Insomnia

[bluemaus]

I was just wondering about people's experiences with sleep disturbance due to stress and/or anxiety.

Since being on a temp assignment I haven't been able to sleep properly at all. On average I reckon I've slept about 2-3 hours a night for the past two weeks and only managed 45 minutes this morning. I constantly feel nauseous so I don't feel like eating/drinking and have a splitting headache which makes it even harder to sleep.

I've been trying to cut down on caffeine (despite it being pretty much the only thing that's keeping me going), warm milk before bed and scribbling down any worries or thoughts before trying to sleep. I listen to music sometimes though that doesn't really help either due to my headache.

I don't know what to do with myself right now. It just seems like an endless cycle of stress and lack of sleep. I'm pretty sure that anxiety has a part to play in it all because of different things happening to me in the past few weeks and the fact I've been making mistakes at work due to tiredness, but I can't seem to put a stop to it.

[ratty]

I struggle with sleep too. Mainly I just cannot get to sleep in the first place, but I do often wake up during the night too.

Have you tried any of the following:

1. Some kind of sleep app/CD - for example these two have been recommended to me: http://www.google.co.uk/products/cat...ed=0CD8Q8wIwBA (mainly because of the CD not the book - I have another of his CDs and it sends me to sleep!) or https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/rela...412690467?mt=8

2. Natural remedies - you can find these in Boots and other places. Personally these haven't had major effects on me but they work for some people.

3. Going to your GP. Though it's not ideal, I did this once when I was overseas and had to be up and ready for a 6am lecture. The doctor gave me something (no idea what) to take before bedtime and it helped send me to sleep within a couple of hours. It's likely where I was was a lot more lax than here though so I'm not sure how good the GPs here are at giving out stuff for sleeping.

4. If there are deeper issues that you are worrying about specifically, could you tackle these? E.g. by talking to a counsellor.

5. Have you tried wearing yourself out with exercise? Even if it's just a long walk before bedtime. Now it's cold, having a really long walk and then coming inside to the warmth may help you feel sleepy (it does for me!).

Although it's no comfort now, I have found that eventually I get so tired I do sleep. So if it's a recent thing, don't lose heart because it may be that your body will conk out once it's used to the new pattern you are in, it sometimes takes a while to adjust, especially if you are anxious about your new role... this will eventually die down.

Regarding your headache, this may be worse at the moment if you are cutting out caffeine.

I know it's horrible not sleeping. I hope you get it sorted soon.

[clem74]

I don't sleep very well at all have too many thoughts running round my head when I do finally drop off it's seems like time to get up grrrrrrrrrr

[misska]

that sounds hard living on 45mins is not enough i saw a program the food hospital on channel 4 they gave a women help with insomnia said eating kiwi fruit helps. I used to have trouble sleeping now i have a manual job im not as bad. Have u tried decaffeinated tea/coffee might help to

[ghost.of.an.englishman]

sounds like you've already tried the usual things professionals suggest. You don't have to be a therapist to suggest you can't sleep because you're anxious about your job?

I've had ongoing problems with this for years now, and it's got to the point where I've learnt to expect if I have to do something high pressure the next day I'll barely sleep. But I'm also increasingly thinking that doesn't matter, because I'll function ok anyway. I've gone to interviews after an hour or 2 and done basically fine.

I watched a tv programme about insomnia and one of the people said they finally got through it when they believed even if they didn't sleep they'd do ok at work. Presumably this just defused the source of the anxiety?

But yeah insomnia's a bastard :/

[bluemaus]

Thanks for your replies and suggestions.

ratty - In the past I've tried herbal tablets and I don't think they had much effect. I think proper medication from a GP might fare me better, though I've heard bad things about using prescription meds for sleep so I'm reluctant to try it if I'm honest. I'll keep it as a last resort though I think. Exercise wise I do 40 mins worth of brisk walking (2 x 20 mins) each day since my bus stops pretty far from work; I'm still trying to figure out ways of re-introducing exercise to fit around it. I'll have to try your cold-to-warm idea this weekend and look into buying one of those CDs.

clem74 - Sorry to hear that you got the random thought bug too.

k-ann - Never heard of kiwi helping, though I guess it's worth a shot. I like my fruit. Re: tea/coffee, does it taste any different to regular? I don't really want to be drinking something which tastes like dishwater if I'm honest.

no-moving-lines - I was fine after the first few days of starting; I was sleeping about 6-7 hours, which is a little below my optimum time I think but nothing which would really harm my performance. I just seem to have nosedived in the past two weeks. I can't place my finger on the reason really because it's not very high-pressure work... if anything it's quite slow and tedious. Out of interest, what was the programme called?

[Yibb]

I have problems with insomnia too, especially when anxious or worried. I find exercising helps (even if I'm already dead on my feet), the smell of lavender (I'm told it has soothing properties or something, but mainly its because it reminds me of my Mum), a long hot shower, reading etc. Basically anything that will allow me to switch off for a moment. Have you tried meditation, or even yoga? Just focusing on your breathing before you go to sleep, or focusing on something completely different (like yoga moves - they take concentration) can really help in my experience.

[theoretic]

Try Valerian root and Skullcap herbs (combined/taken together), make sure it's a tincture and not tablets and at least 1:3 ratio. This stuff is strong and it works, and both of these together are known to be very good for insomnia. Take it before bed in warm water. Keep cutting down on the caffeine, that can't be helping, I avoid the stuff completely and I've had zero issues sleeping - even a few months ago when I felt really bad.

[Mina]

I have terrible insomnia too

I have tried everything: warm milk, lavender oil in the bath, sleeping tablets, herbal sleeping tablets, exercise - nothing seems to work when my mind is worrying away. I do listen to hypnosis CD's and every so often they allow me to relax enough to sleep but it doesn't help every time.

To make matters worse, I get up really early for work (04.30 all this week) and work 12 hour shifts I get to 01.00 and end up simply panicking that I wont sleep.

I can usually manage on 2-3 hours sleep. I make up for it on my days off.

Apparently the best thing is to get out of bed if you're not asleep in 20 minutes and bore yourself to sleep by drawing lines on a page with a ruler or doing a pile of ironing.
Another trick is to try reading standing up. I read all those tips in an anxiety book.

[Kestrelsgomoo]

I also have insomnia. I'm lucky in the fact that my uni course doesn't require many classes so I'll sleep in on days where there's nothing to go to. But when you have to do programming at 9am and you've had about an hour's worth of sleep that just hurts your brain.
I have noticed a pattern that the more stress I'm under the less I'll sleep (in fact, I had no problems sleeping until a few months back where a combination of moving out and a bad argument with a friend knocked my sleeping habits about), so I know it's definitely worry-related. I will try out some of the suggestions mentioned here, it beats lying in bed for hours on end going "Sleep, dammit, sleep!"

[Cheshire Cat]

I guess I am lucky, as the only thing that anxiety has spared me is sleep problems, and I am really sorry for people who experience this. A close friend of mine gets insomnia badly and I know there is nothing I can say to him that he hasn't tried a thousand times.

I have sometimes experienced not being able to sleep when I know I've got to get up extra earlier, and that isn't much fun. What worked for me was listening to music, volume not too high, with the lights off until I nodded off. Trying to pay attention to the music seemed to help me fall asleep.

[Olly.]

I sometimes suffer from it though thankfully it isn't too bad personally but as a follow up to the CD suggestion, have a look on youtube as well, there are literally 100s of videos of relaxation music or sounds, guided meditations, videos specifically to help you get to sleep etc, some are really good (like for example this guy's channel I've found very helpful http://www.youtube.com/user/pierscro...e=results_main ). Whether it'll have any effect for serious insomnia I'm not sure, but I'd definitely recommend checking out some of the videos as it would certainly help you to relax and suppress that anxiety as much as possible for you to get to sleep, just keep trying, I'm sure soon enough you'll be able to sleeping properly again

And with headaches, I find that drinking plenty of water all the time, especially before I go to bed really helps, otherwise I wake up with a hangover-like headache, even if I haven't been drinking, though of course it may be different for different people.

[bluemaus]

Sorry for bumping this - I haven't posted in a few days and just want to acknowledge everyone's replies since I last saw the thread.

I'm happy to report I finally managed a full 8/9 hours at the weekend - I unset my alarm and woke up naturally Saturday morning. Felt fantastic afterwards. I guess my brain was so exhausted it finally switched off.

theoretic - Interesting you should say that. I heard from a colleague the other day that you can get Valerian tea. I wonder though if what you suggest would make me drowsy the next day, if it's as strong as you say...?

Mina - Sorry to hear you suffer from it badly too. I've read on various websites that you should get out of bed too... though most of the time I just end up pacing around. I find looking at the clock if I get up makes me feel more agitated, since it leads to panic that I won't get enough sleep.

Kestrelsgomoo - Hope you find some success!

Cheshire Cat - You're very lucky indeed. I listen to music before trying to sleep. I've read that it can be counter productive as it's stimulating for the brain, but I think it beats watching TV or something.

Ollyh - Thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it.

[theoretic]

Originally Posted by bluemaus

theoretic - Interesting you should say that. I heard from a colleague the other day that you can get Valerian tea. I wonder though if what you suggest would make me drowsy the next day also, if it's as strong as you say...?

No, there's no "hangover" effect with Valerian or Skullcap at all. Though Valerian is a psychotropic, there's no punishment or debt for coming off it, nor withdrawal. After 3-4 hours it has completely worn off, and usually you're in deep sleep by then. I highly recommend you use a herbal tincture as opposed to an infusion. For best results you need to use both of these herbs and combine them (specifically for insomnia), ie take them at the same time and at an equal dose (or a slightly lower dose of Skullcap if it's a bit strong for you).

[ewilson]

I also have insomnia, but I've somehow learnt to live with a couple of hours of sleep as I've had it for years, I tend to go on long jogs whilst listening to music, as build up of thoughts means I won't sleep at all :/ other than that I'm lucky enough to live near the sea front so a stroll along the beach with the sea air can knock me right out.