Please help me sleep. 20 minutes last night/this morning and feel awful 😖

[GnTx3]

Hi,

Simply, I'm absolutely desperate. I don't have young kids, I don't work shifts. I just can't switch off.

I've tried magnesium, pillow sprays, nothing is working.

Please help.

..I second a weighted blanket, too. They are really good.
But yes, your insomnia, as horrible as it is, is merely a side effect of your anxiety which needs treatment. I take Fluoxetine and it helps hugely.

Try the sleep casts on the head space app. Work wonders for me. I think there’s a free trial you can do.

You poor thing. First stop should be an appt with your GP to see what else can be done for your anxiety.

I see it's already been recommended, but yet another vote for Nothing Much Happens. Her voice is beautiful and the stories take up just enough of your brain to stop it thinking of other things, but not so much that you have to concentrate. Buy some cheap sleep headphones on a band and listen in bed. Keep persevering and it will help slow down your brain.

Thanks again for all the advice. I have been trying various suggestions.

Things were slightly improving, but last night I got....zero sleep. Absolutely nothing. I'm heading to the pharmacy today to get some Sominex.

I feel absolutely awful. I bloody hope that was a blip!

Take the anti anxiety meds, they will get you out of the cycle.
Otherwise, acupuncture and massage if you can afford it

Sorry to hear that, hope things improve
soon.

@BHRK I haven't heard of acupuncture for sleep. Will definitely be researching that.

Thank you @Missingpate

I'm a terrible sleeper and have fearsome insomnia when actively trying to go to sleep but I do tend to drop off when either attempting to watch tv or listen to the radio without fidgeting with something (phone game or crochet) to keep my brain active.

So I have started listening to audiobooks with the speed set to 0.75 or 0.5 normal pace so that it's really slow and gentle and dull. Audiobooks are better than radio programs as the latter tend to have cheery jingles every so often which wake me up. Historical fiction works well for being interesting enough to listen to while awake but unlikely to be disturbing of sleep once I drop off, and I can set the audiobook player to stop at the end of the chapter - and I know enough history that I can pick up any plot points I missed fairly easily.

I have to wear earplugs due to DH snoring so i use bone-conducting headphones rather than in-ear, which I just wear like an alice band so very comfortable to sleep in.

I tend to only ever sleep for a couple of hours at a time but it's easy to set off the next chapter and I drop off again soon enough.

It's important not to choose books that are too interesting. I had a night last week where i listened to the first 10 minutes of chapter 8 about half a dozen times but kept falling asleep before getting to the important plot point I wanted to hear...

I am the same today op.
Had a short nap on sofa so my body said that was it for the day / night. It sucks.

@OlizraWiteomQua I'm glad you manage to get some relief with that. I have very sensitive ears (of course! 🙄) so would definitely need headphones like that. I struggle wearing ear buds.

@Mynewnameis I'm sorry to hear that. Sucks indeed. I hope yours was a blip too.

I'm not managing to properly form sentences today. The room is spinning and I'm always surprised just how much it messes with your emotions. I've had several cries today. First mini cry was this morning when I realised I'd run out of the 'good coffee' 😬😔

I have no idea whether it will be any better, but I have signed up for this crowdfunded device which is a set of earphones designed for sleeping in which also measures your biorhythms and can detect how close to sleep you are. Theoretically it's supposed to enable you to listen to am audiobook as you start getting ready for sleep but its connected AI app is supposed to move into a sleep-prolonging soundscape as you begin to drop off. I bought into it as I am a sucker for anything that is going to improve my insomnia but I have no idea whether it's a genius solution or a massive con.

I really feel that taking medication for your anxiety would really help with all your problems. Not medicating is really the root cause of all your issues.

@GnTx3 Honestly I don’t see how melatonin can possibly make it any worse than it already is? Plus it has no physically addictive properties.

Plus you firstly need to treat your anxiety as the insomnia is probably a symptom of that rather than a symptom on its own.

And the anxiety about taking sleep medication is fueled by the general anxiety disorder.

@OlizraWiteomQua looks interesting, but 🤑🤑

@BusterGonad You're probably right. Visious cycle.

@HairyKitty Yes, I'm pretty sure that's what's causing it. With the melatonin, I've read that it can stop your body from producing melatonin on it's own, so you end up needing more and more.

I've been taking magnesium for months now and I do think it works a little, but sort of sporadically. Plus, you're apparently not supposed to take it for longer than 3 months. Anyone know why? I've definitely been taking longer than that.

Really recommend the book "say goodnight to Insomnia - the 6 week solution" by Gregg d Jacobs. It helped me when I was going through the same and all based on scientific research. Hope you find something that helps.

Let’s say an OP posts asking for advice to treat a pain in her leg. Lots of lovely MNers offer advice on painkillers, knee supports, supplements, exercises etc, and then the OP drip-feeds that actually the leg is broken in two places and she’s declined the fracture clinic’s attempts to set it in a cast. Would we continue to offer well-meaning herbal remedies or would we tell her to get her bloody leg set?

@GnTx3 Please see your GP about anxiety medication. There's is nothing wrong about taking medication and it doesn't have to be forever. I found it very helpful to break the cycle and enable me to get back on a more even footing. From there I was able to come off my medication (under supervision from my GP) and tackle my anxiety in other ways, but I was able to start from a position of being well rather than unwell.