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

[Doolhof]

Hi PamelaR,

Thanks for sharing what has helped you to sleep, what hasn't and for the funny places you are able to sleep.

One time I had not slept at all well for a while and went to the Speed Way where we stood right near the fence where the drag cars roared up their engines. I was so tired I sat down and fell asleep!

Has anyone here had anaesthetic? Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to find something that made us sleep as effectively as that stuff does!

Cheers to you all from Dools

[Elizabeth CP]

Hi Dools, The problem with anesthetic is it takes ages to get out of your system so I feel under the weather for some time after.

I read a book about sleep some time ago which had some useful ideas:

Lying down relaxing is almost as good as sleep so when you go to bed concentrate on whatever forms of relaxation works for you.

Do not look at your clock. If you have to be up at a certain time set your alarm so you don't need to worry about the time. Checking the time just focuses on the fact you are awake & makes you more anxious.

When you start to think about sleeping /or not being asleep gently remind yourself 'I'm resting & relaxing so my body is healing itself. It doesn't matter if I don't fall asleep as long as I'm relaxed'" The worst thing you can do is worry about not sleeping because this makes you tense & stops you relaxing & sleeping.

Ideas for relaxation in bed include:

• Deep slow breathing.Imagine your stress being blown out as you breath out
• Progressive muscle relaxation. Focus on how relaxed & comfortable you feel after. Don't worry if you need to move to a different position.
• Visual imagery is my favourite. Imagine being in a place you have enjoyed in the past. Think about the sun on your back or the warm sand around your toes. Feel the water splashing you. Imagine the sounds of leaves rustling, water flowing or splashing, birds or animal noises, Enjoy the beautiful view in your mind, Perhaps you can smell the flowers or the fresh sea or mountain air, Imagine you body floating in the water or perhaps you feel your body moving gracefully down the ski slope Or whatever activity you enjoy. Being your imagination you move perfectly. The more details the better as long as the vision is peaceful & relaxing.These details help to keep your mind focused so you can avoid the negative thoughts which stop us relaxing.

Hope these ideas help

[Doolhof]

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you for the wonderful post about sleeping. I am thinking it may be beneficial to write some ideas down and have them on a card close to the bed so when I can't sleep I can look at the suggestions.

Visualisation is a tool that I keep forgetting about. I will try to remember to use it frequently than it will become part of my normal routine and will not seem so 'weird" when I do decide to use it.

My sleep has changed thanks to my torn ligament in my ankle and the moonboot I need to wear constantly for 6 to 8 weeks. Last night I had my leg propped up and that seemed to help reduce the level of pain experienced.

I didn't go to bed until I was really tired and tried to think pleasant thoughts and plan ahead for the next few days thinking of ways to entertain myself and how I could catch up with people when I can't drive.

Rest is important, learning to be able to reduce stress in the early evenings will also help you to acquire calmer thoughts and to feel more at peace long before you try to go to sleep.

Thanks again for sharing these tips and insights Elizabeth. Hope you are doing okay!

Cheers all from Dools.

[Elizabeth CP]

Thanks Dools. I'm sorry to hear about your leg. Sleep becomes even more essential for recovery when injured but from my experience it is very difficult to get into comfortable position to sleep. I hope you are coping OK. I have been under a bit of stress lately so tryin to get back on track

[Ggrand]

Hello Dools, Elizabeth, and everyone,

I got a huge 2 hour sleep tonight, and I just read through the last few posts and want to thank you all for your suggestions...

I woke and immediately without even thinking about anything I realised that my thoughts were not healthy ones...Do you think that subconsciously while we are asleep that depression/beasty takes control of our thoughts even then without us knowing about it...and is planting a seed to grow for the next day...

I tried to change my thoughts as soon as I realised where they were heading..... I did get up and make a pot of tea, and enjoyed that, then back to bed for some backward counting, which I find does work, but boring, and I still get confused which is the next number to come...I then tried, progressive relaxation with a guided vid, still awake so I tried visualisation and got carried away and continued into my imaginary place for quite a while because it really was peaceful where I was...I did relax here...

A couple of hours later and I'm here..writing this silly little post to try another type of distraction....Our body knows it wants and needs sleep..but our mind once taken over by the beasty/ depression has another ideas...and continues to keep me awake with being a chatterbox..

Hopefully this little bit of distraction will work..My finger is now tired, my body is very tired and my eyes are really sore, so come on my brain/mind/thoughts whatever you are Please, join in with the rest of you and enjoy a sleep over, and just close down the chatter for at least 6 hours...and take a break please!! .

Grandy....xx

[Doolhof]

Hi Everyone,

Grandy, I sympathise with the lack of sleep you are experiencing. These days for me it is the level of pain and discomfort that wakes me up and keeps me awake. I try not to allow those negative thoughts to run away with themselves, not always easy to do I know.

It certainly sounds like you tried lots of options. Do you read Grandy? I sometimes find a slightly boring book helps me to nod off. You don't want an interesting book that has you wanting to read the next page to see what is happening!

Maybe our subconscious does get stuck in a rut and maybe it does influence our thoughts, I don't really know. There were times when I awoke and the first thought were so negative and wondered where on earth they came from. I tried hard to change them as soon as I could.

Have you tried listening to quiet music as you fall off to sleep Grandy?

Elizabeth, hi. Hope you are able to contain your stress levels and find ways to feel more calm and relaxed. Not always easy hey when life keeps going on around you!

Yes, sleep is important. My Dr. said I could try sleeping with out the moon boot on and see what happens. I have so many body parts that ache, that I toss and turn a lot trying to get comfortable, it was too much for my ankle so I put the boot back on.

Hopefully tonight will be a bit better!

Cheers to all from Dools

[fred4761]

Wow Grandy - I only had 4 hours sleep last night and I thought that was a struggle! Here's hoping you get more sleep tonight.

Dools - I love the idea of an anaesthetic to put me to sleep instantly and soundly . . . but then my partner reminded me that Michael Jackson's overdose was from taking an general anaesthetic! Maybe it would be ok if I could be hooked up to monitors and had an actual anaesthetist to adminster the dosage 🙂

Elizabeth - thankyou for all of the tips on relaxing and visualisation. I think that I really need to try focus on lying still and relaxing rather than stressing about not being able to sleep. I find it so hard to not look at the clock though - maybe I need to wear an eye mask so I can't just open my eyes quickly to sneak a glance.

In addition to the usual things that I try to help me sleep I have invested in a pair of UVEX blue light blocking glasses to wear in the evenings before bed. They block out blue light like from computer screens, tvs, phones, etc but I find them to be very relaxing when I wear them. It is as though everything gets a little bit duller - but in a good way. The lens are amber coloured though so it changes the colours of things around me, which took a couple of days to get used to. I think that they have been helping me to relax and wind down in the evenings.

My sleep was has been a bit all over the place this past week with a couple of additional stressors in my life and last night I couldn't switch my mind off as my partner was having minor surgery today so I was just a bit more highly strung and overthinking things.

Here's hoping everyone has a relaxing sleep tonight.

[Ggrand]

Hello Dools, and everyone,

Does anyone know to settle a panic attack on waking...I'm not sure dreams or what ever, but I'm waking up while I'm in the middle of panic attack, sweaty, heart beating all over the place, shaking..it's beginning to be a constant and takes a long time to get under control.....any ideas would be helpful...

Dools I used to really enjoy reading fantasy books years ago, and a few years ago autobiographies, but last few years my concerntration wanders to much...

Each night I listen to a guided meditation vid..then soft music on a timer to sleep...it's just not working properly, because I think I'm beginning to get anxious about sleep now, since waking up in these, sweaty heart pounding and shakey episodes the last few nights is causing anxiety to even to want to sleep now...

I remember dreaming but can't remember what about..I tried to remember so I could write in down, but as soon as I wake up it's forgotten, maybe because I'm trying to settle/calm myself, the dream runs away because it's done it's duty in waking me..

[Eternal_Happiness]

Ggrand said:

Hello Dools, Elizabeth, and everyone,

I got a huge 2 hour sleep tonight, and I just read through the last few posts and want to thank you all for your suggestions...

I woke and immediately without even thinking about anything I realised that my thoughts were not healthy ones...Do you think that subconsciously while we are asleep that depression/beasty takes control of our thoughts even then without us knowing about it...and is planting a seed to grow for the next day...

I tried to change my thoughts as soon as I realised where they were heading..... I did get up and make a pot of tea, and enjoyed that, then back to bed for some backward counting, which I find does work, but boring, and I still get confused which is the next number to come...I then tried, progressive relaxation with a guided vid, still awake so I tried visualisation and got carried away and continued into my imaginary place for quite a while because it really was peaceful where I was...I did relax here...

A couple of hours later and I'm here..writing this silly little post to try another type of distraction....Our body knows it wants and needs sleep..but our mind once taken over by the beasty/ depression has another ideas...and continues to keep me awake with being a chatterbox..

Hopefully this little bit of distraction will work..My finger is now tired, my body is very tired and my eyes are really sore, so come on my brain/mind/thoughts whatever you are Please, join in with the rest of you and enjoy a sleep over, and just close down the chatter for at least 6 hours...and take a break please!! .

Grandy....xx

Ggrand, have you done a sleep lab sleep test that you might have sleep apnea(Central or Obstructive)/UARS/Restless leg syndrome/Snoring? You can do a home sleep test, but those don't pick up other sleeping issues I can tell you first hand that we have a sleep and depression epidemic but many people don't go to their doctors to do get sleep tested. It's free and covered under medicare. There is a waiting period and the test is evasive as in the lab test can record your sleep, but it's worth it to know what's wrong. Also, it pays to visit an orthodontist/Maxillofacial oral surgeon that knows about teeth/misalignment of the jaws which can cause a whole range of breathing and anxiety/depression issues.

[Ggrand]

Hello Eternal Happiness,

Thank you for your very helpful reply..

Unfortunately I live in a fairly isolated little village and the nearest hospital is around 80 kilometre, Doctors are very limited here, to do the sleep lad test I need to go into a much larger town. I haven't asked but I'm quite sure that they wouldn't have the sleep lab equipment here to be able to do it at home, but I will definitely ask next time I see my gp...

I do have trouble sleeping, I think the new meds are causing some sort of dream, I rarely have panick attacks at night..

I recently had X-rays of my jaw as it's causing pain. They said it's damaged by trauma which happened many years ago and also has arthritis iin the joint as well....

Thank you once again for answering my question, it really means a lot to me...

Grandy..