SLEEP

[Doolhof]

Hi All,

In the past there may have been threads on sleep and how to improve our quality of sleep.

I am starting this thread up and hope to include past thread titles.

For some of us sleep is a real issue, the more we can learn about it the better informed we will be.

Funny stories on weird places you have fallen asleep are welcome as well.

For me, I had just moved house and was very busy getting everything organised. Friends invited me to the drag races. I was so tired and exhausted that I sat down, leant against the fence right near the starting line and fell asleep for most of the evening.

Hope to read some of your stories and tips.

Cheerio for now, from Mrs. Dools

[Elizabeth CP]

Hi Paul. The mattress needs to be firm enough to support you. Sagging like a banana is bad for the spine & sleep but it needs to have some give particularly for women as our bodies are more contoured so if the mattress is too firm there is no support for the indents such as the waist area. We all come in different shapes & weights so we need to pick the bed which gives us the best support not the one suited to someone else. Same applies to pillows. My husband & I have different pillows because we have different needs.

[Doolhof]

Hi Elizabeth and Paul,

Thanks for the sharing regarding beds and pillows. Yes, it does make a difference to your back, neck and your whole body if you have a decently firm mattress.

My husband can only sleep with a pillow that is so flat it is hardly worth having a pillow at all! I have a relatively firm pillow and have a removable woollen underlay for my pillow. Helps to reduce my neck pains and head aches.

My Father stayed at our place one. We showed him about 10 pillows and he didn't like any of them, so we ensure he brings his own pillow with him now when he comes to stay.

Being too hot or too cold in bed can have a huge impact on sleep on well. As my Dad has sore legs and especially knees and feet, I put tucks/gathers in the sheet and blanket so they are not so tight around his legs. He does not like the arches you can put in the bed as he says it makes it too drafty for his feet.

Thanks again for your sharing and input. Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools

[blondguy]

Hey Elizabeth and Mrs Dools 🙂

I have been nagging my dad and others to buy the most firm mattress that they can as the spinal column has to be as straight as possible during sleep. As you said Elizabeth...we shouldnt have as little curvature in our spine as possible.

I am one of the lucky ones as I sleep like a log..most of the time. Except for thursday am when I was 'boing' wide awake at 4am....there was no reason for it but it happened...so I just went back to sleep without 'trying' to...and it worked...Paul

[Doolhof]

Hi Blondguy and All,

It is interesting when you stay at a motel, in a caravan park cabin or any where else to see what sort of a mattress you will encounter.

Actually, sometimes it is best not to look at them...if I did that I might not sleep at all! Ha. Ha.

That is one thing I find when on holidays where you travel from here to there, it takes my back a while to adjust to a different bed.

Once when visiting an Aunt with my sister, my Aunt placed us in the caravan which had a double bed. I had very little sleep that night as my sister kept moving closer towards me so she could keep warm.

Even though we were in separate sleeping bags it was just not "right" for me and I had a lousy night's sleep.

Another time my sister and I were staying at our parent's in their caravan which had separate beds. It was a really windy night, the caravan was rocking about so much I was motion sick! Ended up Dad had forgotten o put the stabilisers down. My sister slept like a log and snored so loudly, it was like thunder. Ha. Ha.

When sleeping inside at my parents, I put the kitchen clock in the laundry as the ticking is so loud it keeps me awake. Mum wondered where on earth the clock was when I did it the first time!

Does anyone else have any stories to share?

Cheers all from Mrs. Dools

[blondguy]

Hi Mrs Dools

I just read your post and had a good laugh when you mentioned your sisters snoring sounding like thunder or a freight train 🙂

Just to remind the girls that some of us guys sleep 'hotter' than you do. I have a duck/goose feather doona that has a 2 blanket 'strength'. It cost me a fortune and I have to kick it off and just have a sheet and single blanket.

Is this a 'guy' thing? Paul

[Poodlejewel]

Yes. My very first ever panic attack was caused by a double shift at work, a night shift then straight into a day shift. When I finally got home I was still awake hours later, jittery, panicky and had to call the after hours doctor to knock me out. So now if I have a night of tossing and turning I start to panic I will not get enough sleep before work or just nervous about going to work. I have recently found on YouTube a thing called Tapping OR EFT when I get nervous I start tapping my meridian points and say I need my work. My work pays my rent and keeps a roof over my head. My work gives me money to have holidays, my work gives me money to buy food to eat . I might do this for 10 minutes then the nervousness goes. I also listen to soft chanting music to relax me ​

[Doolhof]

Hi Poodlejewel,

Thanks for sharing this with us. I have been shown tapping before, not sure if it did much for me, because I didn't practice it long enough. It is wonderful you have found it to be so beneficial.

A friend has just leant me some CDs on Mindfulness. I used to try to do Mindfulness, so seem to be finding my body is sort of slotting back into the old routine of Mindfulness and I am a lot less stressed.

It is not good to listen to some of the techniques while I am driving though! Ha. Ha. I was trying to listen to one of the CDs on the weekend, then my husband started to watch the footy. He needed the volume up so loud, I thought I was actually at the game!

I will try to find a quitter moment to listen and practise some of the suggestions for meditation.

Thanks again for sharing. From Mrs. Dools

[Doolhof]

Hi Blondguy,

If I was sleeping under a duck/goose doona I would be all stuffed up in the morning as I am allergic to the feathers.

Regarding some guys sleeping "hotter" maybe that is the case but I doubt you sleep hotter than a woman going through menopause!

Why is it called Menopause anyway? Maybe it is to provide the guys with a hint that when women are going through this, men have to pause for a while and not take on board the irrational behaviours of their women! Ha. Ha.

Menopause can certainly add to a lousy night's sleep too!

[blondguy]

Hey Mrs Dools

You really crack me up. I used to be allergic to feathers in the 60's but that was just a 'guess' from the docs.

I am now allergic to cats....they make my eyes weep and itch....

Thankyou so very little to mention the menopause tag!.....I do understand though and thankyou Mrs Dools

[Petra]

I think it's a guy thing!