What helps you sleep?

meerustar

Just stumbled across this thread having a random nosey at boards I don't usually venture up to .. hello everyone

Anyway, I used to be just like most of you here and could not get a decent night sleep for love nor money. I'd lie in bed night after night putting the world to right in my head. I'd be tired but could never get to sleep, so I'd get up, make a brew, watch crap tele for a bit, feel really tired, go back to bed and not be able to sleep again. Awful it is, and so so draining.

Now .. I sleep like a baby, up fresh as a daisy at 6.30 each day and feel much better.

So what worked for me?? Cutting out caffeine completely!! I was an average tea drinker, enjoyed the odd vodka and coke, the odd chocolate bar etc, and now stopped the lot.

I drink decaf (which does contain cafffeine, but just a teeny amount), substituted coke with my vodka for lemonade (thank the Lord vodka doesn't have caffeine, lol) and eat only white chocolate as it's made with cocoa butter and not the cocoa bean so has minimal caffeine in.

Now if I have caffeine, and just the one cuppa thats not decaf, I feel shaky and my anxieties raise and I feel sick.

I know that this has worked for me and may not work for everyone else, but it's worth a try

pipkin71

meerustar wrote: »

Just stumbled across this thread having a random nosey at boards I don't usually venture up to .. hello everyone

Anyway, I used to be just like most of you here and could not get a decent night sleep for love nor money. I'd lie in bed night after night putting the world to right in my head. I'd be tired but could never get to sleep, so I'd get up, make a brew, watch crap tele for a bit, feel really tired, go back to bed and not be able to sleep again. Awful it is, and so so draining.

Now .. I sleep like a baby, up fresh as a daisy at 6.30 each day and feel much better.

So what worked for me?? Cutting out caffeine completely!! I was an average tea drinker, enjoyed the odd vodka and coke, the odd chocolate bar etc, and now stopped the lot.

I drink decaf (which does contain cafffeine, but just a teeny amount), substituted coke with my vodka for lemonade (thank the Lord vodka doesn't have caffeine, lol) and eat only white chocolate as it's made with cocoa butter and not the cocoa bean so has minimal caffeine in.

Now if I have caffeine, and just the one cuppa thats not decaf, I feel shaky and my anxieties raise and I feel sick.

I know that this has worked for me and may not work for everyone else, but it's worth a try

Your past sleeping habits describe my current present ones, meerustar.

I have suffered with insomnia for years and, no matter how tired I am, I don't get a proper night's sleep.

I was advised to cut out all caffeine after 7pm, which did give some improvement, but not enough to give me a full night of sleep.

I do wonder if cutting it out completely will resolve the insomnia, but a big factor in why I can't sleep is because of the pain I am in when I lie down It's perhaps worth looking at, but I can't imagine not drinking any tea, again :eek::eek:

meerustar

pipkin71 wrote: »

Your past sleeping habits describe my current present ones, meerustar.

I have suffered with insomnia for years and, no matter how tired I am, I don't get a proper night's sleep.

I was advised to cut out all caffeine after 7pm, which did give some improvement, but not enough to give me a full night of sleep.

I do wonder if cutting it out completely will resolve the insomnia, but a big factor in why I can't sleep is because of the pain I am in when I lie down It's perhaps worth looking at, but I can't imagine not drinking any tea, again :eek::eek:

It's worth a go

I do still drink tea, I drink Tetley decaf and can't tell any difference. :j

I doubt it will help on the pain side of things, but a good nights sleep might help with the frustration of it.

I've just got to overcome other obstacles now having been misdiagnosed with my illness for 2 year and getting a new diagnosis last week ... one step at a time.

Just to add, anyone that does suffer with panic attacks, panic disorder or anxiety attacks, cutting out caffeine helps massively!!

pipkin71

meerustar wrote: »

Just to add, anyone that does suffer with panic attacks, panic disorder or anxiety attacks, cutting out caffeine helps massively!!

Another interesting comment, as I started suffering with panic attacks a few months ago - always during the night

I hope things ease for you now that you have had your new diagnosis, meerustar.

It must have been very frustrating for you, being mis-diagnosed

sunnyone

I dont touch caffeine and I still cant sleep due to pain and discomfort/spasms, I also put up with some pain and discomfort/spasms to allow my husband some sleep, his sleep pattern is as bad as mine since hes been ill and it would be selfish of me to wake him and demand he repositions me everytime I need it but Ive got a few pressure issues atm, the best but expensive option is overnight help but Im not sure we can afford it so we will just get on with it.

KittyBoo_2

sunnyone wrote: »

I dont touch caffeine and I still cant sleep due to pain and discomfort/spasms, I also put up with some pain and discomfort/spasms to allow my husband some sleep, his sleep pattern is as bad as mine since hes been ill and it would be selfish of me to wake him and demand he repositions me everytime I need it but Ive got a few pressure issues atm, the best but expensive option is overnight help but Im not sure we can afford it so we will just get on with it.

Have you applied for DLA?

i have a Paul McKenna CD called I can make you sleep.
Great to put on using headphones when I get into bed.
Never managed to listen to it till the end cos I've nodded off.
I also wake up alot in the night due to pain.
If that doesn't work I then take a Tizanidine tablet.

sunnyone

KittyBoo wrote: »

Have you applied for DLA?

i have a Paul McKenna CD called I can make you sleep.
Great to put on using headphones when I get into bed.
Never managed to listen to it till the end cos I've nodded off.
I also wake up alot in the night due to pain.
If that doesn't work I then take a Tizanidine tablet.

I get high rate for for both componants DLA and thanks for the suggestion of a CD but Im deaf, I used to love to listen to soft rock to relax before sleep but now I rely on relaxation methods, Im starting a new course with my phsycologist next week to help me learn methods to cope with my latest bout of depression.

Penny-Pincher!!

JJ7 wrote: »

I used to think I was the only person awake in the whole wide world at 3 am. Then I found the world wide web. Somehow it helps to know there are others in the same boat out there. It's side-effect of some meds for me.

I took a quarter of a zopiclone at 4 am yesterday. If only I'd have known at 11 pm that I was still going to be awake at 4, I'd have taken a full one

I find Zopiclone does help me get to sleep but doesnt help me stay asleep IYKWIM. I'm usually up 3+ times a night and OH has to help me.

The side affect I hate is when you've taken it, although you appear to be awake you are not fully aware and sometimes cant remember any conversations etc before going to sleep:eek::eek::eek::eek:

PP
xx

JJ7

Where is everybody???

I hope you are all snoring your heads off.

Doom_and_Gloom

meerustar - I've cut out caffine completely in the past and it didn't make a difference. If anything it made it worse :rotfl:. Instant coffee makes me worse though I know that much but real coffee doesn't make a difference. There again my lack of sleep is really linked to the pain I go through. As you say it worked for you but may not work for everyone. After all some people may be like my partner and a good bit of coffee will send them to sleep :rotfl:.