How do you get back to sleep when ‘bad’ thoughts creep in?!

[Redlocks30]

I’ve always been a pretty good sleeper until Menopause but it’s shocking at the moment.

I’m on HRT and seeing the GP next week to look a increasing the dose but I just wondered if there’s anything I can try a 3am when I wake up, my brain IMMEDIATELY pings into stress mode about (real) awful things-bad health issues, parent dying, financial planning.

Things that I can sort of deal with (or push out of my mind) during the day, but make me spiral in the middle of the night-proper palpitations, dread, fear etc I literally go from fast asleep to, ‘ooh, what was it you are currently stressed about-oooh, yes, there it is!)

I try thinking of other things-listing boys names starting with each letter of the alphabet etc but my mind just meanders back to the bad things! It’s nothing I can do anything about-crap situations that have to be dealt with, unfair situations I can’t change, unfortunate decisions that we have to live with but it is ruining me. I feel dreadful in the days-it’s giving me headaches and my eyes hurt.

What can I actually do? The horrible stuff is ongoing and won’t go away-I just wish I could be like a Jilly Cooper character from the 70s where you take a Mogadon tablet and the world goes black till you wake up! (I’m presuming they were probably not a perfect solution, anyway…!)

Following, i'd like to know too lol

Sometimes i just have to get up and read until tired again. Or lie there and force any thought out of my head

I find no caffeine after noon, cutting sugar/no sugar past 4pm, lots of walking during the day, and early morning sunlight help with the not waking up bit. So sometimes it's what you do during the day that's more important to make your sleep at night. Also don't drink too much so you don't need the toilet.

I'm not really religious but I say the lord's prayer, it just helps me calm down.

I play a few games in my head.

Word link - I start with a random word, then the next word has to start with the letter the previous ended with. No associations or anything. Just ‘Anaconda, Apple, elephant, tin, nude, egregious…’ and on and on and usually I fall asleep.

I don’t really have a solution because I am in the same situation OP .
I did laugh when you mentioned Mogadon sleeping tablets…my darling Mum used to take her moggies and slept like a contented baby 😂She took them for decades so probably placebo but they worked!
3am is definitely when the brain goes into overdrive 🤦‍♀️
Word games do help at times .

Podcasts on loads of different things - Vikings, ancient Welsh history ( very interesting) Conspiracy theories 👻

would be asleep in minutes as my brain allowed its self to check out

I always tried to find ones where they were telling something really interesting rather than two hosts laughing ect.

can’t meditate or do sleep stuff when I’m stressed

Listen to a boring podcast. I find it very hard to sleep beacuse of racing thoughts, but I have a couple of series.of podcasts I can rely on to send me off in minutes if im tired.

Podcasts. I keep my phone running all night. I usually fall asleep quck but wake up often so just tune into whatever podcast it’s gone on to. I’ve got one of those sleep band with earphones. I had the snooze band until my puppy chewed it so now have a very good Temu version.

Also I do find having a fan on quite calming.

Oh and box breathing.

Same here, I have a few downloaded thst Ive listened to lots but send me to sleep

I play podcasts and books - but not anything I really want to read because of course I will lose my place. I also read a book a while back called The Chimp Paradox which helped a lot.

In the same situation the previous bland tv is no longer working

Not having an evening glass of wine helps. Even one glass then it's unspecified anxiety followed by exactly what you said about searching out what it is that's making you anxious. I also found exercise helpful. I took up running and even though I am slow slow slow it really does help. It's a bugger!! X

Podcasts here too. A very random mix that includes Test Match Special/other cricket related, The rest is entertainment, Insiders TV podcast, Talk Horse. I also used to listen to Gardeners Question Time, not sure why that has dropped off the rotation. TBF a lot of Radio 4 is good for falling asleep!

If podcasts don't cut it I also watch West wing. I have no idea how many times round I am but I've just hit season 7 again and the Santos / Vinick election battle 🙈

bluetooth headphones and podcasts.
I don't try to fall back asleep, I feel that makes me more anxious.

a dear friend and dr told me that just lying down resting gives you energy for the next day. try not to stress about a sleep score or not getting enough sleep. as long as you are resting you will be fine.

I listen to Harry Potter narrated by Stephen Fry. I don’t need to concentrate as I know the story and I’m generally asleep before the end of the first chapter. I’ve got a snooze band so can curl up on my side and it doesn’t hurt my ear.

I have several audiobooks that i listen to. Ones that I know reasonably well so that they dont become too engaging. Don't laugh but Harry Potter is excellent, Stephen Frys voice lulls me to sleep.

I set the sleep timer.

I read and if that fails, I blink over and over. Sounds bonkers but it does seem to work. Not every time but plenty.

Same! Sometimes I'll think through something mundane that I have to plan.

I do that but with Terry Pratchett books. Works every time.

I find Nytol helps me stay asleep. I'm post menopause too, so sleep is a problem. There's lots of sleep meditations on Youtube, maybe spend sometime during the day to find one you like. There's also calming bedtime stories on Spotify.

I sometimes listen to guided sleep meditations on YouTube. My favourite one is a Paul McKenna hypnosis where he asks you to count backwards from 300 while he hypnotises you to sleep (remember to put a sleep timer on it though or the ads will wake you up when it ends!)

I also find exercise helps. I have a static excersise bike that I go on in the evenings.

I listen to sleep stories on the Calm app.
There’s one in particular that Jerome thingy from Soldier Soldier/GoT narrates about getting back to sleep.

It’s really effective as he tells you not to try and go to sleep or worry about sleeping - just relax and works a treat every time.