Night Owls (for those awake late and can't sleep)

[Croix]

Dear All
The purpose of this thread is as a meeting point for those that can’t sleep and it is late (I.E. AFTER midnight.)

It can be a useful space for users to share their issues with insomnia as well as coping strategies. It can also be a general space for users to converse and support one another throughout a difficult night.

Please note – for those that are just bored or lonely we already have a place - the BB Café, which I recommend instead of here

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/bb-social-zone/the-bb-cafe

Croix

[topsy_]

Hello

I’ve been waking a couple of times a night for months now. Rather than just stay in bed unsettled I get up & make an early start on the puzzles I like to do each day (it’s amazing how much easier they are though later in the morning lol).

I often have a warm cuppa but a couple of nights ago I was hungry & there was nothing “nice” to eat so I baked a cake! It went in the oven at 3.40am & out at 4.20. I’ve never done that before ever!

In the bad old days I’d be so angry & cross with myself for being awake - “I’m going to be so tired tomorrow” kind of thing. I find it’s better just to accept it these days & actually do something until I get sleepy again.

Cheers for now, T.

[Ggrand]

Hello everyone..

I really hope you cut yourself a slice of warm cake after you made it....You so much deserve it after cooking at that time in the morning....It would have made your house smell sooo goood.....

I don’t leave a light on..but I do have a bedside lamp I put on if I awaken from nightmares...Then I get up and make a cuppa tea...lay on the lounge with the tv on or a sleep story...eventually falling asleep again...

Grandy

[quirkywords]

Hello all

I have a question for everyone.

Do you have a clock near your bed amd if so do you look at the. Lock each time you wake up.??

I was told I would sleep enter if I didn’t know the time. I tried it but I still wake up 8 to ten times a night.
just interested if people find knowing the time affects sleep patterns.

[Lillylane]

Hi Quirky,

Most of the time I check the clock each time I wake up. However sometimes I fall asleep somewhere where there isn’t a clock around, but I still seem to wake just as often.

Oh, waking up 8 to 10 times is rough Quirky! This must be exhausting and I feel for you.

[Ggrand]

Hello Quirky and everyone...

No I don’t have a clock in my bedroom...I used to when I was working and Monday nights I set my phone alarm so I’m not late at the op shop....

I find having a clock in my bedroom is a stress factor because if I wake up through the night and see the time, then I start worrying about the approaching morning..which makes going back to sleep a lot harder for me.....

[gld]

Hi to all,

Lately i find myself rolling around for hours and waking at a pin drop.

This impacts my awake time. I feel also carry some social anxiety and fear of connection with others.

Reading has given me great starting points although mending some of my bad behaviours and getting started i am finding it hard. I feel i am my own wall that lets me begin.

Please feel free to give me some tips to move forward and pull my head out of the sand.

[food lover]

I wake up multiple times through the night, when I am extremely tired and know i won't sleep i take sleeping pills, this happens 2-3 times a week. For me what helps is reading a book for 30 minutes beforehand, however i still wake up many times, as far as i can remember I've never slept well.

[Guest5734]

Lillylane, I find it helps to have a lamp whose switch I can reach from bed. The switch is on the cord and I have cabled-tied the cord to my bed so it doesn't fall down. I deliberately chose a dim bulb for the light so it's not too startling, and so I can leave it on overnight if necessary. However, usually it is enough to have it off but with the switch there. 🙂

[Lillylane]

Thank you, that’s a great idea for making the lamp switch easy to get to at night 🙂

Have had some knee pain discomfort and have found placing a small pillow under my knees while I sleep has helped a lot.

[ecomama]

Hey Quirky and gentle sleepy waves to everyone reading lol.

Your question about clocks in the bedroom.
I've probably always been on the insomniac end of the sleep routine spectrum.
I know now that waking up often throughout the night has been partially explained by trauma, since being diagnosed with C-PTSD. The rest is biological I think.

About 20y ago I just decided to take the alarm clock out of my bedroom.
I have no clocks in my bedroom whatsoever.
This helped A LOT.

About 35y ago I stopped wearing a watch altogether. I preferred to "sense" what time it was and not keep looking at my watch a billion times a day.

When I was pretty anxious about beginning at a very new job in all ways, I wasn't sleeping well at all. Eventually, instead of turning on the light and getting up, I would leave the room dark and scribble on a Scrapbook with a crayon I had next to my bed on the floor, writing whatever it was that worried me about setting up my new job (or whatever else was disturbing my sleep).

I had to rebirth this strategy during the Courts phase.
Just SO many things to remember for affidavits etc.

At my worst I would wake every 30-40 mins. Sometimes only have 45 mins sleep in a night. The PTSD was full on during these times. I didn't know about it then though.

If I get 8h sleep in a night I must be ill lol!
I do well on 6h sleep. That's just me.

Apparently as a baby, I barely slept. As a toddler the adults needed to hold my legs and arms still while someone closed my eyes with their hands and sang a lullaby.
Yep I think I've had some form of ADHD since birth.

The fact my very young mother was all alone in a foreign country assisting in operating theatres as a Nurse, while a war was happening AND being pregnant with me can explain the beginnings of the trauma I believe. What she saw was nothing short of horrific.

Anyhoo yep, no clocks in the bedroom lol.

Love EM

A HUGE WARM WELCOME TO FOOD LOVER! We hope you enjoy the forums and we are so happy you've joined us!
Love EM