Advice about anxiety before sleeping?

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lml852014
lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
in Chit-Chat
For the past few months (especially sunday evenings into mondays) I have SUCH a hard time sleeping. I will sometimes fall asleep for an hour or two and wake up and I'm WIDE awake!? Then I lay there and start to get anxious bc I dont want to be tired for work in the morning. There have been times we're Ive had to call out bc I won't sleep at all until like 6 am and I have to be up in 30 mins. I work in a school with autistic kids and teaching k-2nd reading. Its hard work being exhausted and having to stay sane and be able to teach/tolerate students. This happened to me AGAIN, last night...I even took two melatonin pills before bed and normally those seem to help me naturally fall asleep. Went to bed at 10:30 woke up an hour later, wide awake. Didnt fall back to sleep until 2:30-3 am :( and have to be at work until 7:30 for a family reading night I volunteered to help in. I'm not sure what else to do, I dont want to constantly take sleeping pills but I get SO anxious about not sleeping sometimes. Any advice? (Sorry this was so long)
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  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
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    I even drank two beers before bedtime last night :( and read! Thanks for the advice though
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    What's your current weekly exercise routine?
  • Buff_Man
    Buff_Man Posts: 623 Member
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    I can't sleep after I workout. But certainly reading helps to de-clutter my mind. Books though or Kindle no bright screens though, that screws up your natural sleep rhythm
  • Shells918
    Shells918 Posts: 1,070 Member
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    Try journaling before bed. Sometimes writing your thoughts, fears and anxieties out of your head can help you feel better about going to sleep. There are also deep breathing exercises or meditations you can find on YouTube or soundcloud.
  • majigurl
    majigurl Posts: 660 Member
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    warm tea ( no caffeine ) .. hot bath.. reading ( no blue screen). no tv... I wouldn't even do any soft music because that can stimulate the brain too much.. low lights.. start all this a good 2 hours before bed.

    I can't workout later at night because that keeps me up.
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 698 Member
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    Is there anything in particular waking you up (overheating, sounds, headlights through your window, etc.)? If so, try to take care of whatever is waking you up.

    I second the drinking decaf tea, taking a bath/shower, and/or yoga. Anything you consider a stress relief. If you do read, make it something not too interesting (otherwise you end up staying up too late just to finish that next chapter). You might also try simple puzzles, something hard enough to keep your mind occupied, but not hard enough to really frustrate you.

    For the anxiety, breathing techniques and meditation help. Sometimes you're too keyed up to meditate, so other techniques to distract yourself might work like counting sheep, but more complicated like counting back from 300 by 3's. Also, if you can't get back to sleep after 20 minutes or so, get up and do something. Go to the bathroom, drink a little water, etc. Don't turn on any bright lights though. Try not to think about when you have to get up. I've also found it helpful to not have a clock in my bedroom (nothing to stare at calculating exactly how much sleep you'd get if you fell asleep right that minute).
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
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    we live by a train so sometimes that will wake me up at night. not much to do there, but i appreciate all of the good techniques you all have given :)
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
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    Took a shower last night at 1:30 am also and after i got out I shortly fell asleep. Wish we had a bath for times like that!
  • Jpinpoint
    Jpinpoint Posts: 219 Member
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    lml852014 wrote: »
    For the past few months (especially sunday evenings into mondays) I have SUCH a hard time sleeping. I will sometimes fall asleep for an hour or two and wake up and I'm WIDE awake!? Then I lay there and start to get anxious bc I dont want to be tired for work in the morning. There have been times we're Ive had to call out bc I won't sleep at all until like 6 am and I have to be up in 30 mins. I work in a school with autistic kids and teaching k-2nd reading. Its hard work being exhausted and having to stay sane and be able to teach/tolerate students. This happened to me AGAIN, last night...I even took two melatonin pills before bed and normally those seem to help me naturally fall asleep. Went to bed at 10:30 woke up an hour later, wide awake. Didnt fall back to sleep until 2:30-3 am :( and have to be at work until 7:30 for a family reading night I volunteered to help in. I'm not sure what else to do, I dont want to constantly take sleeping pills but I get SO anxious about not sleeping sometimes. Any advice? (Sorry this was so long)

    I'm an insomniac so I take Ambien and have for years.
    I notice I will wake even when taking Ambien if I'm low on iron or B12. Now I take a daily supplement of B12 in the morning. It helps especially on days where my night was broken with sleep.
    My anxiety towards sleep is like impending doom, I know what is coming the next day and I haven't ironed out my plan of attack. Sometimes I'll write out how I think the next day will go and work out some ways to handle it.

    Melatonin is a great adder for before bed supplement.
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
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    The thing was I took two melatonin before bed and fell asleep but woke back up and couldnt fall back asleep. I decided to take one more after that.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    @lml852014 - what's your current weekly exercise routine?
  • Francine_rivas
    Francine_rivas Posts: 77 Member
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    lml852014 wrote: »
    For the past few months (especially sunday evenings into mondays) I have SUCH a hard time sleeping. I will sometimes fall asleep for an hour or two and wake up and I'm WIDE awake!? Then I lay there and start to get anxious bc I dont want to be tired for work in the morning. There have been times we're Ive had to call out bc I won't sleep at all until like 6 am and I have to be up in 30 mins. I work in a school with autistic kids and teaching k-2nd reading. Its hard work being exhausted and having to stay sane and be able to teach/tolerate students. This happened to me AGAIN, last night...I even took two melatonin pills before bed and normally those seem to help me naturally fall asleep. Went to bed at 10:30 woke up an hour later, wide awake. Didnt fall back to sleep until 2:30-3 am :( and have to be at work until 7:30 for a family reading night I volunteered to help in. I'm not sure what else to do, I dont want to constantly take sleeping pills but I get SO anxious about not sleeping sometimes. Any advice? (Sorry this was so long)
    Drink some tea, don't use the computer or phone an hour before you sleep, do some yoga before sleep and if all else fails see your doctor!
  • valente347
    valente347 Posts: 201 Member
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    Insomnia is the worst. But keep trying things and keep track of what works better than others. I need aerobic exercise to be tired for bed, but I'm awake if I exercise too late.

    And each day will be over, no matter what happens and how bad it is. Try to go to work, even if you have a rough night because missing will make your anxiety worse and the next day harder because the kids are off their schedule. I worked as a SPED teacher in a self-contained classroom for 1-2 graders with intellectual disability my first year teaching. It was so hard and I had trouble sleeping. I had to run a couple miles each day to get my brain to shut down. Good luck.
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    @lml852014 - what's your current weekly exercise routine?

    I work out 50-60 mins doing a mixture of cardio and strength training. Some days I jog also.
  • lml852014
    lml852014 Posts: 243 Member
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    valente347 wrote: »
    Insomnia is the worst. But keep trying things and keep track of what works better than others. I need aerobic exercise to be tired for bed, but I'm awake if I exercise too late.

    And each day will be over, no matter what happens and how bad it is. Try to go to work, even if you have a rough night because missing will make your anxiety worse and the next day harder because the kids are off their schedule. I worked as a SPED teacher in a self-contained classroom for 1-2 graders with intellectual disability my first year teaching. It was so hard and I had trouble sleeping. I had to run a couple miles each day to get my brain to shut down. Good luck.

    Thank ya. I def will. I've had to take a day and half off because of missing sleep and I wont do it again. I have pretty bad OCD/anxiety my OCD is purely obsessional thoughts and I think this becoming apart of it. I worry about my sleep so I need to treat it just as I would my other OCD type thoughts.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
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    Try a white noise machine - I use one -it really helps. Especially since my husband snores!
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
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    If it's anxiety you might talk to a doctor. I can relate, particularly to the Sunday/Monday issue. (The dread of the impending week.) I would use all of the suggestions noted: ear plugs, eye mask (if comfortable), dark room, take at least an hour to read something calming (and a bit boring) before bed, maybe take a bath first, etc. If you can't sleep at all then I find staying in bed trying to sleep is just counterproductive and it's better for me to get up, have some chamomile tea and read that (boring) book again until I feel a little more tired.

    I find journaling stressful. Unless I'm anxious about a specific thing that I can actually resolve (and am just stressing over it because I was procrastinating or scared of confronting it) then ruminating just makes me more anxious. I never have luck with sleeping pills like ambien; for some reason I'll wake up feeling significantly more groggy and grouchy than if I hadn't slept at all. Melatonin helps a little. Not sure what dosage you're trying. If it's anxiety/OCD in general then you might want to consider medication to address those issues or ask for an adjustment to your current medication, and not just meds for the insomnia.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
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    Are you on your phone or tablet before bed? I find this is a huge problem for me when trying to get a good night's sleep. Stay off you phone/ device for at least an hour before bed, and don't have any devices in your bedroom on your nightstand.

    Reading for awhile before bed is also very helpful to calm the brain.
  • jenovatrix
    jenovatrix Posts: 219 Member
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    I take a combo melatonin and L-theanine. L-theanine is purported to calm and relax the mind. I don't know if it's the placebo effect but I find it works better for me than straight melatonin. I swear I'm part chihuahua because I'm anxious all the time, lol. But that does help me sleep. I also use a sleep mask and my boyfriend uses a CPAP that generates a lot of white noise...but he's on MFP too so hopefully won't need that much longer!

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