Poor Sleep Pattern

Cotta

Hi,

As of late I've been getting less and less sleep, with early starts for work and late nights. One thing that is concerning me is that I seem to wakeup several times in the night for no apparent reason so my sleep is never complete cycles.

I know I have developed a few bad habits that are going to be nipped in the bud including working on my laptop in bed until I fall asleep and then waking up to close down my laptop and go to bed properly but what else should I be doing or indeed taking? Somebody mentioned a drink called nytol - is this recommended?

ColinFishwick

you shouldn't be using laptop before sleeping the blue light given off a screen can keep you awake. Avoid caffeine/alcohol drinks as well. If you keep waking up in night might be best to get yourself to doctor. Its possible you may have a sleep condition like sleep apnoea although with that you can get headaches

asajj

Cotta, definitely don't work in bed with your laptop and expect a good sleep.
Why you are expected to work that late? Surely your health is more important and you should adjust the work life balance rather than trying to use remedies.

Cotta

I will test run without the laptop. I'll try to get all my emails done and other work complete by 9 pm and perhaps just read a book in bed?

asajj

Personally I don't go to bed until I feel sleepy as it makes it worse otherwise. Reading a book could work but if there is an underlying issue (i.e. stress etc), it might not make a difference.
You can chat with a pharmacist and see what they suggest. There are some herbal remedies they can offer you along with some advice.
Physical activity is also another thing I found useful. Hope this helps!

sunfield91

Hi , I suffer from the same , waking several times in the night. I went to see my GP and he recommended Phenergan tablets. They are an anti- histamine and can be used for hay fever, hives etc but also short term sleep problems as their side effect is that they make you sleepy. Two 10mg work for me, you can
also buy then over the counter. The dosage for sleep problems is on the packet. HTH
HTH

belfastgirl23

I would say try the obvious things before going for other remedies. When you waken in the night, what is happening? Are you being wakened by worries or things from the previous day? Is there balance in your life? Are you working to the exclusion of other things (the 11pm emails suggest this might be the case!) - often sleep problems are lifestyle problems...eating badly or too late, not enough exercise, no down time.

Some good advice here:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12275/10-tips-to-get-better-sleep-tonight.html