I need to sleep properly at night

Tim_Deegan

I used to have trouble sleeping until I got a memory foam mattress. One thing that can cause you to be restless at night is pressure points. Memory foam moulds to your body, so you don't get pressure points. However it is an expensive cure, so seek medical advice before you splash out.

moggylover

1sue23 wrote: »

Me too, last night about 2 hours sleep I have never slept well even as a child so it is very difficult at times .I have been told it is in the mind and to try sleep deprivation which after Christmas I am going to try .I have found an electric fan running in the room can help ,also leaving a window open ,but the best way is not to let it worry you which is really the difficult bit, because you associate bed with not sleeping and so you go round in a loop.
Good luck because it is awful and you feel that you are the only one when you listen to every one around you soundly sleeping ,but as you know there are lots of us.

I have tried sleep deprivation - it didn't work at all, and it just meant I was so exhausted I couldn't do anything. Now, I tend to get what sleep I can, and try to grab a nap at odd times when I can:o . I've spent years trying to teach my brain to sleep when it is supposed to - but to no avail, and yet I can sit down to watch that programme I have been waiting ages for and be asleep in mins:mad: :rotfl:

1sue23

moggylover wrote: »

I have tried sleep deprivation - it didn't work at all, and it just meant I was so exhausted I couldn't do anything. Now, I tend to get what sleep I can, and try to grab a nap at odd times when I can:o . I've spent years trying to teach my brain to sleep when it is supposed to - but to no avail, and yet I can sit down to watch that programme I have been waiting ages for and be asleep in mins:mad: :rotfl:

I am going to try it after Christmas and like you at the moment I just try to sleep when I can ,and I can sleep no problem when I am on the settee ,watching the telly in fact I can not keep my eyes open ,and tonight is a bad one as now gone 3 and can I sleep, no chance.:mad:

Tim_Deegan

Have you tried reading or watching TV in bed?

cally6008

Has anyone tried Kalms before ? OH has been suggested them to help him calm down before his driving test and I've read they can aid natural sleep so wondering if I should give them a go as well.

nich29580

hey dont want to seem really obvious here but have you tried a sleep aid such as nytol (i know asda do their own version 20 tabs is £1.40 odds) always works for me

red

here are my tips:

make sure a routine is created with a regular bed and waking time

make sure that before bed you start to wind down at least a couple of hours before, including avoiding all stimulants such as coffee, tea, alcohol, chocolate, cigarettes, etc

make your bedroom a restful place and keep it as simple as possible...your mind and body needs to know that the bedroom is a calm and restful place, therefore try to avoid phones and tv in there if possible

keep the bedroom as free of any light as possible, from street light to light in the house...have lights on a sensor or keep a torch by the bed if you are worried about needing a light in the night, but do not leave lights in the corridor on, if possible

keep the temperature of the room and the bed at a regulated temp...if necessary, make sure central heating comes on to prevent the room becoming too cool or leave a window ajar in the summer

spray a little lavender or sweet orange on the pillows to relax the mind

take a warm bath an hour before

drink lettuce juice/a glass of milk/chamomile tea or a banana before bed

eat something but not too much before bed

learn a few breathing excercises to help calm your mind and relax your body

have a tape of relaxing music or white noise machine to help block out noises

good luck! hope it helps!

bambammy

Remove all caffeine from your diet - http://www.cspinet.org/new/cafchart.htm

Go for a swim, join the gym. Free weights will do the same trick if not joining the gym.

Eat light before bed. Milk shake, soups. Don't dine after nine.

Remove refined sugar foods from your diet, pastries, sweets, cakes, ketchup, white bread...

Have the doctor check your B12 levels for defienccy, magnesium and calcium also.

Take B complex supplement, and zinc. Under advice.

Keep a sleep diary, noting your caffeine intake. The doctor can't tell you, you have apnea, he may suspect it, but it's a specialist sleep doctor who will have to define this. Do you stop breathing in the night?

Ask him if he's referred you to a sleep clinic for an over night study?

You shouldn't take herbal remedies until you've had your blood pressure checked.

Try to maintain routine, with healthy eating , exercise and going to bed the same time. There's lots of good guide books in the library for remedies.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=420

1sue23

nich29580 wrote: »

hey dont want to seem really obvious here but have you tried a sleep aid such as nytol (i know asda do their own version 20 tabs is £1.40 odds) always works for me

Yes I have tried nytol and it does not work.

bambammy

My first reply was just a general.

cally6008 wrote: »

fiscalfreckles - I don't touch coffee, only once in a blue moon. Check the chart in my other post for foods etc with caffeine in

frugallass - I have to be careful with yoga as I have a joint problem and yoga can aggrivate it. Reading in bed would last about 10mins before I fall alseep. I have thought about hypnotherapy and acupuncture but the cost puts me off. Something to maybe save up for next year. Can't comment on yoga, haven't tried it. A massage at night helps me sleep.

1sue23 - I cant sleep with a fan on in the room, too noisy. I cant leave the window open due to said joint problem as cold increases the pain factor for me and leaves me extremely stiff and very sore. Air the room during the day, don't smoke in your room, or have air freshners, candles etc

Can I just point out - I do sleep, I drop off fine and sleep through the night .... It's what I do "in" my sleep thats the problem and I dont even know Im doing all this stuff.

Borrow a camera and record yourself throughout the night. There's a TV programme on this evening about sleep apnea.

jetcat - I'd love to be part of a sleep clinic. The chances are that my doctor won't refer me. He doesnt even see my joint problem as a problem and says I'm 100% fine (when I'm so obviously not). I'm better than I was this time last year but I'm by no means "fine" I've never been fine, i've ached all day.
Everyone is different and it will be a process of trial and error. There's no magic solution. What works for one,won't work for another. Change your doctor. Over night studies are expensive. You may need a during the day study also to rule out REM sleep issues, restless leg syndrome. Sleep talking, walking ? ME, adrenal exhaustion, narcolepsy, dental sleep problems ( do you gring your teeth ? ) hypersomnia, Fibromyalgia, menstrual sleep problems, increased hormonal imbalances etc...the list goes on


Lil2002 - I don't watch TV after 9pm anyway. I have to have a bath before it gets towards bedtime as I dont like being in the bath at a late time of night (ie, 5--6pm). I dont like hot chocolate or horlicks, makes me feel sickly. Tensing muscles ends up with cramp and said joint problem affects proprieception (sp?) and I dont use my muscles properly anyway so it wouldnt really be an exercise for me to do without proper supervision to make sure I'm doing it proper. A bath can wake some people up, and others it will do the opposite. Try a milk shake or soup.

cazziebo - I'm not either, normally too much pain or tiredness to bother doing bedroom activities

raphael - Definitely not overweight (approx 8 n half stones!). I dont have worries as such. I've been grinding my teeth for about 2 years so it cant be recent worries and stress affecting that side of things. You will need a gum sheild from the dentist, and possible particail plates pending an asymmetrical jaw.

LMAO ... just listening to the ZZZ coming from bedroom from OH. Fat chance of him waking up to watch Top Gear shortly

Savvy_Sue - the CD looks interesting but no way can I afford $79 to get access to download the sleep ones. I dont have a CD burner on laptop either. Order it at the library.

lisaloo - I get all my exercise walking to and from work, 20 mins each way, twice a day and then constantly on the go whilst at work. The bedroom is kept on the cool side anyway (we havent got heating on tonight as yet). I dont get worked up about it but after nearly 2 years of OH not getting a decent kip it is starting to concern me a lot. I'm very suprised he hasnt up and left me, I know some blokes would have.
That's not exercise! You will need to feed your body more oxygen, pumping weights, not heavy, but enough to get the body starting to repair the tears done to the muscles, encouraging growth and repairing it stronger. Which is still repairing 24 hours later. Feeding your vitals with the required oxygen it needs to regenerate while in deep sleep ( if you reach deep sleep, stage 4 ) Which will also give you more energy and you will see a difference in your sleep if you do proper exercise. But again, everyone's different. It's all trial and error.
The healthy diet and nutrients are needed to aid proper excercise, and gives your digestive tract a rest. Aerobic exercise will be needed also to build stamina and oxygen. Start small and build up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobic_exercise The good sleep guide by Nigella Lawson is a good guide.

You can't help those, who won't help themself! There's no magic solution or pill.

I'm talking from experience. I missed the gym yesterday and talked, jumped around sleep walking the whole night long, keeping my partner up all night. Bones are cracking, aching, the brain fog ( I like to call it ' fart in a trance ' ) state is approaching, my jaws clicking painfully sore.


Oh, forgot to say - a hot water bottle will help jaw pains with teeth grinding, and deep heat. Or the heat from a shower. Your soreness will get better if you follow the help and tips in this thread book above I referred to. Plenty of other books to read to.

http://www.britishsnoring.co.uk/home_sleep_study.php?PHPSESSID=4818716f4e60f9f8c11f858125fe7a9f