Does anyone suffer from this and can anyone give any advice? I am reluctant to take sleeping pills.
Find it impossible to switch off when I get in bed and I am lucky if I get 6 hours a night, I know we need less sleep as we get older.
I have tried kalms, Sominex etc none have an effect.
The Mrs has recommended hypnosis.
Cheers
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Pills won't cure insomnia, they'll mask it, better to find the root cause. Do you stay away from electronics/blue light before bed? While i'm sceptical of how much damage this does, checking messages/social media/charlton life could get your brain going.
A bit like a kid, you should try to get into a routine around stuff that relaxes you.
Depends what your GP is like, they could be a good starting point if it's becoming a problem.
I'm no expert, but insomnia is a pain in the arse at best, dangerous at worst so the sooner you address it, the better.
gets coat
Lay off alcohol, don't eat a large meal late, reduce lighting before sleep (especially don't stare at a screen), exercise early evening.
Eat several hours before you want to go to sleep and then don't eat until breakfast
Don't drink in the 2 hours before you want to go to sleep
Have a bath an hour before you want to go to sleep
Don't watch TV/computer/moblile between the bath and going to bed - the slightly blue light wakes you up
Go to bed at the same time even if you're not immediatly sleeping so you body gets used to that 'being bedtime'
Seriously you have my sympathy. I've suffered all my life with poor quality sleep and tried most techniques but not hypnosis so be interested in others experience too. My own sleep patterns are all over the place, sometimes its difficulty getting off, others waking during the night and not getting back off, sometimes waking really early for seemingly no reason. Not always but often it's linked to how busy I am at work and not being able to switch off. Is it the same for you?
Eventually I get so exhausted I do end up sleeping through. Right now I'm about halfway through that cycle and it's getting worse.
Not helping I know but the point I'm making is what works for some doesn't always for others and for me it's become about recognising where I am on that cycle and accepting that whatever I do will just frustrate me further so try to accept it knowing sooner or later it will get better...at least for a night or two anyway.
Meditation has become part of daily routine now and sleep 10 times better than i used to.
@Bournemouth Addick what you have written is pretty much what I have. I run a sales office up north during the week and its non stop, I do find it hard to switch off from that. Coupled with hours on here and watching Netflix etc until late is my downfall. Checking the phone when I wake is always a killer for me, I have stopped doing that and it has helped getting back off.
I do tend to hit the beers hard at a weekend and sundays I sleep well. Its always a monday night that is the worst. More than likely the booze related.
@Cafc95 Will give this a try as I have heard it really does help switch off.
I do think it is stress/worry related.
Working up north in the week makes it hard to visit a GP, they are normally pill happy though.
Will give the meditation a go and start up running again.
Thanks again all for the replies.
He's been part of research studies, has been a regularly attendee at the London Sleep Clinic for the last 15 years or so. No matter what he did or what they did, my Dad just wouldn't sleep. He could go 5-6 weeks with less than an hour a night and then he might get one or two nights where he'd sleep for 3-4 hours but then it would go back to less than an hour a night again. This has gone on for years. Until about 4 months ago. The London Sleep Clinic got a new academic in and they suggested Dad try this new kind of CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) along with a new drug to alleviate his restless leg syndrome. First night with the new treatment, 8.5 hours sleep. That has been almost a week and half of sleep for him. 4 months later, he's getting around 4-5 hours sleep a night which is a million times better than what he was getting before with the odd night of 6-7 hours thrown in but he does actually stay in bed now, rather than walk round the house, watch TV, eat the contents of the fridge. The main thing is that the restless legs syndrome seems to be under control for the first time in years.
For me, exercise always helped. Apart from when I was doing endurance training late into the evening and then trying to sleep when full on energy products was a recipe for disaster. I used to lay awake wired for hours. Since I got injured last year and still not fully recovered, the quality of my sleep has got progressively worse. I've had some nights where I've slept for 7 hours but I wake up feeling absolutely f*cked. Just can't put my finger on why.
I've never been a good sleeper but at the moment there's a lot of stress in my life, so definitely a major factor.
I've tried sleeping tablets, worked for a bit but ultimately stopped working.
I think there maybe be something in keeping away from all electronic devices, though I don't always.
I think routine might be good but as I always think I'm not going to get to sleep, tend to not follow one.
I do read before switching out the light and this can help.
No obvious solution but hope yours gets sorted soon it's definitely a bummer!
I'm told its one of the joys of a woman of my age.... don't say a fecking word any of you!
I find if you aren't getting to sleep just go back to sofa watch some tv until you start falling asleep, the worst is when you wake up several times in the night and dont feel like you have had any sleep even though you go to bed earlier than normal.
Summary- Sleep is over-rated
But seriously, I have not slept well since I retired, I go to sleep, but normally wake at about 5am then drift off to sleep until about 6am. finally I get up between 6.30 and 7am. Although I keep myself busy, I rarely feel any problems with not sleeping properly. I just trust my body to know what it is doing
I was put on a CPAP machine at night, where I breath oxygen via a tube through my nose & unable to breath through my mouth (weird sensation, a bit like drowning but with air not water).
Ever since then I get a solid 6-7 hours a night. I've not once woken up at night to go to the loo & I don't feel tired during the day at all. Its absolutely magic. The only one downside is that I can't nap during the afternoons & can't have a lie-in - once I'm awake in the morning then that's it. I used to be able to doze on a sat & sun morning but not anymore.
I'd thoroughly recommend it for anyone who has sleeping problems, snoring or tiredness during the day.
Now if only I could find a way to stop having to get up for a pee at 3am every night!