a full 6-8 hours sleep at night. I often have short bursts of sleep for 2-3 hours and then have a short rest during the following day. I wondered if anyone else has experienced similar changes in their pattern of sleep. Hope everyone is finding some comfort in the present pandemic seeming to flatten out.

[jess334]

Hi Encourager,

Welcome to the Beyond Blue forums.

Sleep is so difficult to get 'right'! I think its probably the thing that frustrates me the most.

It sounds like you don't have a problem falling asleep initially, just staying asleep all night through.

Have you tried any meditation to help you fall back asleep?

I think the worst thing is lying there hoping to fall asleep and failing. When it gets to that point for me I get up, have a cup of chamomile tea and read a book for an hour. No screens though cause that just wakes me up more.
I also find a heat pack on my back makes me drowsy and helps me fall back to sleep.

Most of the time when changes in my sleep pattern occurs it is because of something stressful in my life. Obviously the pandemic is causing stress everywhere at the moment! Sometimes talking it through with someone helps too.

Kind thoughts, Jess

[Wizard1]

Hi Encourager (I like the name btw),

Welcome to the forums.

Yes getting enough sleep is challenging at times. I find getting to sleep often easy but later on in the night I'll wake up and can not get back to sleep. It can be very frustrating particularly when you start having a succession of days with poor sleep.

I find it is at it worst when I'm stressed but occasionally it happens to me without any known reason. I also get restless legs which too can keep me up. I find that following things help with some success.

* Get up and do something else (without screens). Sometimes I just get up and doing some stretches. This sometimes helps relax me and takes my mind of things.
* Another trick I found recently that helped me was to lay there with my eyes open and intentionally keep them open. Overtime your eyes get heavy and eventually I just nod off without even realizing it.
* One thing that can keep me up is the thought that any movement I make could wake my partner. So I sometimes just go sleep in the spare bed, that way I stop worrying about waking my partner and just fall asleep. So maybe try and sleep in another location at times and see if that helps.

The above is what works for me sometimes but on a occasion none of the above works. I think each every person needs to find their own methods.

I would discourage you from having a sleep during the day unless you really need it. Doing this regularly could be harming you sleeping patterns.

Cheers
Wizard.

[Encourager]

Thanks Wizard 1.

I have heard before that sleeping during the day can short-circuit your night sleep. I am going to experiment with having only a short rest of 30-60 minutes. I am hoping that I will feel refreshed for the afternoon and still enjoy a good nights sleep.

Regards Encourager