Desperate for a decent nights sleep - any ideas?

[ProfessorofDarkArts]

I’m currently off work with stress and in a cycle where I sleep badly so my day goes badly so I sleep badly and so on.

Last night I had a light tea, a herbal sleeping tablet and a long bath, no caffeine or alcohol, no phone before bed. I used a magnesium spray, played gentle background music and did some deep breathing. I still slept so badly, restless and anxious with weird dreams to the point I actually knocked off my HRT patch with my constant tossing and turning.

Please can anyone suggest anything else I can try. Are those sleep headbands any good? I can’t change the stress but lack of sleep is making it impossible to deal with 🥺

Magnesium glycinate tablets. I find them helpful.
In my experience, if the sleep issues are caused by things such as stress or anxiety then external things such as sleep music or whatever make no difference. They may help make you more calm and accepting of the insomnia (this helps me be less stressed and therefore feel less shit the next day) but they don’t actually help with the sleep.

Have you tried acupuncture? I find it very helpful for stress and sleep; particularly when they go hand in hand. If that’s not your thing then also a body balance/yoga type class is also very helpful.

Some night nurse.
Zopiclone sleeping tabs from the doctor, only a short supply given though.

What are you doing in the day? I’d get lots of fresh air, daylight and exercise. Swimming and sauna always helps me sleep well.

Try promethazine, it’s an over the counter anti histamine. My consultant advised 2 a night and they have helped with my awful sleep!!

Give yourself a foot massage. You don't need any fancy products - I just use body lotion though, of course, buy fancy oils if you wish.

Most importantly, though, you've got to learn not to care.

Easier said than done. I know. I really do know.

It's only now after so many sleepless nights that I'm actually getting a tiny bit more comfortable with not sleeping.

Oh and as regards alcohol, do not drink it to the point where it stimulates you mentally.

Drink a small amount or enough to knock you out.

I don't recommend the latter, at all but, whatever you do, do not get to the mentally stimulated point with booze.

Try Nytol - the one that is just pure valerian. I have a sleep headband and I hate it. I can feel the battery as a pressure point and it's too hot.

I hate to say this, but exercise if you are up to it. Very hard when you are newly signed off from stress though and probably need to rest. If you feel up to it (and you probably don't) doing a little DIY project like painting some skirting boards has helped me.

Agree with @Peonies12 - I find in those cycles I can only get a good night's sleep if I physically exhaust myself, preferably outdoors.

Running, cycling, heavy gardening (eg. aerating the lawn with a garden fork for 2 hours), or even just walking for hours - anything that gets me into a "flow" state where my thoughts are pushed out of my brain I can't think about anything else apart from how physically tired I am, and then that night I usually fall into bed, dead to the world.

My MIL went through some very stressful years and took up running in her 50s - she called it "meditation on legs" and was the only way she said she ever got any sleep.

How heavy is your duvet/blanket? I can’t stay asleep under something too light but a weighted blanket absolutely puts me out.

Melatonin gummies.

CBD , try trip drops under the tongue and one of their drinks with CBD magnesium and chamomile - nice over ice, I also find my heated under blanket on for half an hour does the trick

Cognitive shuffling

Yoga nidra/ non-sleep deep rest

My son takes sleep gummies. He gets very stressed but they have helped him immensely.

Would a high dose of melatonin help? Out of desperation, I bought some online, and it works on the nights when I cannot switch off enough to go to sleep. I should probably order more, as I keep waking up at 2.00am every morning, and then can't get to sleep...

I even splashed out on very expensive bedding, shutters and blackout curtains, keep it as quiet/dark as possible but still wake up (I have insomnia).

Thank you all, just been listening to a sleep podcast and a lot of these were mentioned so you're definitely on to something!

Promethazine you can buy from pharmacy its a mild sedative that they can give before operations. My son is autisic and its used for its calming effect and helps sleep a lot

Hypnotherapy.

i discovered this accidentally after booking three sessions to address my fear of flying.

The first session was a relaxation session. I slept, without waking at all (even through my DH getting up) for eleven hours.

Unheard of for me, as a stressed headteacher, who hadn’t had a full nights sleep from the day I took up post.

Just a warning that I had a horrible few weeks with magnesium glycerate, awful dreams and waking up groggy as hell, came off them and was back to waking at 3/4 but at least the dreams and headaches went. Back on them after and same happened. Never again! (But it works for a lot of people!). I’ve done weeks of no tea after 3, no screens after 6, reading and drinking hot milk before bed and got the best night of sleep ever but couldn’t keep it up (addicted to screens/ mn, tea and I work until ten at night so feel the need for all when I get home!!!)

Deffo melatonin gummies

Reflexology! I’m a practitioner and most of my very stressed clients say that they find it gives them a very good quality sleep. It works on the parasympathetic nervous system. Might take a few sessions but the element of self care would be really good for you too. Best of luck OP - not sleeping is bloody awful.