Insomnia - has anyone found any real solution? It's making me really miserable :-(

[MaisieHerbert]

I've suffered with insomnia on and off for years now. This is the worst protracted spell of it I have had for a while. It's bloody awful
I don't have any problems going to sleep but I wake up between 2 and 4am every night and sometimes just can't go back to sleep - or I eventually go back to sleep but only get an hour before the alarm goes off and wake up feeling exhausted.

I know being on my iPad isn't a good idea but gawd it is sooooo boring. I'd rather be doing something than lying fretting for hours about nothing. I don't like reading a book because I have too put the light on and that disturbs dh. I'm honestly starting to dread the nights. Is it worth asking the doctor about sleeping pills? I never have done because I worry about feeling groggy in the morning but I need to do something to break this bad patch.

Has anyone found any real solutions that help?

if youve ever done yoga - that bit where you do relaxation at the end. I quite often try and put myself back in that postition, where youre emptying your mind, putting all the chatter away in a box, relaxing all the different bits of your body, bathing in golden light. That sometimes helps

Also the other thing that helps - weighted blankets!

My sons have autism, and I got them weighted blankets, but one of them doesnt really need it, so I borrow his, and its very very calming. Theyre quite a lot of money, but to me its been worth it
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-lb-WEIGHTED-THERAPY-BLANKET-Autism-Aspergers-ADHD-Sensory-/131693116356?hash=item1ea9857bc4:g:BJYAAOxyVLNSxcir

you choose the weight according to your own weight usually, but mine should be heavier for me really, but i still find it effective.

That doesnt mean I sleep every night, but its one of my strategies

i also think there needs to be a certain amount of acceptance.
that youre a bad sleeper. There isnt a solution thats going to make you like all those good sleepers out there. Im probably going to have nights that i dont sleep for the rest of my life, because ive sure had them as long as I can remember. There are times when I sleep most nights for months, and then i go through phases of sleeping every other night etc etc It is hideous and it kind of ruins all sorts of plans, but its worth having a box of tricks/strategies, and being aware of what makes it worse so you can limit those things as much as possible

Thanks Bran - I like the idea of the weighted blanket. I don't like the idea of accepting I'm a bad sleeper though - I hate it and feel like I'm never running at 100%. I am lucky because mine does go in phases so I will, at some point, have a little spell of sleeping well, which will be blissful.

I never drink caffeinated drinks- I do drink tea but always drink de-caf. I don't honestly think caffeine is the problem as going to sleep is never an issue for me, it's the waking up and not being able to go back to sleep which is the problem -which is minimum 6hrs after my last cup of decaf tea.

I still can't quite get to grips with the getting out of bed thing - it always feels like going to a different part of the house will wake me up more - but I will try it and see if it helps. Do you then return to bed once you get sleepy or sleep wherever you are (eg the sofa?)

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm glad I'm not alone but obviously wish I was for all our sakes! Bastard insomnia.

Mirtazapine is an atypical antidepressant thst has got rid of my 15 years of insomnia. I take a small dose and have no plans to come off it. Take it 2 hrs before bed.

Amitryptiline is sometimes used at low doses in the same way.

There are some non-trivial potential side effects from both drugs...weight gain being a particular issue with mirtazapine. But for me, a price worth paying and I've stopped self-medicating with wine so fewer calories going in overall probably. Might be worth asking to try a really small dose - I take 7.5 mg, which isn't a therapeutic dose for depression but is enough to sort out my sleep.

I take Amytriptyline as I have fibromyalgia. Pain, exhaustion and insomnia are symptoms and although Amytriptyline is an anti depresant its side effect is as a long acting nerve pain killer and induces sleep.

I take 30 mg per day low dose and it does the trick. I forgot to take mine a few days ago and I laid awake for hours.

My old trick is to get up, pop the heated blanket on low, go downstairs make a cup of decafeinated tea, drink, go to the toilet and get back into a warm bed. Its breaks the thought process of lying there wishing you were asleep and it seems to help. Amytriptyline is better though it has adverse side effects like 'intrusive thoughts' and I tend to talk to myself and have seen patterns in my vision. It gives you dry eyes, dry mouth and put on weight too.

I know you're not supposed to have tech in the bedroom but i find that being able to listen to podcasts is hugely helpful - i choose light comedy or current affair type stuff, avoiding anything harrowing or too intellectually stimulating. The other advantage of podcasts over radio is that they stop after about 30 mins, hopefully when they have sent you to sleep. A mono earpiece is good if you dont sleep alone, v cheap too.

Do you then return to bed once you get sleepy

Yes - the idea is to make your bedroom be a place your brain associates with sleepiness not wakefulness. So only be in there when you are sleepy - if you are too wakeful to feel you could drop off any time soon then don't be in the bedroom.

don't like the idea of accepting I'm a bad sleeper though - I wouldn't have used the emotionally loaded word bad here. Sleep is refreshing or otherwise according to quality not quantity. Obviously you need more sleep than you are currently getting but don't fixate on 8 unbroken hours as the "goal". If you learn to reduce the length of your small-hours-wakefulnesses and sleep longer and deeper for 2x periods of sleep then that may achieve the true goal of you feeling sufficiently rested by each night. That's what I'd mean by acceptance - but being the sort of person that tends to be awake for a short period in the night doesn't intrinsically make you a bad sleeper.

I find magnesium oil (sprayed onto skin) really helps, as do Epsom Salt baths and a total digitox 2 hours before bedtime. Lots more tips here: www.emmabardwell.com/eightypercentclean/?p=76

I'm a premature waker and am finding it's getting worse as I get older. I can't seem to stay asleep for more than three hours at a stretch.

I've read about getting up or doing something but have never tried it in case it makes it worse...will have to give it a go.

I agree it's not something that's taken seriously enough - the difference I feel when I've had a decent nights sleep is just amazing.

I must admit to having a wee strop at my mum who suggested 'well, just lie there and close your eyes...'

Fuck me mother, I'd never have thought of that! And there was me trying to sleep with my eyes open.

I had real trouble sleeping and had to retrain myself essentially. Tried lots of things but found something called thesleepkit whilst desperately searching. Lots of free stuff, really liked something called Storytime. Was great to be read to for a change!! A calming voice helped me drift off. Might be worth a try, especially as free!

That sounds interesting marie I might give that a go. Is there an app?

Marking place...thanks for these tips.

"I wake up between 2 and 4am every night and sometimes just can't go back to sleep"

OP - You sound just like me. If I wake up, I can't go back to sleep. Especially if something makes me get up (e.g. if a DC is calling) and especially I have to talk. DH has learned by now never to talk to me in the middle of the night

My top tip is to get a Kindle. It has revolutionised my sleep. Previously, if I wake up in the night my mind would start working about the past, about the future, analysis of past mistakes etc and I it would take may hours to get back to sleep. Now, I read my Kindle Paperwhite for 5-10 minutes and my eyes start closing. I drop it from my hand and off I go to sleep.

The difference between an iPad and a Kindle is that you can set the light on the Kindle down so low that the writing is barely visible. And it is not backlit (light comes from the sides) so does not bother the eyes.

The best part of reading a book when I wake up in the night is that it keeps my brain from kicking in & getting mired in scenarios, worries, past and future problems. Read a couple of pages and fall asleep. It's great

I am starting on melatonin tomorrow in order to try to break the problems I have with sleep. Insomnia drives me to the point of not wanting to be here any more sometimes, it has been going on for years and I don't think I can stand a lifetime of it any more. Shift work really doesn't help.

By the way, I just finished a book called Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep. One of the important bits of information I got from that book is that drug treatment for insomnia works only in the short term and that cognitive therapy gives much better results.

I drink red bush tea and listen to audible if I wake up with ear plugs. I have numerous stories that seem to bore me to sleep - never get past chapter 2. I find I can sleep easily between 7am and 9am, so if I've been awake half the night I'm lucky in that I can sleep then and feel ok in the day. Has worked because dc's school was on dh's way to work but it may not last as he's looking for a new job. I think with me it's about anxiety and not being able to wind down. Also wine is terrible for giving me early morning waking.

Yes.. YouTube progressive and passive relaxation videos.. (Sound only)/.. Bluetooth speaker from phone or pad...
Meditainment guided meditation scenarios..
Sauna.. Keep going in and out for longer than you think.. The evening beforehand... Makes sleeping through much more likely..
Boots linen spray aromatherapy.. Geranium or lavender..
Similarly aromatherapy temple lotion.
Making bed, setting alarms..(so you are confident about waking up times)
Sometimes ASMR.. But some of these can make sleep fitful

I had hypnotherapy for insomnia and it worked so well.

I could fall asleep no problem but would wake after an hour and not get back to sleep. I had 4 sessions of hypnotherapy - I now find it hard not to sleep well!

I find mindfulness very like hypnotherapy and might be easier to find a mindfulness coach than hypnotherapy practitioner.

Apparently night waking in winter used to be normal.. Four hours sleep, a period of night wakefulness then four hours ..so don't stress too much but do leave a longer night for yourself.. One of the meditainment ones says think of your body asfully asleep and relaxed and let your mind work but stay still.. Apparently this has an effect similar to sleep anyway..

I take 100mg + of amytriptaline every night, doesn't help me sleep; nor did any major sleeping tablets or opiate pain meds; but melatonin has been a total miracle for me. I've gone from a handful of good nights per year, to a handful of insomnia nights a year, really worth a try

I use podcasts too Gnome but I tend to go for More or Less or Inside Science. Laughter tends to wake me more. I use a speaker pillow here which is great for listening in bed without having to put something in my ear.

Hi, re thesleepkit Storytime don't think there is an app but it is free to download on itunes itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bedtime-stories-to-help-you/id948780889?mt=2

sorry, am not very techie hope that the link is right!

I have the melatonin prescribed by my GP, 2mg time release. She said really it's usually given to over 50s I think, but she said that want an issue and overrode the note online to enable me to have it