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

[ecomama]

Hi everyone

I'm having lots of problems with my sleep atm.

It's not being able to GET to sleep, then some nights sleeping so badly (like last night), then feeling so tired when I wake up, I'm more asleep than awake.

UGH!

I had to find this thread to read other's posts.

I can see that some people have a worse time with sleep bec of the types of foods they ate, and when they ate.
THANKYOU for posting that!

I bought some chocolate and ice creams as a treat for NYE since I wasn't going anywhere.... that wasn't a good thing for me lol.
I also bought lots of fizzy for Christmas for the kids and NO ONE drank any! Yeah that's a first!
I was impressed about that but this morning I took one to give me a LIFT and it's prob made things worse.

I have more headaches.

I've got so much on my mind atm. SO many issues to sort here.

And my household is "buzzing" almost 24/7 with kids going to work till up to 2am and waking very early to start work. No one can get straight to sleep when they finish work and want to "vent" to me too... like I'm tired guys lol but I love you so yeah. Plus with only one car atm, I'm doing alot of the drop offs and picks ups and it's wearing me down.

And with the grandkids being on school holidays and almost keeping regular sleep schedules lol... they want to come over alot in "normal" hours.
I'm asleep so often when they come!

I can't believe I'm on leave and feel this tired.

Sleep can be a 4 letter word but I'd LOVE some good quality sleep!

I'm going to ditch the fizzy.
Care about what I eat and when.

Thanks everyone.
EMxxxx

[Guest_1584]

l fell back onto old times the last few mths and stopped sleeping, different reasons though , bad thoughts . This last 3-wks now though l've started retraining and l'm sleeping through really well again atm now so really pleased with that.

l left the tv in the lounge on all night for the first two wks so the chatter in the distance distracted bad thoughts and also made myself go into sleep dreaming good dreams. Plus tried to get back to my old new routine of switching of gadgets by 1 or 2 , go for a wonder round the house clear my head for awhile then jump into bed so that's all been working really well again andddd, l'm getting some sleep again. rx

[Doolhof]

Hi Everyone,

It is interesting reading how diet affects people sleep, thanks Fred, Gambit and EM for sharing your thoughts around food and sleep.

Good to know you are working out how to get more sleep randomx.

With your busy household EM it is no wonder your sleep pattern is all over the place. Hope you are able to sort something out somehow!

I've not slept well for a long time now. I try to set up routines, practise sleep hygiene practises, but still don't seem to be able to sleep past 3.00 a.m. even if I go to bed at midnight or 1.00 a.m.

A doctor told me I have to retrain the brain to stop waking me at 3.00 a.m. I asked him how I managed that and he told me I had to work it out for myself! If I knew how to do that I wouldn't have asked him for help with my insomnia!

Feeling so tired and washed out all day is not very helpful. Any ideas how to boost the 3.00 p.m. slump when all you want to do is have a nap at work!

Cheers all from Dools

[quirkywords]

Hello everyone

Just saw your thread and thought Id reply though little has chnaged.

i dont think I have slept for longer than 3 hrs with out waking up since 1975!!

Mostly I am lucky to sleep 2hrs at a stretch.

I think I need to retrain my bladder and brai and have tried nearly everything for both.

When someone offers me advice or I read a new article I try it but nothing works. I suppose as long as I am not in pain I accept it as I could have a lot worse wrong with me.

I suppose when friends or family say they didnt get much sleep then I find out they slept for 5 hrs uninterrupted I do envy them their 'poor' nights sleep.

Dools no answers but I am amazed I am tired whe I wkae up, tired in the afternoon, tired before evening meal, but whenever I go to sleep , I have tried routines different times too, I am wide awake!!

I yawn in front of people who are talking to me so that is embarrassing.

Thanks Dools

[Guest_1584]

For me one of the biggest things with routine is not trying to nap or catch up all day long too. Get out of bed 7-8-9 whenever you normally have to get up , and stay out until bed that night again. The first wk kills you but it has to be done to be properly exhausted that night.

l retrained the waking up quirk , by staying in bed eyes shut and not giving into it. It's a 20-30minute cycle so the tired wave will be back again soon enough and if you stay put you'll nod back off. You miss that wave though and the wrong pattern starts if you don't train yourself to catch it when it returns.

[Doolhof]

Hi randomx,

I have tried getting up at 6.00 every morning and not going to bed until 10.30 p.m. being active all day and not snoozing.

I was on a low fod map diet for 6 months and that didn't seem to help.

I don't necessarily have negative thoughts, I just can't stay asleep. Maybe I am a bit like Quirky, other health issues are contributing to the situation and I might just have to live with it.

[quirkywords]

randomx

thanks for your suggestions. if it was only my brain but my bladder wakes me up many times and each time it is harder to get back to sleep. I have done what you have suggested for a long time and not napped and have a routine. I lie awake with eyes closed for hours.

I have tried diet, exercise, breathing mediation, having nothig in the bedroom, sleep hygeine you name it I tried and I am still trying.

I am willing try things and I give them a fair trial of months but nothing changes. Sometimes I think acceptance is better than fighting.

[Guest_1584]

Yeah right , damn , sorry to hear all that .

l know how hard it can be. All l can say is we need to figure out what works for us , know and understand ourselves and what's happening , and come up with a strategy , and for me as long as l persists and stick to mine, it's finally worked , but that's me.

Sorry nothing has worked for you guys. Strangely l wasn't even tired when l wasn't sleeping , l had more energy then than l do now when l do sleep. That was my option b and to hell with it, just leave it. But they say so many bad things about not sleeping and my daughter was really worried about me, soooo.l seem to be back on track lately , see if it lasts l suppose.

lt's a very weird business isn't it. l know a guy late 50s he's only slept 3hrs a night his whole life, still has heaps of energy and just accepts it. He was saying he just doesn't seem to need more and it doesn't seem to matter, runs a business , flies small planes for a hobby, so he's just lived that way he's whole life and always will. For him fair enough l suppose if it ain't broke.

Sounds like nothing will fix it for you guys , maybe there's peace in just excepting it then .

rx

[Doolhof]

Hi rx and All reading,

I too have known people who don't seem to need much sleep and do very well with it. Usually I do accept the fact I don't sleep, but when I become really exhausted because of it I become rather irritable and tired.

Guess I just have to accept the days I am tired and achieve what I can those days.

Today I was planning on a drive to the beach, after a few nights of lousy sleep, I awoke with a head ache, was very tired and dizzy. I didn't feel safe going out driving so worked in the garden instead. I will get to the beach another day.

I'm really happy for everyone who is able to have a good night's sleep.

Cheers all from Dools

[ecomama]

Hey everyone

Quirky and those reporting NOT sleeping more than 2-3h at a stretch.. I'm like that quite a lot when I'm on leave most esp.

Then last week a Uni student just happened to tell me they read about Sleep routines in some cultures and how DIFFERENT they are to what we've come to accept as "normal" here.

Like what is normal anyway, that word just bugs me lol.

So apparently it's quite common and actually routine and expected that people have a nap / sleep in the afternoon or evening. Sleep for a few hours then, THEN get up for another few hours and do things like housework and even go to neighbour's houses! Yay... there's a "norm" I'm normal with!
Then head back to bed before waking for the work day.

I DON'T necessarily feel better after a long stretch of sleep, sometimes I feel quite groggy and out of it (and no I don't drink alcohol lol).
Some times I DO need to and DO feel better for it.

Back 30+y ago my Nana said I'd had insomnia since I was a baby lol but it wasn't insomnia I think. It was just that I've always needed less sleep than HER children and my cousins for example. The "Baby Books" didn't match me OR any of my children. It used to drive my family batty.

Now my kids are teens they are sleeping alot more but that's good too.

My adult children went through that and are now like me again, as they were when they were younger.

I try to relax and have a "getting ready for bed" routine esp when I'm working.
On hols I just go with the flow alot more and not get all worried about it.

As I long as I can more or less "function" during the day, I'm fine with it.

I was just born in the wrong culture lol!

Love EM