How can i help DD who can't sleep (she is 23)

[LEMmingaround]

My DD is suffering from insomnia for a while now. She has been on the phone to me today in floods of tears, she has had no sleep for two nights now and she is at the end of her rope. :(

She says she doesn't have anything stressing her out, she works until 10pm on some shifts so this is probably the route of it, but she isn't sleeping at all, some shifts she ends up working til 10 then starting at 7 so her body clock is clearly all over the shop.

I have suggested taking an antihistamine such as benadryl but i don't think she has tried this. I have finally convinced her to make a doctors appointment which she will do on her day off (tuesday). Its awkward because she has moved away and not registered with a new doc yet so will have to come back home.

They sent her home from work today and she is off tomorrow.

I have sleeping tablets in my cupboards but i can't let her have them (even though i know thats what the doctor will prescribe) as i don't know if they will be ok for her. She is VERY reluctant to take them although she is willing to get some from the doctor now. But i am worried about her, tuesday is a long time away if she doesn't sleep until then.

Is there ANYTHING she can get over the counter? she has tried kalms but didn't work.

Can she go into a chemist and ask their advice. Longer term I would recommend visiting a hypnotherapist. In the meantime I am sure she could find a relaxation download online to listen to in the evening.

Hope she manages to get it sorted soon.

Isn't there a law for shift workers saying they need at least 11 hours of rest between shifts?

Nytol two a night always worked wonders for me when i couldn't sleep when I was disrupted from work etc. you can get them in any chemist. Definitely the two a night and not the one a night though .... Don't know why they just work better.

Has she tried liquid vitamin D? DH has major sleeping issues, he has had all kinds of both prescribed and OTC meds, but this has been working for him.

Oh, Nd if she tries nytol, get her to do it first time when she doesn't have work during the day. They can make some people very groggy first thing, especially if. Hey don't actually help yo us keeled.

Sorry, stupid iPad. Help you sleep, was what I meant!

I take rescue remedy night melts which help a bit. Inthe past my doctorhas told me that if you don;tfall asleep in 15 mins then get up or sit up and watch TV or read a book - don't lie tossing and turning. My DS listens to audibooks which help him get off to sleep.

Another thing I have found helpful in the past if she is not keen on the medication route, is Yoga Nidra - its a full body relaxation -you can get CD's where someone will take you through the relaxation. There are also toga breathing exercises that can help - alternate nostril breathing is a good one. here
Its easier to do in a sitting position but it does make you feel very relaxed and if you lie down straight afterwards sleep may come.

A final point (and this probably doesn;t apply to your DD as you say her shifts are upsetting her body clock) but my DS suffered badly from insomnia in his early twenties, and was eventually diagnosed with depression, the insomnia being a symptom of this. And once the depression was sorted, the sleeplessness was helped. So maybe worth her thinking about whether she has any other symptoms suggestion she might be a bit low in mood.

I hope she feels better soon - insomnia is a miserable thing.

yoga not 'toga'!

No phone, laptop, tv, screens an hour before you are wanting to go to sleep.

No caffeine after lunch.

Eat proper meals at set times.

All that baby stuff, warm bath, book, bed routine.

Nytol occasionally.

Shifts suck. Particularly ones that finish late and start early.

Despite all the above I still struggle. My latest ploy is to bank sleep hours, I sleep as and when I can, afternoon naps, lie ins, and large amounts of alcohol.

My dd often has problems getting to sleep and gets migraines when she is over tired. She is currently taking high dose magnesium (doctor recommended) at bedtime, and it seems to help (it makes you a bit sleepy). However it's likely that the sleep patterns are the problem, and that's not going to be fixed by medication.

Things that can help are reducing the potential distractions, so making sure her bedroom is calming, dark and quiet, that the temperature is right, that there is some fresh air, that she's eaten properly. Learning wind down relaxation techniques. Trying getting up when you can't drop off and then restarting going back to sleep - I find that tossing and turning in bed I can pretty much guarantee I won't drop off, better to get up, have a drink, read a bit and then go back to bed.

Kurri, i think she does suffer from depression and needs to discuss this with the doctor (i suffer from depression and anxiety and am on medication) as she does have problems with her temper, especially around her cycle. Whether i can persuade her to talk to the doctor about that i don't know. She can certainly go on a downer from time to time.

I will suggest the rescue remedy, i used to take the drops for anxiety and that helped. I think she will be a bit about the yoga but its worth a try, i'll send her a link.

I suggested the nytol - its got diphenhydramine in just like bendaryl but she hasn't taken any. I might buy her some and pop some over to her tomorrow.

Nooka, i was hoping that the sleeping pills would help her reset her body clock. They will only give her a weeks worth anyway. But i do think she has a lousy sleep routine that has now caught up with her.

How about Melatonin? My aunt does shift work and if works for her. She has to buy it online though.

A psychiatrist prescribed it for my dd when she was 10 and it worked for her too.

Both my children have used melatonin to help readjust sleep patterns but I know it's only available on prescription in the UK. I have tried it for jet lag without much luck so it's not a magic pill, but it can certainly help.

I think it's hard for young people because there is an assumption that they can get by without much sleep. dd and I both get into patterns where the issue is about finding it very hard to switch off, intrusive thoughts etc. I think that's why getting up can help because it breaks the pattern.

Another thing that might be worth looking into is diet and exercise. Exercise in particular really helps my sleeping.

Hi Op my Dd suffered from insomnia for several weeks. She is 11. I suggested she follow the online meditation programme that I follow at www. Getsomeheadspace.com we then found their sleep podcast. .I'm not kidding you...within 10 mins ahe was sound asleep and slept all night. Now we do one of their 10 min sessions every night and she's had no problems. I recommended it to a friend last week who had been suffering for several months. ..same thing for her, sound asleep! Hope it can help your Dd.

She slept for 14 hours last night So she is feeling better. Hopefully the dr will have some suggestions. Will have a look at the getsomeheadspace.com podcast thing. Thanks for all the suggestions :)

I also used Melatonin, bought it from Biovea online, I'm in the uk

Hope she gets sorted

Lauren

Glad to hear it. I had a chat with a sleep expert I met through work and he said a general rule is if you struggle to get to sleep its anxiety. If you fall asleep but wake up for long periods it's depression. See the doctor (and don't let her play it down). If they are unhelpful ask to see another doctor. Good luck! I've got a newborn (14 weeks) and insomnia was 10 times worse than this.