Difficulty sleeping....

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Difficulty sleeping....
12
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 7:40am

Well it's gone on two nights, in a row, now! And I'm tired....


Sunday night I went to bed relatively early, and tossed and turned for about 45mins before nodding off. I read recently that the average person falls asleep in seven minutes!


Last night I got into bed, exhausted, at about 10.30pm. I remember looking at the clock at 12.30!!! Then woke up several times during the night too.


It's been *hot* here over the past couple of days (last night 86F, in the house) so that could have something to do with it also.


Thought I'd come and ask you ladies what you do when you have difficulty falling asleep?? I did get up a couple of times and just read an article or something, but also didn't want to stay up too long and completely wake myself up.


Any other ideas out there?

~IslandGirl


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 10:21am
I have an extremely difficult time sleeping. I take melatonin a half hour before I want to fall asleep most nights and it does help. I never am asleep 7 mins into laying down and I get up a lot during the night.
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2003
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 10:50am

find an anatomy & phislology or abnormal psyc text book. You will be out in the 7 minutes - trust me. :)

I read if you take a cool shower to lower your body temp you can fall asleep. Hot shower keep you up. BUT for me it is the opposit. Also if you lightly rub the space between your eyes or behind your head - follow a line from the back of your ear to the bottom of the skull. If memory serves me that would be the occipital bone and lobe of the skull & brain respectively.

Also try not to eat anything too heavy a few hours before bed.

Good luck.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2003
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 10:50am

Do you feel relaxed or are you tense?? My suggestions would be try a short stress relieving yoga routine. Then try some breathing exercise and/or meditation. I use a breathing exercise DVD with Rodney Yee. I don't want to get up after wards. I'm also sure there are guided type meditation CDs or DVDs depending on your preference.


This is a Rodney Yee DVD.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000094J6K/qid=1127832460/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-5894413-9886457?v=glance&s=dvd

Gretchen


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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2003
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 11:34am

I've gone through boughts of insomnia, and have tried loads of different methods of getting to sleep.


These are some of the things that I've found to work -



Chammomile tea & a book before bed


One of those eye masks to keep everything pitch black and a relaxation CD playing


"praying around the block" my mom calls it, making sure you say a prayer for everyone in your family, then every one around your family, then a wider and wider circle.


Alleviating whatever is stressing you out - for me it's usually money, and once I sit down during the day and really go over my finances I feel better and can sleep better.


Neo-citrin.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 12:38pm

Thanks Ladies-- I knew I could depend on you for some great thoughts and ideas...


SS- I haven't ever ventured to taking something before bed. The strongest avenue I've taken is a Tylenol PM, which did help. I thought of taking one last night, but didn't think of it until about midnight, and at that stage I thought it was just too late. I'll see how I'm doing tonight...I might just take one!


Robyn- I don't have any of those books lying around, lol! But I think the cool shower idea might work. Thanks for the suggestion!


Gretchen- I do feel tension in my back, and think that either some Yoga, or a well deserved massage might do the trick. Thanks for the link for the DVD!


Miranda- I did try the praying around the block last night, but my mind kept wandering onto other things. It didn't keep me focussed at all!!


-On the upside I managed to get through the morning just fine. We actually had a great morning in class, and for this time of the day I feel pretty energized!! Hm........

~IslandGirl


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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2005
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 5:36pm

First step with insomnia.......

Do you know WHY you can't sleep? Something bothering you? Too warm? Mind all over the place? Too many things to do? etc......

I have tried ALL the tricks in the book and first, let me tell you, NOTHING works for me. And baths don't work..........mostly because this is how it goes....you're supposed to take a WARM bath, not hot, but the reason it doesn't work, is that once you get out and dry off, you "cool down" which in turn wakes your body up again.

And Robyn, sadly, for me, I HAVE read boring books, I will actually GET INTERESTED in it. Scary I say, SCARY.

So, for myself, and me only, I have realized that I have to really think about WHY I'm tossing. Usually something is on my mind, or things I have to do, or take care of, or put away, or clean up, or remember.......depending on what it is, I'll write a note, make a note, something, to get it OUT of my head onto paper.

If I'm thinking too much (i.e. before and after I was going to end things with bf), I can't do anything. So, I just toss and turn. And last but not least.............

the next best thing to put me to sleep....a really relaly really really goood STRONG O. that'll do it sometimes. It gets me to sleep, although, I do wake up later.

and lastly....I knew about that lame 7 minutes. I NEVER can fall asleep in 7 mins, even if i'm dead tired, still takes me over 7 mins...and if you're ever wondering, it's a trivia question in the game (that's where I learned it, and realized I'm sooo not normal in that area). lol

Good luck. I recently found alcohol did the trick too. :) I had the best sleep the other night, cuz of alcohol, and I haven't slept well in over 2 months.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 9:06pm

Thanks for all that Cher-- and yea.....there are too many things floating around in this brain of mine. I have done the 'get up and write it down' thing too-- doesn't always work though!


I'm going to try things au natural tonight and see how it goes ;-)

~IslandGirl


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Tue, 09-27-2005 - 9:17pm

Well melatonin is what your body makes naturally to sleep, we lose it as we grow older. It will not leave you with any "sleep hangover" which is what I like to call Tylenol PM you won't get that groggy in a fog feeling.

Melatonin is considered a supplement. You can buy it at GNC or drugstore.com and they are little tablets that melt under your tongue. Cherry flavored. LOL

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 09-28-2005 - 11:48am

Work out harder!


I've only had occassional problems sleeping, I find drinking makes it worse.

~Kiervin~

Co-author of:  MONSTER'S INK HORROR ANTHOLOGY By Cyber-Pulp Press

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 09-28-2005 - 12:34pm
Hm...I suppose it is a supplement- maybe I will look into getting some, I think I could handle cherry flavor- under my tongue! Thanks ;-)

~IslandGirl


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