Quality of sleep - anyone else feel just as tired when they wake up?

[minxthemanx]

I'm exhausted. Officially - saw a neurologist due to various symptoms and he has diagnosed "cognitive fatigue": brain trying to do too much and sometimes switching off because it can't cope. One of the worst things is the quality of sleep - I go to bed by 10pm, read for half an hour, and fall asleep straight away. When the alarm goes at 6, I wake up as tired as when I went to bed, if not more so. The whole night is spent with vivid dreams about the most ridiculous things, but they are all very 'real' at the time. DH snores and that disturbs me, dog sometimes grizzles on landing and that disturbs me. DC are older now so they're not a problem.

Anyone else feel knackered when they wake up? My mind doesn't seem to switch off all night. I do all the usual things, no caffeine in evening, don't eat after dinner, read a gentle book for half an hour.....would love to know if anyone else has same problem.

Try Passiflora tincture. It can help improve the quality of the sleep. I buy the Vogel brand via eBay so you can compare prices.

Thanks for that, I'll give it a try. Anything for a decent night's sleep!

I seem to be always tired too.

I had a blood test done and docs receptionist said everything was good. I said that's great news, so why am I still so tired.

Going back this week for a second bite of the cherry.

Interestingly DD had to see a neurologist due to exhaustion and losing sensation in her arms and legs. In brief she has always been a bad sleeper, had bad Glandular fever a few years ago, anaemic and a hideous virus brought her to crisis point.
She has been prescribed Gabapentin for a sleep disorder, hidden migranes/ restless legs.
Basically she is sedated at night to reset her sleep patterns and this will continue for a year, there are side affects but not yet worse than feeling how she was.
Neurologist is v strict on sleep patterns, no tea,coffee or chocolate, 2L water daily, get up at the same time every day and no screens before bed.

HTH

Crate the dog or shut in a room downstairs if not crate trained. That stands out in your OP.

Sort the dog out firstly and check your vitamin D / iron levels

Spray your pillow with 'this works deep sleep spray. ' it's not a miracle in a bottle but it's nice

Interesting comments, thanks. I've had everything checked - B12, all blood tests, thyroid etc are clear. Have been under a lot of stress the last 4 years or so with DS1 being very ill when he was 9 (ruptured brain aneurysm) - although he made a good recovery it's been 4 years of stress, with all sorts of fall out from it and a relapse this February. Apart from the medical situation, he's a very difficult, challenging 13 year old and it's pretty exhausting. Plus working, running a home, trying to give DS2 the right level of attention... so I agree with the neurologist's diagnosis of cognitive fatigue, as it feels like my brain can't cope with the quantitiy of stuff going through it each day. Just wish it would switch off at night so I slept well without all the dreams! Crate hasn't worked with out dog - he's a lovely beagle, and was very very distressed in a crate when we took him on from previous owners. Howled, barked, scratched frantically at the bars. So he has his own bed on the landing which works well, except he seems to want a wee at 5.30 am. That's minor, though.

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Things that have helped me in the past - - - -Headspace meditation (it's a subscription now which puts me off but might be worth it if you're desperate)
-lying on a yantra mat (bed of nails type thing) for 20 mins before going to bed
-ovaltine or horlicks
-lots of deep breathing before sleep
-sleeping alone (easier said than done I know)
-low carb diet

Things that have helped me:
Yoga - particularly learning about breath and specific breathing exercises.
Learning mindfulness/meditate (in conjunction with breathing
Magnesium Glycinate has improved the quality of sleep too.
I think it's quite a skill to learn to 'quiet' the mind'. There is quite a lot of stuff on You-tube to get you started