Insomnia

[The Red Baron]

Anyone got any good suggestions please? I've been struggling to get a decent night's sleep for months now.

[Nudga]

Don't drink tea, coffee or booze before bed. Drink a pint of water an hour before.
Stay off phones or tablets an hour before bed, read a book instead.
When you get in bed, breath in slowly and deeply through your nose and exhale the same way. Do this for about 3 to 5 minutes.

Oh, and if you have things on your mind, work etc don't take it to bed with you. Think of something you enjoy doing.

[hoolahoop]

Anyone got any good suggestions please? I've been struggling to get a decent night's sleep for months now.

RB have a chat with me I'm usually awake up until c. 4:00 am. It's a horrible thing and gradually slows your brain down and makes you edgy.

[hoolahoop]

Don't drink tea, coffee or booze before bed. Drink a pint of water an hour before.
Stay off phones or tablets an hour before bed, read a book instead.
When you get in bed, breath in slowly and deeply through your nose and exhale the same way. Do this for about 3 to 5 minutes.

Oh, and if you have things on your mind, work etc don't take it to bed with you. Think of something you enjoy doing.

Good advice - I bet you're always planning the next Nudgarobics video though. Oh having sex is great too as it relieves stress and releases all those endorphines. Arr lass is usually asleep by the end of it these days so it works for her - only joking !!

Most people swear by reading a book - try a really boring one on a subject you have absolutely no interest at all in.

[The Red Baron]

Don't drink tea, coffee or booze before bed. Drink a pint of water an hour before.
Stay off phones or tablets an hour before bed, read a book instead.
When you get in bed, breath in slowly and deeply through your nose and exhale the same way. Do this for about 3 to 5 minutes.

Oh, and if you have things on your mind, work etc don't take it to bed with you. Think of something you enjoy doing.

Funnily enough the only nights I've had a half decent sleep have been those when I've had excessive amounts of alcohol in the evening.

I don't tend to drink coffee less than a couple of hours before I go to bed. Is that too late?

[IDM]

Read a book that you are interested in!  You won't get bored but your mind should clear of other matters, and you may find you wake yourself up when you finally drop the book out of your hands.

It might just be me, but I find a moderate drink an hour or two before regular bedtime helps to relax me.. 

[Bentley Bullet]

The main thing is try not to lose any sleep over it.

 If I can't sleep I pretend I'm at work, and have gone for a kip in one of the many nice warm offices, which is unoccupied because the usual dweller is out playing Golf or is on the sick with a paper cut or something.

Failing that, a glass of Whisky helps.

[The Red Baron]

Sunday night. No alcohol at all. Couldn't sleep.
Monday night. Glass of whisky. Slept for a couple of hours and wide awake.

[hoolahoop]

"The main thing is try not to lose any sleep over it." Lol BB

[hoolahoop]

RB seems you are trying too hard - just how bad is it , do you work and how many hours do you get on average .

[IDM]

How about a full 90 mins video of our home game vs Crawley (?) from a season or so ago?

[Rios]

I have this too brought on by the passing of my Mother and I've not been able to shake it.  Most nights are broken sleep with a maximum of four or five hours.  Sunday nights before returning to work I won't get any at all.  It's not good try to drive home on Monday evening when you've been up for nearly 40 hours.  I can tell when I'm going to have a bad night, my hearts beating out of my chest and my brain won't switch off.  No amount of "relaxation" techniques or "good sleeping" techniques work for me.

The doctor will prescribe you a weeks worth of sleeping tablets to try and knock you back into normal sleeping pattern, but after that you have to find the underlying cause.

I've tried loads of stuff that people swear by (Night nurse, Piriton, etc).  None of it worked.  I didn't try weed, but there were plenty that suggested that too.  The only thing that did/does is phenergan and two (one didn't work!) pills on a Sunday evening get me to sleep.  The problems with it are the drowsyness next day and that if you take it every night it stops working pretty quickly, hence why I only take it once a week.  You can get it at Boots or Weldricks.  I'd suggest starting on the lighter stuff (Piriton for example) as they have less side effects and go to Phenergan if you are desperate.

[NickDRFC]

Don't drink tea, coffee or booze before bed. Drink a pint of water an hour before.
Stay off phones or tablets an hour before bed, read a book instead.
When you get in bed, breath in slowly and deeply through your nose and exhale the same way. Do this for about 3 to 5 minutes.

Oh, and if you have things on your mind, work etc don't take it to bed with you. Think of something you enjoy doing.

Funnily enough the only nights I've had a half decent sleep have been those when I've had excessive amounts of alcohol in the evening.

I don't tend to drink coffee less than a couple of hours before I go to bed. Is that too late?

That's too late. If you think caffeine may be a problem then don't drink tea/coffee after about 5pm.

[The Red Baron]

Not working at the moment, though I hope to be soon. Partly I'm wondering how I will cope at work if I'm only getting 2-3 hours of (broken) sleep every night. (Unless I drink to excess and then I sleep but feel rotten in the morning anyway).

Will try the no tea/ coffee / alcohol thing tonight. Thanks for the suggestions. I am booking an appointment with my GP as well.

[LongbridgeMGRover]

Yes good to go to doc's.
I had a really bad spell of sleeplessness a couple of years ago, plus other health problems, all caused by workload and stress in a job where the organisation was going down the toilet.

Once the underlying issues were sorted, the presenting problems disappeared.

Not working may well be your issue, so when you are, things will be ok again.

[Sprotyrover]

Beatrix Potter was right lettuce is very soporific!try a lettuce sandwich for supper.

[Dutch Uncle]

I hope TRB that Longbridge's assessment is correct - it seems reasonable. My wife has had sleep problems for some years now and although it is not great she has learned to manage them most of the time. Everyone is different, but a few little things have been important like if prescribed sleep tablets, try not to use them more than twice a week. Then she can at least usually have decent sleep on a night she chooses (may be important when you start work). She does not take any coffee after lunchtime, and avoids hyper television programmes (including quiz shows) in the last hour before going to bed. Also good curtains to cut out maximum light (she also sometimes uses one of those eyecovers you can get on long haul flights). Good luck TRB.

A story just to lighten the mood, and to show the level of competence of our occupational doctor in the Netherlands - we were all made to take a yearly checkup.  I have congenital anosmia , i.e. I have had no sense of smell since birth, and indeed I have no idea what smell is. As a comparison imagine trying to explain to someone blind from birth the difference between red and blue. So in the yearly questionnaire in the 'any other health issues' box I put permanent anosmia. I went in and he was reading my questionnaire .......... and then he looked up and actually asked me how my sleeping was       

Not calculated to inspire confidence!

[idler]

If you have a late drink RB try a warm milky one as long as it isn't coffee.

[RedJ]

I have sleep issues too, the doctors believe caused by other mental health issues. If you lie awake for more than 20 minutes, it's worth getting out of bed and doing something to relax yourself, as apparently it isn't good for you lying there trying to force it.

[BobG]

I suspect some of sleeplessness is related to age. It's a purely personal observation, but I can't think of any other reason why I, who have spent 30 odd years sleeping for England with never a sign of insomnia should find myself this last 2 years with a body that is changing uber fast, a metabolism likewise and sleep that never lasts for more than about 3 hours at a time now. I'm not unhappy. I work a bit and I have time off a bit. I'm not worried about anything particularly. But I am getting older.

Is that a possible cause?

My Mum, (clearly a fair bit older than me!) has what I have - but she has it in Spades. I hope increasing age isn't the cause!

Bob

[hoolahoop]

hmm ive had it since that long 1st stay ( just short of 7 weeks ) in hodpital where they woke  me up every 2 hours or so to administer a boatload of antibiotics. That was nearly 3 years ago now and still i struggle to get a decent nights sleep

[Sammy Chung was King]

Try a paul mckenna relaxation cd, it might work for you.

[Orlandokarla]

As you get older, your body produces less and less melatonin, which is vital for a good night's sleep.
You can get it in pill form over the counter, and it can be an instant cure in many cases. Well worth a try.

[The Red Baron]

Been to the doctor. Doesn't want to give me sleeping pills, which I understand, and suggested Nytol. So I will give that a try.

Last night- no booze, no tea or coffee after 5.30- brought no improvement.

[wilts rover]

Try a paul mckenna relaxation cd, it might work for you.

Or an early Tangerine Dream album?

Maybe try caffine free & herbal drinks instead of normal tea & coffee?

[Bentley Bullet]

If everything else fails have you considered asking BBC Radio Sheffield for copies of their archive tapes of Paul Sturrock's post match analysis, when he was manager of Sheffield Wednesday?

I realise there could be side effects of banging your head against a wall if you don't drop off immediately, but at least concussion might then do the trick. 

[Nudga]

Been to the doctor. Doesn't want to give me sleeping pills, which I understand, and suggested Nytol. So I will give that a try.

Last night- no booze, no tea or coffee after 5.30- brought no improvement.

It will take longer than one night to break the cycle.
Maybe even have a walk round the block late on, helps clear the mind.
Try the breathing techniques though, it works for me.

[The Red Baron]

Last night. Several glasses of wine followed by a large whisky.

Slept like a log. Only woke up twice and went straight back both times.

So it seems my choice is insomnia or alcoholism!

Will try the Nytol (no booze) tonight.

[Glyn_Wigley]

No offence TRB, but are you a large sized bloke? If you are, you might have sleep apnoea like I do.

[The Red Baron]

I am but I don't think it is that. More that I can't get my brain to switch off.