Help with sleep needed

[Egg_Head]

Hi fellow member, I'm in the 60 plus age group and have had chronic depression and anxiety
for over ten years now, whilst my symptoms are mostly under control with
medication I do still get anxious at times and stressed out. By far my biggest problem
is sleep or rather the inability to get enough of it at night. I get so tired I
nap for an hour or more in the afternoon several days a week. I have tried
several different types of sleeping medications and although they work I can’t
use them long term. I have tried going to bed later so I am more tired and when
I wake I try meditation to get back to sleep. Nothing seems to work, I still
wake several times during the night and I’m wide awake by 4:00 am most days. I
go to bed at 10:00 PM each night and do breathing exercises for half an hour until
my wife comes to bed. How much sleep are you getting, is it a deep sleep, do
you wake refreshed, do you nap during the day???? Any advice on how to sleep better?

[topsy_]

Hi Peter J

I'm nearly 60 & while my sleep is good on the whole, I will occasionally experience that early waking. It's such a pain in the neck!!

I have worked out a few little strategies -

1 I get up & make myself a warm cuppa.

2 If I'm hungry I have something to eat

3 I put tv on to a news station

4 I do a word puzzle on my iPhone

5 I read a copy of our local paper on my iPad

6 By now I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open, so I curl up on the lounge & go back to sleep.

The next time I wake up it's usually a normal wake up time. (I have to re-watch the tv news cause I can't remember what I heard earlier!)

Perhaps you could work out a routine that suits you. They say that as we age we need less sleep. I'm sure they mean in our 80's though, not 60's!!!!

Good luck, Lyn.

[blondguy]

Hello Peter J

I am also a sufferer of depression/anxiety since 1983. I feel your pain.

If you scroll down through the new posts you will see a great one just titled 'SLEEP'
Its full of great tips like Lyn's above...but stacks of them.

If you have any difficulty locating it just let me know. I do have some tips which I will post a bit later on. I am on AD's (taken AM) and a basic 'calmative' that I take just before bed that is a small dosage but works.

It would be great to chat to you soon.

Kind Thoughts

Paul

[Egg_Head]

Thank you both for your replies. I found the “sleep” post
and read through it and found some very good suggestions. Funny thing is last
night I slept through, funny because I see my wife didn’t get up at all during
the night. She keeps a white board on the kitchen bench to write down each time
she gets up during the night and what for IE pain in leg, panadene, toilet and
so on. Strange, she doesn’t get up and I sleep through; I think I may have
found at least some of the cause of me not sleeping.

[Doolhof]

Hi Peter.J

I'm Mrs. Dools. You may recognise me from the SLEEP thread.

I've just discovered your thread and wanted to comment because I read your words that say:

"Strange, she doesn’t get up and I sleep through; I think I may have
found at least some of the cause of me not sleeping. "

My husband and I were interrupting each other's sleep. I am very restless due to a bad back and depression and he snores loud enough o wake the people up next door! Plus he comes to bed a lot later than I do and I am up early.

We now have separate bedrooms. I hated it at first but sleep much better than I have in many years. Even if you did this a couple of nights a week to get back into deeper sleep then return to the same bed as your wife for the rest of the week.

It might help! Now when we go on holidays and have the same room, my sleep is pitiful! Ha. Ha.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools

Oh yes, if you would like to add anything to the SLEEP thread you are more than welcome. The more stories we have on there, the more people will be informed they are not the only ones struggling to sleep. We may be able to help each other with suggestions and ideas as well to improve sleep.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools

[Margaret2045]

If you live in Sydney, you could contact the Woolcock Institute for Medical Research where they conduct research about sleep disorders, including insomnia as well as sleep apnea which can disturb people's sleep. Depression and other health problems are associated with undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea (typically, people snore heavily, stop breathing temporarily and then start again with a gasping snore). If in Melbourne, Monash University has a sleep research unit as well as Adelaide. There are online cognitive behavioural therapy tools specifically for insomnia that have a good outcome for many people, such as SHUTi and Sleepio but it's important to go to a reputable clinic for a sleep study and get a proper diagnosis.

[Egg_Head]

Hi Margaret, I have had two sleep studies done, the first
showed very little sleep apnoea and a more intensive study showed just “mild” sleep apnoea.
It showed a good O2 level maintained and a good sleep quality. I think it has a
lot to do with anxiety and the medication I’m on.

[blondguy]

Hi PeterJ

Just thought Id pop back in and say hello.

I am 56 and have had anxiety/depression since 1983. I have had your symptoms for years. A nap in the avo works for me...if I can get the opportunity. Interesting about when your wife didnt get up you slept better. I have always been a light sleeper and when I was with my partner I would sleep really bad when she was getting up during the night.

I think you have it spot on that the anxiety has a great deal to do with it. A tired mind will rev too hard when we dont need it to including when we are sleeping..thus the wake ups...

Paul

[Egg_Head]

Hi Paul,

I feel my anti depression medication has much to do with my
sleeping, or rather the lack of it. I was first prescribed this medication 10
years ago and that was when I started to have sleep problems. My doctor advised
me to halve the dose which I did but my sleep didn’t improve all that much.
About a year ago I was told (by my new doctor) to take the full recommended
dose as my depression/anxiety was worsening. The same doctor recently recommended
a new approach to sleep, one that requires me to not nap in the afternoon and
go to bed later. The suggestion is not to go to bed until I’m very tired; this
advice seems to fly in the face of sleep advisors who recommend a night time sleep
paten be established and maintained. My last resort and the one that my doctor
is suggesting if the last suggestion fails is to change medication to one that is
an anti depressant but induces sleep as a side effect. As this site does not
allow the naming of medication it’s hard to get advice from others on the side
effects of various medications experienced by others. I need a medication, and
a dose of that medication that helps with depression and anxiety, does not
cause sleep problems but still allows me to function normally in the morning.
Big ask eh.

[blondguy]

Hi Peter

Thanks for posting back..I read what your doc mentioned about not having a power nap in the afternoon. I have been told the same too..Being very tired is smart advice and does work as well. I have a steep block and thus there is always something that needs doing ...rocks..retaining walls...pruning etc...I always seem to sleep better after doing the 'heavy' work but it wasnt enough.

I think your last resort is a great idea. Its not a big ask as I found a way to do it without feeling 'fuzzy' or dopey in the morning....Its in my first post above. It does work as my job roles required 'quick thinking' and precise communicating.

Paul