To wish I could sleep like a normal person

[RunningWhileTheWorldBurns]

😩

I haven’t been able to get to sleep before 2am in MONTHS. It’s my turn to be up with toddler at half six tomorrow. I will spend the day a tired mess. Come 9pm I will be wide awake and bouncing witj energy. Rinse and repeat day in day out.

Why!?

[bumblebee39]

Maybe you need to

A) improve your sleep hygiene (and find out what it is etc.)

B) cut down caffeine

C) try sleep hypnosis

D) speak to your GP about taking sleep hormones, sleepers or an ANtidepressant for sleep.

E) Accept its who you are.

I have done all of the above 😂 my sleep hygiene will never get any better, I use sleep meditations sometimes, I mix up early nights and late ones because I get a lot done on those late nights yknow (reading, googling, mumsnet etc.) I take my medication and (for the most part) it helps.

Some of us are morning people, some of us our night owls, some of us can change of that and some of us can't, some of us don't even want to change it.

Good luck OP and hope you find what works for you X

[tentative3]

I'm an awful sleeper. I take magnesium and vitamin D to try and help and have had tart cherry juice in the past too. No idea if any of them do anything but I figure they probably don't hurt. I also have a white noise machine and/or play rain sounds from youtube. I find it easier in winter, I guess maybe because of the increased dark hours and also because I sleep better when there's lots of lovely cold fresh air swirling round the bedroom and I can get snuggled up under a duvet - I find the weight helpful somehow.

[tabbycat1234]

I was awake until 3, then had some milk and fell asleep. I am a baby....

Then this morning I remembered I'd been eating chocolate yest evening doh

[RandomMess]

Stress has a huge impact on me being able to sleep.

[RunningWhileTheWorldBurns]

I’ve always been a night owl but the last couple of months at work have been very stressful. I’m wondering if it’s that. My husband thinks I’m stressed.

[RandomMess]

I switched to decaf coffee, cut out chocolate and sugary things in the evenings and there has been an improvement.

I also take hypnotics very occasionally if I'm particularly stressed about sleeping ie have a long drive the following day etc.

It may be worth discussing them with your GP and taking them for 2 nights in a row at say 10.30pm do asleep by 11pm... sort of to break the habit of not being able to sleep earlier.

Insomnia just really really sucks

[ToadOfSadness]

If anyone is finding that hot milk doesn't help, ensure that you are using full fat. Semi and skimmed have the tryptophan removed with the fat and that is what helps you to sleep.

[epcot15]

That's me just up after dropping off to sleep again. Ok on a Sunday but not when kids are back to school tomorrow!

I think I'll look into the yoga thing, I have a doctors app on Wednesday so might ask her advice then. Right I'm away for a string coffee!

[Ouch44]

There was a program on TV the other night about circadian rhythms. They were studying an explorer. Can't remember the name unfortunately. Sleep expert on there suggested leaving curtains open to try and reset circadian rhythm.

I'm in a wake from 4-6am phase at the moment. Just drop back off just before have to wake up and asleep just after 12. Knackered!

It's definitely better when I read on my kindle during that time rather than my phone

[GinandGingerBeer]

Audio books have massively improved my ability to sleep.
I was always laying awake into the early hours after going to bed but now I stick my earphones in, set a 30 minute timer and I fall asleep before the 30 minutes are up 99% of the time.

(Don't forget to put a timer on or you wake up with 'rate this book' having finished it and have to try and find where you were up to 🤦🏻‍♀️)

[RunningWhileTheWorldBurns]

I don’t have time to go to bed at eight. In fact I’m lucky if my four year old is asleep by eight.

[Believeitornot]

Has it always been this way OP? I found my sleep hygiene was awful with the dcs because I would spend too much time on MN on my phone when feeding in the night. As a result the screen time ruined my ability to sleep.

Your dh is right. Go to bed when you’re tired at 8pm. Then if you wake at 2am, don’t go on screens, do some reading, maybe a crossword, tidying. Anything but screens. Then you may eventually get back to sleep. M
Does your toddler nap? If so, nap when they do as well if possible.

[IWantMyHatBack]

I used to be like this. Amitriptyline has been like magic, sleep cycle is pretty much reset

[Zoflorabore]

Wow so many of us struggling

I managed to drop back off for a few hours on the sofa with some hypnosis on YouTube.

Someone mentioned Yoga earlier. I have never tried it. Any tips please?
If 2 diazepam and a zopiclone can't help me then I need to look at something else.

Hope everyone has a quiet day and is able to rest at some point.

[Thenewdoctor]

I woke at half 2 this morning. I am writing up, so I did some writing but that makes my sleep even worse then because I’ll be napping this afternoon.

[RunningWhileTheWorldBurns]

Yup I am up with her ladyship now. Mainlining coffee while she plays.

My husband is always saying why not go to bed at like eight when you’re so tired and sleep through. I can’t though. If I do that I’ll wake up at like 2am and be wide awake. It’s so annoying.

[epcot15]

^I have found my people.

Bed at 11/11.30 sometimes even half ten, can’t keep my eyes open tired aaand WIDE AWAKE FROM 4 am.^

^^This is me, I can fall asleep around 10.30/11 and be asleep in literally minutes then wake at 3 or 4am! I have been awake since 4 so it'll be time to go back to sleep for a bit soon!

Kids have been off school this week so lots of lazy mornings..I'm dreading tomorrow though! 😫

[stationaryace]

I find sleeping tablets help me but my dh swears by stretching/yoga- he's very anti meds. It does give him a good 5/6 hour stretch which isn't long enough but better than the 2 he usually gets.

[Thenewdoctor]

I have found my people.

Bed at 11/11.30 sometimes even half ten, can’t keep my eyes open tired aaand WIDE AWAKE FROM 4 am.

[LittleKitty1985]

Reducing light in the hour before you want to sleep, & then using an eye mask (and perhaps earplugs) during sleep will probably make a HUGE difference. This is because light inhibits the production of melatonin (the hormone that induces sleep). Similarly you should also never turn on a light (or look at a phone) if you wake up in the middle of the night, or your brain will kickstart into wakeful mode.

Or if you want to try something chemical, I highly recommend diazepam (Valium).

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

I can't go to sleep before 11:30pm or I wake up somewhere between 2 and 4am. So I routinely now stay awake until gone midnight, usually 1-2 am.

But the other problem I have is that, the older I get, the less I can sleep in one hit because of pain in the hips/back/shoulder - so I manage about 5 hours at night, and then usually end up having a nap in the afternoon if I can fit it in.

Not great and not much help to you other than maybe showing you that you're not that "abnormal"?

to you though - it does suck. :(

[MarcieBluebell]

Oldgreyboots. That's when I'd naturally go to bed... as the sun comes up. It's a weird feeling being so against how it should be.

[HelloViroids]

Hello my people!

[sobeyondthehills]

Hi

I use to be like you, I am now in a different version of hell, which is sleeping 3-4 hours at a time waking up and then staying up till I feel tired then I have to sleep.

The whole thing is fucked might have just slept for four hours and woke up a 3am wide a fucking wake

You are not alone with wishing to sleep during the night

[OldGreyBoots]

My sleeping pattern was ruined over the summer (university student so had a lot of free time), and I've not managed to get back to anything normal!
Started new medication a few days ago which is making it even harder to sleep, I dropped off at 7.30am on Thursday/Friday morning