to ask you all to scare me?

[IAmBooyhoo]

i need a shock to sort me out.

i am a night owl. always have been but it's been getting worse. i'm finding myself unable to sleep most nights before 2am and struggle to get up in the mornings. my whole day is wiped out by exhaustion. i achieve nothing until almost dinner time. the dcs have a grumpy arse mother and i'm all they have so they get no break from me. i get into bed every night before 10pm to settle down. i go out walking, i've stopped all caffeine (i only drink tea anyway) after 7pm. i use lavender oil on my pillow but i still cant settle. my eyes can be aching with tiredness and just wanting to close but they will not stay closed and i end up sitting up bright as a button in bed so i stick the laptop on and MN or watch something. i need to break this now. it's affecting my whole life and my Dc's lives. i can't go on feeling this exhausted.

scare me into sorting it (and tell me how). tell me horror stories of what exhaustion has driven people to.

No stories but stop going on MN or watching the TV. The artificial light acts like daylight and will make it worse. Can you read a book (nothing too compelling), have a hot bath before bed, get into cosy jamas, make sure your bedroom is not cluttered and your sheets are clean, stop caffiene after 3pm, eat something before bed like a turkey sandwich which is supposed to help sleep, lights off and relax. Can you get a relaxtion tape thing?

I will be watching with interest as I was about to start a very similar thread.

yes angry that's the sort of thing i need. tips and advice. the laptop was just to pass the hours until i felt ready to sleep but of course a book would do the same. no tea after 3, hot bath, clean sheets, decluttered room, relaxation CD

one other thing is that ds2 comes into my room every night about 2ish and i think that's partly why i m not sleeping till then as i know he will be coming in.

Get yourself a weighted blanket. I got mine on prescription for this very reason.

what does that do kladdkaka? is it just to stop it falling off teh bed?

Warm milk, cerial and a good book. I've started going to bed earlier so that i don't watch TV right before i sleep.

I suffer greatly with sleep (constant dreaming, sleepwalking - once in a while - sleeptalking - proper conversations - sitting up in bed etc) and the worst thing that happened to me was falling down the spiral staircase and ended up with massive bruises. I've woken up with cups of tea in my hand and even woken up in my garden sitting next to the pond (luckily i put my jammies on!).

None of it particularly scary but those are the consiquences of my lack of sleeping.

I find that imagining i am somewhere peaceful or i'm in my favorite place helps (i know it sounds like a fanny thing to do) like by the sea or ironically in the garden by the pond. I tend to sleep better and dream more about these places than the horrific things i usually dream about.

Hope this is helpful in some way.

also i'm going to get rid of my duvet and sheet set. it is fake satin (dead chep stuff from poundstretcher) and it is the slipperiest stuff ever. i almost slide out of the bed.

Go and get Kalms and some herbal sleep aids from the chemist.

I had the same - it sucks.

Go and see your GP. S/he will give you a check up, advice and possibly some sort of mild sedative.

thanks vixxen. that's the stuff

i dont want to take anything as i am here on my own with dcs. too scared of not waking if they need me.

I'm sleeping much better since I got anti-anxiety tablets from the doc (sertraline) so SGB's idea to go to the doc is a good one.

I have intermittent problems with insomnia. When a bout is upon me I stop doing anything stimulating in bed chance would be a fine thing, so agree that NO LAPTOP or TV and a big fat yes to reading a boring book. I have a stack of classics which help.

I do not take any caffeine at all after midday anymore. I drink decaf or herbal teas, and I am in the process of cutting caffeine out all together.

As to be woken at 2 every night then it might be time to tackle that? I don't know how old he is but can you go back to co-sleeping a couple of times a week to get you rested (I believe that my brain goes into a "habit" sort of thing - if I wake at 3.43 two nights in a row, for example, then I'm screwed as my brain thinks that's the time I should be waking! Stupid brain) and break the habit? Or maybe it's time for him to stop coming in? Stretching it out an extra hour over the course of a few days until you've cracked it?

x posted.

(Oh and I've fucked carbs right off out of it recently and, honestly? I have never slept so well in all my life)

:o nah, research has shown than deep pressure has a massive calming and relaxing effect. They're frequently used for conditions which affect anxiety and sleep, like autism.

www.sensacalm.com/weighted-blanket-therapy/

My uncle was driving back from Scotland one time when he was a student after a day's climbing the hills. He remembers thinking "What a wonderful thing the human body is. I've been up for over 20 hours, having to concentrate on driving, and I'm not even drowzy"... and the next thing he knew he's crashed into the central reservation after falling asleep. Luckily it was the middle of the night and his foot and left the accelerator when he fell asleep.

Since then he is exceedingly careful not to drive when tired.

he is 2. yes i probably should really put a stop to it. i should just keep putting him back until he stops doing it? this is only a recent thing he started doing when we started toilet training (not sure what the connection is? security?) sometimes older ds comes in too (he is 6) but yes time to reclaim my own bed and make it out of bounds or is that too harsh on children that have been used to coming in?

carbs out. ok. i can do that.

thanks kladdkaka!

thanks dewe. that's the sort of scary business i need to hear. was your uncle ok?

I don't think it's harsh when it is affecting you so fundamentally!

I'm sure someone will be along soon with some help on sleep training - or maybe start a thread in the Sleep topic? I've been very fortunate not to have had my boys sneaking into bed with me ever - and they're a bit old now at 15 and 11.

i've had it for almost 7 years now. if it's not one it's teh other, or both.

i think you're right though. i need my bed back and my sleep to get normal.

It must be disturbing for them as well - waking up, getting up, coming into you, settling back down again...much better for them to be conked out for the full night.

so what you're saying is calpol? (or is it? )

My Uncle was fine, but probably wouldn't have been if the motorway had been busy. It was over 30 years ago and he's now the one to stop people driving if he thinks they're tired.

HAve you given piriton to them? My 11yo has difficulty sleeping and the GP suggested giving piriton. Warning though, some children it makes hyperactive rather than drowzy.