Bloody insomnia

[lrdisco]

Anyone else awake?
Suffered from insomnia for years but it seems to be getting much worse recently.
Slept until 01:30 this morning. Now laid on the sofa.
Need more sleep!

[Maxf]

I’m up - got an operation tomorrow, so weighing in my mind (not life threatening but crappy timing).

Try the book ‘hello sleep’, I found it really helpful with my insomnia - it helped me reframe a lot of things and get far more relaxed about sleep. The biggest cause of insomnia is stressing about sleep (getting enough, why can’t you sleep, performing the next day on crap sleep etc etc) and this book blasted a lot of those feelings, helping me to be far more relaxed about it all.

[Kermit power]

I find one of the best things for me is just to get up and go to the gym!

I'll often (but maybe not as often as you might expect) be the only person there at 3am, so it feels almost like a private gym, and even if I only do a 30-45 minute workout thar sees me out of bed for just 90 minutes I'll usually drop straight off to sleep when I get back to bed. Overall, I might spend less actual time in bed, but I'm getting much better sleep when I'm there.

[lrdisco]

Thanks guys for your responses.
Unfortunately no 24 hour gyms around here.
I can get to sleep but I wake up after a few hours then really struggle to get back to sleep.
This morning awake at 01:30 until 04:30.
So much on my mind at the moment, well always seem to have a lot on my mind.

[Pistom]

I suffered with it for years and found the way to deal with it is stop suffering.

I just accept I sleep when I can and do something else when I can't.

I moved out of the main bedroom and just use the time between about 2 to 5am to do things which don't disturb anyone else in the house.

[thebraketester]

lrdisco said:

Thanks guys for your responses.
Unfortunately no 24 hour gyms around here.
I can get to sleep but I wake up after a few hours then really struggle to get back to sleep.
This morning awake at 01:30 until 04:30.
So much on my mind at the moment, well always seem to have a lot on my mind.

Keep a journal. Commit all of your worries and concerns to paper at a set time each day (I do it at 9:30pm. I was amazed at how much it helped by allowing myself a set time each day to have a "let me worry about everything and write it down session. It helped me massively.

[RichFN2]

I find podcasts really help me, ideally an hour of people talking is actually really boring and I struggle to get to the end.

Pick something your vaguely interested in otherwise you might be tempted to do something else (for me football and the Ukraine situation are my go to) grab some in ear headphones so you can lay down properly and go to bed as normal.

[rallye101]

If under a ton of stress then you've different issues ( like me!) If not, then a couple of sominex will work nicely...

[ReformedPistonhead]

Audio books work for me.

Distract the mind from the stressful thoughts racing.

Usually gets me to sleep in about 45 minutes. Repeat if I wake up.

Not thrillers, usually boring badly written sci-fi

[lrdisco]

I’m here again. Been awake since 01:30.
Trying a podcast.

[Evolved]

I’m here with you. I always seem to take far too much on and then have an overactive brain that just loves to overthink it all, net result, poor sleep.

Audio books is a good shout. I’ve deleted all social apps as I found I’d wake, then enter the endless scroll cycle that was sapping time.

[Pistom]

I've been awake since 3 but had 5 hours sleep up to then and feel ready for about another 2 now.

Not sure if that's really a problem.

In the time Ive been awake, I feel I could do stuff I'd feel guilty about during the day such as reading and planning my weekend.

[Motorman74]

I find it interesting that it's not just me - it often feels like it is!

I have no difficulty falling asleep - head hits the pillow and I'm gone, no more stress than usual, but I woken up at 1:30 pretty much exactly for the last week. No chance of getting back to sleep, I'm wide awake.

Nothing on my mind, I'm not lying there ruminating (been there, got that sorted) just literally wide awake and wondering why the hell I'm not asleep!

Extremely frustrating, eventually, exhaustion will kick in and I'll sleep for 8 or 9 hours straight, but then at some point the cycle will start again...

[Steve_H80]

I've suffered this for years, not every night but often enough.
What usually works for me is to I get up, get a coffee (decaf obviously) and then read a book or magazine then I usually go straight back to sleep. I avoid looking at the phone/tablet etc because that makes things worse for me.
If it's work or other worries I write them down which gets them out of my head and allowes me to fall off again.
But sometimes there isn't anything I can about it.

[Wills2]

I suffered with it badly a few years ago, went to a sleep clinic and they gave me coping strategies, worked really well as they stop the viscous cycle as I was wound up by just the thought of going to bed, and puts you back in control.

I have never been one that just falls asleep like some, but I just take myself off in my mind (read an internal story if you like) and next thing it's the morning, I some times wake up in the middle of the night 1-2am if that happens I just clear my mind slow my breathing down and fall back again.

No caffeine after 9am and low alcohol and sugar consumption also help both physically and mentally, blue light filters on devices and also exercising and not eating too late helps me.

There was a point that I thought I'd never sleep properly at all I couldn't even talk about sleep as it would trigger me, I was crying on the phone when I made the appointment it was so bad, so if you suffer there is hope but I'd go see a professional.

[bigandclever]

Be positive! Only 4 more sleeps till Xmas

[lrdisco]

bigandclever said:

Be positive! Only 4 more sleeps till Xmas