Cannot get enough 'good' sleep

NareenaTheGypsy · February 2013

I wear my FitBit Ultra to sleep every night. And every night lately, it seems I can't get 1/2 the sleep I need. I've tried going to bed earlier, sleeping later.. nothing seems to work. Last night I was in bed for 8 hours, 36 mins. How much actual sleep did I get? Guess.. I managed to get a whopping 4 hours, 46 mins of sleep. I know the FB isn't completely accurate, but I wake up feeling exhausted every morning lately. Work is stressful, nothing can be done about it. I can't take time off, or ask for less work.. it's not that kind of job (I work for USPS) and my home life isn't any different than it's been for a couple years now. I know there are external factors but nothing that's changed drastically in the last 2 months. Yet, it's been that long since I had a good night's (as in actual "real") sleep that lasted more than 4 or 5 hours.
I don't lay in bed watching tv.. I tried drinking a hot tea to relax me an hour or so before bedtime. I workout before work in the mornings. I come home, eat dinner, watch tv with the hubby and kid. Nothing seems to be 'keeping me awake' as it were. But nothing I do helps me sleep. Coincidentally enough, it's been just as long since I had a good solid night's sleep as it's been since I've been able to lose any weight. I'm not stressing over the non- weight loss, so that's not a contributing factor as far as I know. I really am beginning to think that changing my dietary habits (eat less, eat more.. eat cleaner), exercise more, exercise differently, etc isn't the solution to breaking this stupid plateau. I think it's got to be that my body and mind are too tired to work efficiently and so I am just not losing the weight.

Sorry. I didn't mean to rant. Any suggestions if you've got them though... LOL

dmaloof2013 · February 2013

Some ideas that I could think of:

1. If you are stressed out a lot it can negatively effect your sleeping habits. When I was in college, during finals time I never had a good night's sleep, but the day finals were over I slept like a baby because I was no longer stressed out. So if there is stress in your life, try some destressing tactics (i.e.: sit at the beach and listen to the waves, if you don't live near a beach buy a cd that has beach sounds and relax with that, do yoga- that's what I do when I stressed and it's super relaxing, etc...)

2. Sometimes if I'm not sleeping well I take melatonin. It is a pill that you can buy in the vitamin aisle and it helps me out.

3. If you think stress if something that you don't think is effecting your sleep, you could always talk to a doctor and see what he/she has to say. Sometimes you may need a prescription medication to help out with this.

Good luck!

jmmcdowell2 · February 2013

I recently read a book called The Belly Melt Diet (Prevention editors) and although it wasn't as earth-shattering as I'd hoped, they did spend quite a bit of time discussing the importance of regular, quality sleep in weight-loss efforts. Some of their tips:
~Eliminate all sources of light in your bedroom. Even the light from your digital alarm clock or your charging cell phone can be enough to interfere with melatonin production.
~Go to bed at the same time each night, and wake at the same time each morning, even on weekends/days off.
~Spend an hour before bed with no TV, computer, ipad, Kindle... basically any electronic device that emits blue light, which intereferes with melatonin production
~Do relaxing yoga poses before going to bed (I can only remember one they mentioned, which was to lay on the floor with your legs up the wall, but I am sure you can google this)
~Make sure your bedroom isn't too hot. They said 65 degrees is ideal, although that seems a bit cold to me!
~Take a warm shower before bed. As your body temperature drops, you will get sleepy.
~Once in bed, spend a few minutes purposefully relaxing yourself by focusing on one muscle group/area at a time, starting with your feet and moving upwards. Tense each area, then relax it. This was one tip I actually found helpful!

Good luck! I never get good sleep either, but I blame that on having 3 small children who like to wake me up at night!

RetiredAndLovingIt · February 2013

I have a Fitbit also, and it was always telling me I "woke up" a lot at night so I switched pillows & according to it, I am sleeping better.

NareenaTheGypsy · February 2013

@dmaloof: I am sure stress IS affecting my sleep. The difference is, there's simply nothing I can do about said stresses themselves. Work is a huge amount of stress for me, but I can't lower that because I can't change my work days, what I do, etc. I will however work on some stress relievers here at home and see if they help.

@jmmcdowell32: I love some of your ideas. I have the bedroom really dark, and yes.. the temp is low. I think we set it to 70* in there which is still a bit chilly to me lol. I have been working to *try* to get to bed at the same time.. Most mornings are the same time but I can't always control it (called into work early like this morning, etc). I never would have thought to give the hour before bed as an "electric free time" without tv, pc, etc. Hmm. What to do for an hour with no source of radiation coming at me? LOL

Also, I didn't think to mention in my first post here.... Dr's aren't an option, sadly. I would LOVE to go see a specialist, or even a GP but I have no health insurance and can't get it due to several family medical issues and $$. Alas.

Thanks for your ideas!! I will try to work with them and maybe something will help!

MeMyCatsandI · February 2013

Have you been checked for sleep apnea?

healthygreek · February 2013

I had a temporary sleep problem when I wasn't eating enough. Are you eating your exercise calories back?
That can make a difference in your sleep and weightloss. Also a magnesium citrate supplement can help. I take 400 mg a day.

TahoeSki · February 2013

I had insomnia for several years and it really started to affect my happiness. My advice: don't try to "wait it out", see your doctor. S/he can help. My doctor prescribed me some mild sleeping pills which I took for about 2 months. Now I am back on track (without the meds) and I sleep 7-8 hours a night.

Life is better when you've had a good night sleep!!

hilldiggity · February 2013

I agree with the suggestion of melatonin. Our body makes it naturally, but makes less of it as we get older.

Something else to consider (Sorry if I missed this suggestion) is Yoga. My Doctor was just telling me about a patient who was constantly stressed and always asking for more medication to help him sleep (what I was asking her for). She began to notice a change in him and no more requests for meds. He said he had taken up Yoga and it was helping him to de-stress and sleep better.

My Doc told me about a Weight Watchers Yoga Starter Kit at Costco for $20, so I went out and bought it that day (a few days ago) and while my issues with falling asleep haven't abated, I feel amazingly peaceful when I am done with both 1/2 hour sessions of the video.

melhardin1964 · February 2013

Maybe you should have your thyroid checked. Not being able to sleep or lose weight no matter what you do are signs of hypothyroidism. I have it and I know as soon as my levels are off because I stop sleeping and gain weight.

concordancia · February 2013

Yoga.

Mokey41 · February 2013

Are you aware of being awake during the night or going by what FitBit is telling you? My husband has sleep apnea and during a sleep test he was "awake" more than asleep but is totally unaware of it because he isn't really becoming awake, just never gets into deep sleep. I, on the other hand, often have restless nights where I either can't get to sleep or wake up every hour all night long.

I believe the FitBit is only measuring your sleep based on whether you move during sleep because it assumes that you are awake if you move.

BlairLove · February 2013

Are you taking a multi vitamin? I was having a hard time sleeping for awhile until I stopped taking my multi vitamin before bed. Some of the vitamines, like Vitamin B & D can sometimes affect your sleep.

CanGirl40 · February 2013

Perhaps this won't be the "best" answer but have you ever tried a sleep aid or gravol to compare your quality of sleep. If I need a good sleep and feel a little anxious that I won't, I will take half a gravol which puts me in a deeper sleep. I feel SO much more rested. I don't take it every day, but it helps me from time to time....

My fitbit always registers over a 90% sleep efficiency...guess I should count myself lucky...

Just a suggestion...

csheltra26 · February 2013

I had issues with sleeping for a very long time...took drugs to help me sleep and then drank tons of caffeine every day to help me wake up. I finally saw a naturopathic doctor and I think 2 things helped me - she put me on a supplement to help regulate my cortisol levels to help me sleep. She also diagnosed my under active thyroid (finally!!) and after a year on the cortisol supplements and thyroid meds I was sleeping pretty regularly and 2 years later I still am.

Also, try some meditation. It doesn't need to be 20 mins in the dark with the "ommmm"...just 5 mins to yourself to calm you and relax you - and take some nice deep breaths.

Awesome job on working out in the morning before work! I get up at 530 as it is so any earlier and I couldn't make it...

Good luck!

Cannot get enough 'good' sleep

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