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If you have trouble sleeping, what helps you drift off?

59 replies

awaywiththecircus · 07/09/2020 11:17

Don’t know if it’s my age (46), but during lockdown I started waking in the night with irrational worries. It’s almost like I have to think of something to fret about and I think it’s become a habit. I try working through the alphabet thinking of things beginning with a, b, c etc but this is getting tedious now. So what do you do when you can’t sleep?

OP posts:
toomanyspiderplants · 07/09/2020 11:19

put the radio on? or podcast. .I find the talk helps me drift. .nothing with music and set it to go off after an hour

pastabest · 07/09/2020 11:25

Podcast. Set it to run for 30 or 45 mins so it doesn't go all night if it's part of series.

Something light and distracting - I like shagged married annoyed by Chris and Rosie Ramsey at the moment.

In my case it's a combination of being woken by children and then not being able to get back to sleep due to worrying about work stresses.

newmestrongernow · 07/09/2020 11:27

I usually watch (well not actually watch - just have it as background noise) an episode of Dateline on YouTube. There's something about the monotonous tone of their voices that sends me pretty much straight off to sleep.

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RealityExistsInTheHumanMind · 07/09/2020 11:29

I play YouTube sleep videos on my tablet.

Put the tablet face down so no light coming from it. There are loads of nice gentle non stories to listen too. Concentrating on them quiets the brain churn and I fall asleep again quite quickly.
Or listen to saga style audiobooks on Alexa. Pillars of the Earth series is great. It's long, you can slow the voice down, which sounds odd for a minute until you get used to it then it is just relaxing. It takes about a month to listen to a whole book. Set timer for 10/15/20 minutes and the next day go back to where you think you fell asleep. Or go back to same place and jump forward in 5 minute increments until you find your place. It's faffy but it works for me.

Minai · 07/09/2020 11:37

Headspace sleepcasts. I’ve gone from awake for 1 hour or more to falling asleep in 5 minutes. Amazing.

Thecobwebsarewinning · 07/09/2020 11:40

I repeat whatever I have listened to that day on Audible at a very low volume. If I haven’t listened to anything I will play whatever I read that day the same way. I set the time for an hour and I drift off very quickly. It also works if I wake up too early, just lulls me back to sleep for an extra couple of hours. Playing it at a slow speed is a very good idea which I will try tonight.

I find I get to sleep much quicker if I’m settled in bed with the light out by 10.30, if I’m still awake cleansing/tidying/brushing my teeth etc after that time it takes much longer to drift off. I also take a `kalms tablet 30 minutes before I turn the light out and burn a relaxing aromatherapy candle for an hour or so.

BrandyandBabycham · 07/09/2020 11:40

I like to make lists in my head. When lockdown started, I found making lots of lists very comforting & gave me some control. Or I tense then relax every part of my body.

MagMell · 07/09/2020 11:41

I just give up and read.

GalOopNorth · 07/09/2020 11:41

Nothing Much Happens podcasts

Amazing

Thecobwebsarewinning · 07/09/2020 11:44

My DD has always listened to Harry Potter audio CDs to help her sleep. Hearing `Steven Fry’s voice as I came upstairs was a routine part of my life for many years. She has recently boomeranged home after uni and now listens to them on Audible with a timer so I no longer need to tiptoe into her room to turn them off.

chunkyrun · 07/09/2020 11:45

Write worries down, cool and dark room

HowFastIsTooFast · 07/09/2020 11:46

True Crime podcasts Hmm.

God knows what they're doing to my unconscious psyche but the hosts of Casefile, They Walk Among Us and Mens Rea have such soothing voices to drift off to, even if they are talking about horrific murders.

chunkyrun · 07/09/2020 11:46

No tech 30mins before bed

Mustardbay · 07/09/2020 11:46

Nytol!

MuseumOfYou · 07/09/2020 11:49

Counting backwards really slowly from 300 does it for me.

dazzlinghaze · 07/09/2020 13:21

I second the headspace sleepcasts, I find them so soothing and there's loads to choose from! They work without fail for me!

ZeldaSmelda · 07/09/2020 13:32

I have massive issues in falling asleep and can lie awake for hours before I nod off. Over the past month or so I have started counting down from 100, really concentrating and really ‘saying’ the words in my mind, almost over pronunciating them In my mind. I’ve been doing this every night I can’t get to sleep and haven’t got passed 80
Yet!

MalbecLARGE · 07/09/2020 13:53

Hmm I must be in the minority here, because I would say don't stimulate your brain with tech or even by reading a book. For me it just keeps me awake longer.

If it's anxiety that's keeping you awake, then your heart rate will likely be high and that needs to come down before your body thinks it's safe to drift off. Afterall, anxiety is actually supposed to keep us safe. To get our adrenaline pumping incase we need to fight or flight, so firstly you need to acknowledge that you're anxious.

Focus on breathing. Nothing else. I don't mean those biiiiig deep breaths that make you feel dizzy and sick. You need to breathe out for longer than you breathe in, but gently and calmly. As you breathe out, imagine that your anxiety is slowly being exhaled from your body.

I downloaded a heart rate app and find if it's above 85/90 bpm, I struggle to relax and drift off. I don't use it so much now, as I found it was too easy to obsess over, but it helped me understand how important heart rate is when trying to sleep.

Another bit of advice I'd give is, and this might sound silly, but don't worry about it. Don't count down the minutes, the hours etc. You need to get to a point where you genuinely aren't stressing about how much sleep you will or won't get.

It's about breaking that cycle.

mynameiscalypso · 07/09/2020 13:57

I'm another who listens to audiobooks - generally ones that I've listened to before so I'm not too engaged. I have, for example, a collection of the Miss Marple short stories which lasts for ages and is read by Joan Hickson so quite soothing. I've used it successfully for plane journeys too where I've had to sleep.

AvonCallingBarksdale · 07/09/2020 14:02

I never have any difficulty dropping off but I do find it difficult to go back to sleep if I’ve had to get up in the early hours to go to the loo for example. What I find helps is running through the characters in a book or TV programme I’m watching. So I might do all the characters in Ozark or Succession and I generally find I wake up again in the morning and remember that I didn’t get through the whole list and therefore must have dropped off at some point doing it! For me the key It’s not to make it something too stimulating or interesting.

showgirl63 · 07/09/2020 14:04

I found it helpful to think less about not being able to sleep and more about enjoying just relaxing. Like a pp I have the Harry Potter audiobooks and I'm so familiar with them they are now just a soothing back noise and I tend to drop off within 15 mins

ritzbiscuits · 07/09/2020 14:15

Doing a Calm app meditation or listening to a Calm sleep story.

SillyUnMurphy · 07/09/2020 14:16

Complicated maths sums for me (I’m a weirdo) I’m usually asleep before I can be bothered to try and solve it.

SingingWaffleDoggy · 07/09/2020 14:16

I also listen to the HP books. I love Stephen Fry’s voice as I drift off to sleep!
Also, I have read them so many times I don’t need to listen carefully. Any new material keeps me awake as I’m paying too much attention.

VettiyaIruken · 07/09/2020 14:18

I put hitchhikers guide to the galaxy audio book on.

I love that series, read it loads and was looking forward to having the audiobook.

However, I have never heard past chapter 4.

Now it is reserved as my sleep aid. Never fails.