Sleeping issues?

[Gwen]

I was just curious to find out if anyone on this site as sleeping issues? I have night terrors and I'm pretty sure I suffer from insomnia. Was just wondering what works for some of ya'll that might be going through the same thing?

It's funny, I just noticed after posting this that there is an Ambien ad up at the top! LOL

[pearl]

well, i don't have night terrors. but i do have insomnia. yoga and meditation and GABA have helped quite a bit.

[Janet]

Have you talked with your Dr. about this? I did take Ambien at one time and it worked great for me. Others have said it had awful side effects, but I can't remember what they said they were.

[WileyBlaze]

(copy and pasted)

Gwen I use to have insomnia also. They (doctors) told me to take the clock out of the room, if you watch tv to fall asleep put on the sleep timer, take the pets out of the room and take the mate out of the room until you can establish a sleep pattern.

Do you drink caffeine? When is your last meal in the evening? Do you exercise and what time? I was told to do it in the morning other wise your metabolism starts and you are ready to go.

If I drink any caffeine at ALL, even in the morning. I will not be able to sleep.

I actually seen a commercial on TV about insomnia and looked at their web site and that is where I found all this great information. I will see if I can find it for you.

I didn't know you had night terrors . I'm so sorry sweetie!! Are they bad dreams, I'm not sure what night terrors are.

[Dobie]

I've had insomnia for years - I usually get about 3 hours of sleep per night, then on a night when I'm absolutely exhausted from not sleeping - I get about 6 solid hours/ Then the process begins all over again.

[yorkiemalt]

no help here Gwen....I sleep like a baby unless something is really on my mind.

I can't imagine though because when I don't get enough sleep I'm miserable!

:hug:

[DianaB]

Have you talked with your Dr. about this? I did take Ambien at one time and it worked great for me. Others have said it had awful side effects, but I can't remember what they said they were.

Isn't Ambien what Sheryl was on and it made her sleepwalk? She would go outside. Scary!!!

Sorry that you're having trouble sleeping. The only thing that I do when I'm having trouble falling asleep is to relax, start counting backwards from 100, and think of a beautiful, peaceful place. Each count goes with each breath you take. Breath in, breath out, one, breath in, breath out, two, and so on. It's suppose to occupy each side of your brain so you can relax and fall asleep.

[pearl]

ambien is know for having a "hangover," feeling dopey and sleepy for awhile in the morning.

[pope1982]

Try to errr.... exercise... vigorously before bedtime, or smoking "funny cigarettes" will always help you to sleep soundly ;)

It's hard when your mind keeps going after your body is ready to quit for the day :rolleyes:

[Gwen]

Sorry guys! I'm still getting used to the format and I couldn't remember where I posted this question so I could come back to it! I'm such a lost cause, lol!

Thanks everyone for the advice! I'm just going nuts with this. I'm finding myself taking things just to make me drowsy, like cough medicine, and that worries me because I did that in high school and I think I got hooked on nyquil...yikes! I've tried all the normal stuff. I don't drink pop much, only when we go out to restaurants on the rare occassion, and I don't drink coffee, so I know it's not caffeine. I used to work out at night, and once I heard about that I stopped and would work out in the morning instead, but it didn't help. I also cover my clock because you're right, if I see it it drives me nuts seeing the time tick away.

We even got a new bed thinking that was the problem! And I swore it was, because for a few nights afterwards I actually did sleep better. But I seriously stay up until like 1 in the morning. It always takes me 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to fall asleep, so it's close to 2 by the time I fall asleep. Then I wake up around 3:30-4 and am up until 6, then fall back asleep until 7. I try making myself go to bed earlier, like around 9 or 10, but then I just lay there until I would normally go to bed anyway. So I've gotten in the habit of just watching TV or getting online because I just get so anxious laying in bed wanting to fall asleep and not being able to.

I really do need to check into it, because I have been diagnosed with night terrors already (night terrors in a nutshell is when your body has a dream-like state between being awake and being asleep. Because of it, you don't have a dream where you're someplace, but you actually feel like you are seeing things in your room. I almost always see spiders or bugs)

[Chandra Amaya]

I worked nightshift for some time, but that has been several years ago. My sleep has not been right since I stopped. I am awake until around 4 or 5 and up by 6 or 7. Then, around 2pm I'm exhausted. It's such a pain...

[Gina]

Hi Gwen and welcome for 4wt!

I will give you some advice that helped me. I went through that period about 15years ago. My was due to many issues that I had going on in my life. I would walk the floors and look at the clock and that drives you more crazy. I would go to bed much earlier that didnt help either. I just constantly dwelled on not sleeping. I tried ambien but I to was young and didn't want to get addicted to sleep medication, at the time all these side effects were not so well known with ambien.

Not sleeping made me feel like I was in a vicious cycle and I couldn't get out of it, like a mouse running through its cage. So one day I just stopped the ambien, and my phycian precribed a medication that was not addicting and relaxed me at night. I found out later on the problem was not me sleeping but I would get aniexty attacks where everything would pulsate in my body and my heart would pound and that is why I didn't sleep.

Try this do not look at the clock in your bedroom turn it away from you, when you are tired your body will sleep. Take a little benadryl before going to bed its not addicting and it has the same ingredients as the over the counter sleep aids. During the day keep busy and do NOT think about if your going to sleep at night. Eventually you will train your body to sleep, its very difficult and a horrible feeling, you will get aggiated and one feeds the other... It will pass , sometimes if I can't sleep I just get up and do something. The worst thing for you is to toss and turn and dwell on not sleeping, get up and do something to occupy your mind.

Are you having anixety attacks,? when this happens your body is racing and that feeling makes you not sleep. The other women gave you good advice, try some of them and learn to relax , before going to bed take a nice bath, put on some music and just let yourself drift . Do not lay there and worry about not sleeping, just to reiterate say if I don't sleep no big deal and don't think of anything you will see you will start sleeping..


Good luck!

[pearl]

gwen, i found that being on the computer right before bed made me stay awake. my mind gets hyped up with the computer. so i cut that out too right before bedtime and it helped.

[Gwen]

Thanks Gina! I don't really think I have anxiety in normal situations, but I do notice that I get it if I've been laying there a few hours. I start to freak out. To the point that I run to the bathroom and look for something to make me drowsy because I'm at the end of my rope, ya know? That scares me because it kind of reminds of what happened to Heath Ledger. They say that guy just couldn't sleep and it really started to mess with him. I would never want to get to the point that I'm trying everything in my power just to fall asleep. Since I have used cough medicine to do it, I worry that I'm already starting to do it in a way, ya know? Maybe I should look into yoga or meditation like what was mentioned. If I could learn to relax my mind that might help.

Pearl, I have often wondered if that was the problem because I do get online if I can't sleep a lot. And reading and visiting various web sites does put a lot of thoughts into my brain.

[pearl]

gwen, if i rreally want to sleep, i do a "hot yoga" class, that is a yoga class in a 90 degree humid room. but i love heat and tropics LOL, i sleep like a baby on those nights!

[catlover]

I agree with Pearl. I find when I'm on the computer at night-it's not that I "can't" sleep-I just don't want to!!!

Maybe you should try reading a book instead? I used to read TONS. I'd read a few chapters each night, and then be tired enough to go to sleep. (see...being on the computer has even cut into my reading time, lol!)

I've never been one to take drugs-I've never taken anything stronger than Excedrin Migraine. I always worry that with drugs-the "cure" might be worse than the problem, but that's just me!

Or...you can always take Pope's advice, and get some "exercise". Probably make your hubby a very happy man! :awink:

[Gwen]

Lol! That totally zonks him out, but it wakes me up even more! LOL

[HALEY]

i have a one year old son, that is teething, need i say more.
What sleep.... :snore: :snore: :snore: :snore: :snore:

[judy]

I've been taking ambien for about 4 years now, and it really works for me. Sleep went out the window when menopause began.

When I mentioned becoming addicted to my gyno, she said -"So what? You have to sleep." I've actually decreased the dose because it's much less money for the generic, and had no problem with it.

[Janet]

I'm glad you don't have problems with it either Judy. I finally remembered what I heard about it and it was that some have very vivid nightmares or dreams. It didn't affect me that way at all. I was able to sleep just fine with it.

[Gwen]

Hmmm, might have to finally check it out! lol

[CoyoteQueen]

someone correct me if I am wrong........but dosent green tea have caffiene? and gwen, dont you drink it alot?

I could sleep around the clock I swear! but on the nights I am super keyed up, or if someone is annoying me, like a hubby on the computer while I am trying to sleep! Or if I just am so overtired I cant relax, I take 1 benadryl. If I take only 1 I wont wake up drowsy. it takes longer to fall asleep with 1 than with 2, but when I do fall asleep, like maybe 1/2 hour, I sleep soundly, and I wake easily the next am. I use the generic kind and its super cheap. I dont use it often, but will if I need to.

[Gwen]

Wait.....does it? Omg, I never thought about that! I swear I pee straight green tea! LOL

[pearl]

i put on an extra blanket and i sleep better, the weight helps me. course when the weather gets warm i'm in trouble.

[Ponyup]

I do know tea has caffiene, but I'm not sure about green tea. I have been very emotional lately, you can read my threads if you want. I tried everything, I wasn't eating or sleeping. My doctor put me on xanax but i'm only take it when I'm miserable because I'm afraid of dependence. I talked to my sister in law who has a masters in psychology & she said I was anxious about being anxious. I was getting myself more worked up trying to eat & trying to sleep that it was making those things harder. So her advice was not to think about it. If you're not hungry don't eat....if you're not tired don't go to sleep. Your body won't let itself go without what it needs for very long & it worked. I also started taking yoga....it seemed to really help & I want to try tai chi also. I've taken two yoga classes both from 8-9 & I slept really hard after them. I've also started therapy. Since you say you have night terrors you might want to talk to your doctor about going to a sleep clinic & they might be able to help you. You might be subconscienceously afraid of sleeping.

[pearl]

green tea can have caffeine, but it doesn't if it's decaf green tea.
in regular green tea it has less than black tea.
Gppd Earth makes a decaf green tea, and it's my favorite.