NGKUR: Sleep...where have you gone??

[akraus2015]

Does anyone have any experience with sleep troubles??  I have never had a hard time sleeping through the night, but for the past 6 weeks or so it seems like I can't get a restful night's sleep to save my life.

I find myself waking up at random points in the night and my head is racing.  Am I going to hear my temp alarm??  Am I EVER going to ovulate??  Did I remember to send that work email??  Do I have all my meeting notes prepared for the morning??  Why is the dog always in my way?? ....and so on...

Having one drink before bed doesn't seem to help, and more than one means I wake up in the middle of the night dehydrated.

I can't take sleep aid medication, because then I don't wake up in the morning in time for work.

Anyone have any other techniques I can try out??  I'm dying over here!  TIA!

[Unknown]

Have you always had sleep problems? Do you snore of stop breathing? or is it more anxiety? Are you on, or consider, anxiety medication. If your head is racing because you are thinking or worried it could be anxiety.

Not sleeping sucks, good luck.

[akraus2015]

Feb 25, 2015 16:55:47 GMT -5 Unknown said:

Have you always had sleep problems? Do you snore of stop breathing? or is it more anxiety? Are you on, or consider, anxiety medication. If your head is racing because you are thinking or worried it could be anxiety.

Not sleeping sucks, good luck.

Nope, never had any problems before.  I'm sure it is anxiety, but I choose not to take medication.  I prefer to self-manage, but for some reason I can't seem to get a good night's sleep lately!  Maybe I need to exercise more, but I'm so tired during the day because I'm not sleeping.  It's a vicious cycle!

[icaughtfire]

I'm usual pretty quick to fall asleep but if something is making me anxious enough to keep me up, I try something a therapist suggested to me awhile ago to calm my anxiety. It doesn't "make me fall asleep" but calms my brain down so that I can fall asleep.

I pick something in my house, for me it's windows. Then I mentally go room by room & think about each window. "Okay, the guest room has one window. It's on the front wall, it has four window panes. The blinds are white. Etc etc." I spend a minute or so envisioning said window, and telling myself details about it in my mind. I'm usually calm/asleep before getting through every room in the house. It sounds silly, but it works for me.

[akraus2015]

Feb 25, 2015 16:58:42 GMT -5 bluebird44 said:

Welcome to my life! I used the have tons of trouble falling alseep in my teens and early 20s, but now I have trouble staying asleep and wake up repeatedly. I keep a notepad by my bed so I have something to do with the racing thoughts and to-dos that my brain likes to recall in the middle of the night. I don't like to take sleep meds either because I feel really groggy the next day, but Benadryl can work with less hangover. Absolutely no caffeine after noon. Work stress is a major trigger for me having even bigger problems - how is your stress level? Sorry I don't have better advice and that you are having to deal with this!

Ha...I liked this and it said "akraus2015 just peed a little".  Anyway, maybe I should cut down on the caffeine throughout the day!

[akraus2015]

Feb 25, 2015 17:01:13 GMT -5 icaughtfire said:

I'm usual pretty quick to fall asleep but if something is making me anxious enough to keep me up, I try something a therapist suggested to me awhile ago to calm my anxiety. It doesn't "make me fall asleep" but calms my brain down so that I can fall asleep.

I pick something in my house, for me it's windows. Then I mentally go room by room & think about each window. "Okay, the guest room has one window. It's on the front wall, it has four window panes. The blinds are white. Etc etc." I spend a minute or so envisioning said window, and telling myself details about it in my mind. I'm usually calm/asleep before getting through every room in the house. It sounds silly, but it works for me.

This is a great idea, I am going to try this tonight!

[Deleted]

icaughtfire That's a great idea. I've had significant problems with insomnia for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, my dad used to have me picture a field and describe different things in the field. It had a very calming effect.

Since developing Narcolepsy, the insomnia symptoms havs changed quite a bit. I'm now unable to sleep more than 2 1/2 hours at a time without medication, but if I do wake up during the night I find watching the ceiling fan makes me pretty sleepy.