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Lack Of Sleep

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hello guys :)

Just looking for some advice really. I have always had problems with not sleeping and the doctors wont do anything because it's not consistent, and plus I don't really want sleeping tablets.

I have tried quite a lot in the past, getting myself into a better routine at night, bath and chill out etc. I even have kalms but they don't do much.

Because I work in childcare my job means I am always on the go, and when I have only had 3 or 4 hours sleep, and I am going into work and working a 9 hour day, it gets a bit to much. It is manageable but hard work, and its making my job a lot harder than it is.

Just looking for some tips and advice if any of you have trouble sleeping, if you have found anything that helps.

Thank you for reading :)

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Having the same problem, got the same advice from my doctor. They did a blood test and I'm all healthy. Doctor has told me to stop having caffeine but it's going to be boring never having coffee!! It's not like I chug the stuff. Basically they don't know why I'm tired but want me to wait three months to see if it's serious before taking it further.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hello ShyBoy, Thank you so much for commenting

    Yeah I started to cut down on caffiene but to be honest I really haven't noticed any changes with my sleep. :/ I feel quite frustrated because I just want to be able to sleep.

    I may go and buy some nytol today, see how they help, if they help me. I just feel like I can't cope with this anymore it's not fair on the children or staff I am working with and I don't want my job to be affected.

    My sleep pattern is totally messed up, I sleep really late at night like 12am, and then wake up a few times, and then I usually have to be up at 6am most days for nursery.

    I mean I am used to it now but it doesn't make it easier.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Absolutely, the doctor said something to me about wellness or wellbeing or something but I wasn't paying attention :razz:.

    Also suggested I look into 'active' relaxation whatever that is...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ive just brought some nytol!
    So hopefully sleep tonight.

    Active relaxion sounds interesting..
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't reject sleeping tablets out-of-hand. I use them maybe once every two years when I really haven't slept for a while. A few days' worth is often enough to get back to normal. But it's not enough to become dependent on them. If you use them carefully, they do help.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Today I woke up at 5am. Goooo me. This was after less / very little coffee and tea yesterday.

    I'll look into active relaxation to see what I can find. Surely this is the doctor's job though :razz:

    Also have had sleeping tablets in past, they work but a) arent as good as normal sleep b) can only be used for short periods. They are more of a crisis thing rather than for dealing with ongoing sleep problems.
  • ReenaReena Posts: 1,375 Wise Owl
    Did it work?
    Have you tried night nurse?
    What about playing relaxing music before bed? Ever tried that before?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wow thank you for the replies.
    picc- I took the nytol, slept a lot better but felt quite rough, when i woke up this morning and also last night, when was falling asleep. not sure that's normal.

    thank you shyboy. i could also have a look see if i find anything.

    reena: yeah the tablets worked to get me to sleep, but felt really poorly on them.
    yeah tried the music, tried loads. :) nothing seems to help
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A bit of something called sleep hygiene might help. You can look some help things up. But one of the suggestions I like is keeping your bed for two things. Sleep and sex. No laptop, no reading, no music. That way, when you lie down, unless you're aroused your body knows it's time to sleep.

    I'm not that disciplined, but I am really fucking good at sleeping.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As Fiend says sleep hygiene is important particularly if you have trouble falling asleep. Thankfully this isnt a problem for me, I just suffer from wakefulness and unless there is an obvious cause its one of those things medical science can only do so much about. The common cause is stress which is why, even though I do have a wind down in the evening with music / tv / cuddles, my doctor has suggested trying to relax even more.

    The problem is no matter how relaxed I am, I can have a bad dream and wake up at 3am. But its about going through all the factors and ruling them out. So here's some questions for you Claire:

    Have you tried setting a bed time and sticking to it? Sleep routine is really important and will help your body and mind naturally feel sleepy at the same time every night.

    Do you eat at the same time every day? Eating sporadically or late at night can mess up your natural rythms and cause your body to feel more alert later in the evening when you should be starting to wind down.

    Are you eating healthy balanced meals? I'm not talking about salads and greens every day, but just balancing out what you eat. A lot of problems with health in general can be tied back to diet - we are what we eat, so its an important area to look at.

    Do you have a sleep routine? Or wind-down hour? Where you just start to let your mind shut down, watching shit on TV or listening to the radio.

    Do you do any exercise through the week? Exercise is great for burning up adrenaline that can naturally accumulate through the stresses of every day, as well as being all-round healthy and after a good workout you may find sleeping easier. You dont have to go all out, a fast walk or jog / walk alternating for 25 minutes 4 times a week makes a big difference (or every day if possible :D).

    Sexercise This may be a bit controversial but sex and/or masturbation are actually great tools for managing stress (as well as being great fun) and can help you have a much better sleep :). Just something to think about! :D
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    I work often work 12 to 15 hour days and find it difficult too switch off and relax when I get home, especially if i've been driving for hours. What always sorts me out and enables me to sleep 45 minutes of exercise. A run or a bike ride really helps.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't have a problem falling to sleep. I just can't stay asleep.

    ShyBoy and Fiend- Your replies have given me something to think about.

    I am just kind of giving up at the minute :/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Same Claire - it may well be worth going back to the doctors and tell them you are having chronic problems sleeping. They should take you seriously. Problem for me was when all the tests came back clear they don't know what else to do except say try to relax...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't have a problem falling to sleep. I just can't stay asleep.

    One of the problems with insomnia like this (I get it too - in phases generally but I can never sleep through a whole night without waking up at least twice) is that it can be a self fulfilling prophecy. If you think you're going to have a bad night then you probably will. I know it's hard but try not to think that.

    That's kind of the way I use sleeping tablets. They don't make me feel more rested but they do break the cycle. As long as you don't then rely on them to sleep and just use it as a "I slept ok last night so tonight might be alright" thing it might help.

    That said, I would love to work out why I sleep so badly in the first place. Eugh.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I kind of agree with franki. I recently had issues sleeping, bearing in mind that my job afforded me very little time to sleep at times, this meant I was getting good quality but very little sleep to begin with. When I had chance for more sleep, I found I was naturally waking up after just 2/3 hours sleep etc. I then got really worried about being able to get a good nights sleep, and got myself worked into a right state whilst I was lying there. The doctor I saw pretty much said that it was the lying there worrying about getting to sleep, that was the cause of me not being able to sleep. I was prescribed a few days worth of medication at a relatively low dose. After literally a couple of nights of uninterrupted and lengthy sleep, I felt a changed person and got back into a normal cycle.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    One of the problems with insomnia like this (I get it too - in phases generally but I can never sleep through a whole night without waking up at least twice) is that it can be a self fulfilling prophecy. If you think you're going to have a bad night then you probably will. I know it's hard but try not to think that.

    That's kind of the way I use sleeping tablets. They don't make me feel more rested but they do break the cycle. As long as you don't then rely on them to sleep and just use it as a "I slept ok last night so tonight might be alright" thing it might help.

    That said, I would love to work out why I sleep so badly in the first place. Eugh.

    For the past few nights I have got more sleep, but I have been taking nytol. I fully understand what you mean though about the whole not thinking gonna have a bad nights sleep and all that. I am trying not to. Some nights I get about 3 hours, other nights i get about 5 hours. I never get the right amount of 8hours, supposed to have.
    Hope you manage to get some sleep properly soon Franki :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    G-Raffe wrote: »
    I kind of agree with franki. I recently had issues sleeping, bearing in mind that my job afforded me very little time to sleep at times, this meant I was getting good quality but very little sleep to begin with. When I had chance for more sleep, I found I was naturally waking up after just 2/3 hours sleep etc. I then got really worried about being able to get a good nights sleep, and got myself worked into a right state whilst I was lying there. The doctor I saw pretty much said that it was the lying there worrying about getting to sleep, that was the cause of me not being able to sleep. I was prescribed a few days worth of medication at a relatively low dose. After literally a couple of nights of uninterrupted and lengthy sleep, I felt a changed person and got back into a normal cycle.

    Sorry to hear about your problems with sleep. I think my sleep problems are connected with my work because I am finding it really hard at the minute to switch of, I lay there thinking about work... Kinda comes with the job.
    I took some Nytol, they helped but made me feel quite poorly.
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    Hey guys, just a bit of an update. Jo7 is on the case finding someone to come and do an expert session in the chat room so will keep you posted on that.

    In the meantime, we've spotted there's recently been a session on Reach Out Australia - looks to be some really interesting conversations.

    Linky: http://forums.au.reachout.com/t5/The-Getting-Real-sessions/No-sleep/td-p/17126
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks Helen :)
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