Horrible insomnia

Options
BinaDOS
BinaDOS Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any tips for bad insomnia, even when I do go to sleep at a decent time, I just end up waking up around 1am.. and by the morning I feel exhausted but still can’t sleep. Repeating this cycle.

Replies

  • PKM0515
    PKM0515 Posts: 2,937 Member
    edited April 2020
    Options
    Lost the list I was typing! :/

    Is the insomnia due to anxiety?

    I have found listening to guided meditations to be helpful. I particularly like Jason Stephenson's meditations (see below), but there are others as well.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=69o0P7s8GHE

    Some things I've read/heard:

    Try a warm bath before bed, perhaps with some lavender epsom salts.
    The scent of lavender in some form.
    Chamomile or "Sleepytime" tea, or some warm milk? (I don't like/can't vouch for any of these.)
    Cut back on caffeine, especially in the evening/afternoon. (Makes a difference for me.)
    No heavy duty exercise before bed.

    Hope you get some sleep!
  • PKM0515
    PKM0515 Posts: 2,937 Member
    Options
    Also, try to come up with a relaxing bedtime routine. Don't do anything stressful (e.g., you might not want to watch the news).

    You may want to Google "blue light and lack of sleep."
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    Options
    have you had a sleep study done? have you talked to your doctor?

    having a routine is important but also figuring out what your triggers are for why you wake up? personally for me, if i don't have a snack within about an hour of going to sleep i'm awake all night - so i plan some calories into my daily goal to faciliate that

    the book - why we sleep - is a good read and might give you some additional thoughts
  • Unicorn_Bacon
    Unicorn_Bacon Posts: 491 Member
    Options
    I dunno what your day is like but in the beginning of eating better, I had my blood sugars under control so I wasnt drinking much anymore

    I'd go to sleep and 4 hours later I'd be up and couldnt go back to sleep to save my life, on top of that I also had a ton of headaches, which i blamed my bed and pillows for.

    Turns out I was really really dehydrated, all I was drinking was diet pepsi during the day and barely any of it to boot.

    Normal water tastes gross to me now despite drinking gallons of it before lol so I started buying carbonated flavored water and drink 1.5 to 2L now.

    I sleep a solid 8 hours now, no headaches either.

    Just wondering if maybe you need to increase your fluid intake?
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    Options
    I had insomnia for years which recently reared it's ugly head again, not sure if it was the current world situation or Daylight Savings clock changes which sent me out of whack. These are some of the things I've done to help, they don't always work but they work collectively more often than not:
    • I have a blue light filter on my phone all day - not just when the sun sets.
    • I try to avoid caffeine after early afternoon and sugary foods a few hour before bed.
    • I try to keep the bedroom purely for sleeping and relaxing (excl relations with my other half :lol:- it's my "zen" space.
    • I try to keep to a routine (will list below) and get to bed around the same time.
    • When I am particularly active, I supplement Magnesium.
    • When my insomnia is very bad, I supplement Melatonin (3mg Time Release) for a couple of days.
    • I use the calm app for guided sleep meditations and sleep stories.
    • I try to do a few yoga poses/stretched before bed.
    • I try to keep the bedroom cooler than the rest of the apartment.
    • I have an extra duvet in lieu of a weighted blanket.
    • I avoid Social Media before bed and have Do Not Disturb on my phone from 7pm - 8am (excl. calls and text messages as I am on call for work).

    Others I know with insomnia find eating routine impacts their sleep - eating too early or not enough can cause hunger pangs which wake you up, eating too late can cause some people to have digestive issues that keep them up/wake them up. I've never had this issue personally, but something to consider.

    Night routine more or less looks like this, may change by around an hour give or take:

    8:00pm Dinner
    8:30pm Watch something on Netflix or read for about half hour. Have a cup of Herbal Tea.
    9:15pm Do dishes/prep any food for next day.
    9:30pm Spritz Lavender & Orange oil spray on pillows and take a shower (currently using Lush's Sleepy shower gel)
    9:40pm Take Magnesium and/or Melatonin if required. Do 5-10 mins of yoga/stretching.
    9:50pm Go to bed, listen to Sleep Meditation/Sleep Story on Calm. Hopefully nor hear the end of the track.
  • pink_mint
    pink_mint Posts: 103 Member
    Options
    I deal with pretty bad insomnia at times. Here is my list of things I do, not always everything together.

    -- Magnesium supplement. I use Natural Calm

    -- Exercise during the day to wear myself out.

    -- 5HTP (a supplement)

    -- Not going to bed too hungry

    -- White noise (I use a box fan in my bedroom)
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,052 Member
    edited April 2020
    Options
    OP, you don't say if you are a chronic long time sufferer or if this is a recent episodic thing. FWIW, I'm a pretty light sleeper, but still a pretty good sleeper, and I'm having trouble waking at 1am every night, too. DH is also waking and getting up at night, and that is way outside of his normal pattern. All that is to say, if this is just an episode for you, you are not alone.

    Great advice and tips above. One thing to add is I have read (but have not personally tested) it's more important to wake at the same time every day than to go to bed at the same time. You can't control when you drift off, but you can control when you get up, and if you are consistent on waking, drifting off will eventually follow. (I haven't tested this because I naturally wake at the same time every morning anyway so no case for comparison.)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,070 Member
    Options
    Good suggestions above.

    I'd add one: IS your inability to get back to sleep to do with your brain being over-active (many cycling thoughts, maybe anxious, but maybe just engaging ones of any nature that aren't at all negative)? If so, short-course cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has a good track record of helping people with that.

    I have a different type of insomnia (sleep interruption, in which I get back to sleep quickly but wake often**). I consulted my employer's assistance program for help, which is where I learned about CBT being effective for the other type, then read more about that later when friends were experiencing that type.

    For my insomnia, something that was very effective - even though I was skeptical, and it will bring on the "woo" reactions - was hypnotherapy from a licensed psychologist, also short-course, about 6 sessions. It didn't 100% fix things, but did significantly improve my initial sleep duration, from like 90 minutes to 3-5 hours. That's a big deal. Another friend, with the "wake up then high brain activity" type, also got some improvement from hypnosis, in her case from a commerical non-psychologist hypnotist who did other things like stop-smoking hypnosis.

    ** For other readers: Yes, I tried pretty much everything anyone else has recommended in this thread, some of which made mild improvements. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea; treatment made my short-duration sleep episodes more restful/sound, but didn't have much effect on sleep duration or wake-up frequency. I even tried various prescription drugs, also, including some that have been very successful for others. They left me waking up just as often, but groggier on waking: Not helpful. Insomnia can be very individual!

    If your insomnia started during weight loss, you could consider whether changing your timing of eating might help. It's a myth that eating close to bedtime means more calories get stored, and some people find a little food helps them sleep. (Obviously, if eating before bed gives you acid reflux or other bad effects, that wouldn't be a good plan.) Over-restricting calories - trying to lose weight too fast - can also cause insomnia for some, as can strenuous exercise late in the day. Keeping a log of when you sleep better and worse, so you can look for patterns, may be helpful.

    Best wishes!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    Options
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Good suggestions above.

    I'd add one: IS your inability to get back to sleep to do with your brain being over-active (many cycling thoughts, maybe anxious, but maybe just engaging ones of any nature that aren't at all negative)? If so, short-course cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has a good track record of helping people with that.

    I have a different type of insomnia (sleep interruption, in which I get back to sleep quickly but wake often**). I consulted my employer's assistance program for help, which is where I learned about CBT being effective for the other type, then read more about that later when friends were experiencing that type.

    For my insomnia, something that was very effective - even though I was skeptical, and it will bring on the "woo" reactions - was hypnotherapy from a licensed psychologist, also short-course, about 6 sessions. It didn't 100% fix things, but did significantly improve my initial sleep duration, from like 90 minutes to 3-5 hours. That's a big deal. Another friend, with the "wake up then high brain activity" type, also got some improvement from hypnosis, in her case from a commerical non-psychologist hypnotist who did other things like stop-smoking hypnosis.

    ** For other readers: Yes, I tried pretty much everything anyone else has recommended in this thread, some of which made mild improvements. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea; treatment made my short-duration sleep episodes more restful/sound, but didn't have much effect on sleep duration or wake-up frequency. I even tried various prescription drugs, also, including some that have been very successful for others. They left me waking up just as often, but groggier on waking: Not helpful. Insomnia can be very individual!

    If your insomnia started during weight loss, you could consider whether changing your timing of eating might help. It's a myth that eating close to bedtime means more calories get stored, and some people find a little food helps them sleep. (Obviously, if eating before bed gives you acid reflux or other bad effects, that wouldn't be a good plan.) Over-restricting calories - trying to lose weight too fast - can also cause insomnia for some, as can strenuous exercise late in the day. Keeping a log of when you sleep better and worse, so you can look for patterns, may be helpful.

    Best wishes!

    Hypnotherapy worked for me too at one of my worst periods of insomnia, I don't know why it would be woo-worthy, it works for plenty of people who are looking to quit smoking, get over fears, etc, I think the results speak for themselves, and there are plenty of free or low cost programs out there that won't put a huge dent in the bank balance if people want to give it a try.

Categories