Anxiety and trying to aid a good nights sleep - HELP!!

[MrsTeapot63]

Hi
Can anyone help? My daughter is 21yrs and suffers from Anxiety. She is at Uni in her 3rd yr (luckily she commutes). She has been having problems since A Levels so about 3.5 years now also has trichotillomania (eyebrows). She is currently on Venlafaxine 75mg. She wasn't able to sleep well so the Doctor put her on sleeping tablets as well - which did help. She has decided to stop the sleeping pills due to the side effects. So what else can she try, any ideas? Preferably natural. She has Ovaltine in warm milk at night but, good that it is, it probably isn't quite strong enough. Today is not a good day, I’m very sorry for the essay; I'm at my wits end on how to help. Nytol has the same side effects apparently with the chemical taste, Natrasleep has Valerian in which can cause depression and headaches. I would prefer to go natural if not herbal but I don't know. Thank you in advance

Has she tried meditation? The "Headspace" App for smartphones is very good, i think the initial trial is free and then its a paid subscription after that. I was/Am skeptical about meditation, but it has helped me...It might be worth a go.

www.headspace.com/

I've just checked my subscription and theres a whole section (30 meditation sessions) within the paid app for both 'Sleep' and 'Anxiety'.

Lumie alarm clock? They have a sunset function which tricks part of your brain into getting sleepy. Used to work wonders for me.

Should add: I find our Lumie useful because if I half wake at night, I know what kind of time it is by whether the light is on, off or dim. Otherwise I wake up completely to check the time.

Thank you mickeyblueyes and MrsHathaway- I will check out the clock and let my daughter check the app. :)

Exercise - running or walking, so she gets physically tired. It will help with the anxiety too.

There was a short section on insomnia in the latest All in the Mind (Radio 4) programme: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxx9

Basically describing a sleep management programme, where you don't go to bed until you are tired enough to sleep, and get up if you wake up.

Agree about the exercise - ideally she should do it outside during the day, as exposure to daylight helps with melatonin production.

Thank you Lunaballoon and ravenmum - all good points which I will advise my daughter on. :)

Hi,

I'm a GAD sufferer (generalised anxiety disorder) and it massively messed up my sleep. I averaged about 3 hours a night for 6 months and as a result my anxiety obviously got a lot worse!

Unfortunately (as you know) there's no magic pill and absolutely no sleeping tablet in the world that doesn't have side effects :( I discovered this over a number of months and I'm still convinced half the natural remedies are snake oil.

Anyway, I drifted from one thing to another for months until I bit the bullet and just decided to do the very boring thing and follow standard medical advice (move more so you're physically tired, have 30 mins before bed time with no screens etc etc). Here's my routine now and I now sleep between 7.5 and 9 hours a night with no problems:

I swim for 30 mins 3 times a week at 9pm, wash hair and dry it at the gym and go to bed as soon as I get home. Sleep like a baby.

If I'm not swimming that night or dont do anything active, I run a very very hot bath, then before i get in it I take a very cold shower for 3 minutes. I then go straight from the shower into the hot bath and somehow it simulates physical tiredness.If you don't have access to a bath you can do the same thing with just the shower.

I have dim lights in the bedroom and bathroom and stay in darkened rooms for 30 mins before bed (during bedtime routine). It's hard but you must must must avoid looking at your phone or any screen for 30 mins before bed. This is the 1 thing that made the biggest difference for me.

Finally, no drinks for 30 mins before bed. I take a pint of water to bed with me to have on the side in case I'm thirsty in the night, but otherwise don't do anything in those 30 mins before sleep other than brush teeth/ skincare etc etc.

Finally it sound daft, but make your bed properly when you get up and tuck the duvet under the mattress so it's slightly restrictive when you get in (a bit like hotel beds). Studies have shown you sleep better when "swaddled"/ with constant light pressure on your body. I do this now and it definitely makes you fall asleep faster :)

Thank you ravenmum for the heads-up on the Radio 4 programme. I have just listened to it and found it very interesting. Although I doubt that my (student) daughter will do a diary, I found the connection between interrupted sleep and depression/anxiety very revealing. I definitely think sleep or the lack of it plays a major role in her state of mind. Unfortunately she does have very negative thoughts which can be extremely worrying and this has given me a light to push on and try and crack this problem. So thank you once again :)

Thank you bananabreadordead some very good points re the exercise in the evening, although at 21 whether she will run with not looking at her phone remains to be seen, as it seems to be glued to her hand!! It's difficult for me because where do I draw the line between being a concerned mum and just letting her get on with it. I advise her but to a certain extent I let her do her own thing as she is an adult. However, things are just going from bad to worse at the moment which is causing me no end of stress and worry. So I will make a list of all the advise on this thread and start putting some of it into practise. Also well done to you for getting on top of your GAD It's a hard road so well done! So thank you very much for all your advise :)

She could try drinking herbal tea.
My best friend recommended both peppermint and chamomile to me and now I'm hooked!
The chamomile is lovely to drink before bed - very soothing and relaxing and is a natural sedative.
Hope all goes well for you all. X

I saw a thing on FB today about weighted blankets helping anxiety and insomnia?

metro.co.uk/2016/01/25/sleeping-with-a-weighted-blanket-could-help-you-manage-your-anxiety-and-insomnia-5639052/

Thank you Bookworm13 we already drink the peppermint, and I have read that chamomile is very soothing and restful so this is something we shall try :)

Melatonin? It's natural.

Buggeroffalo Thank you I have just looked at the link and I'm beginning to think that there is definitely something to this.

I tried loads of things when I first started suffering from anxiety - change of diet, exercise, hypnotherapy, counselling, massage, acupuncture, meditation, meds. The two things that I found really helped were hypnotherapy and hot stone massages (obviously with the right therapists as they are not all equal). I have a couple of recordings from my hypnotherapist which I use if I find sleep is evading me.

It may sound strange but when my anxiety was at it's most acute somebody held my hand and pointed out that 'nothing lasts forever' and told me to remind myself of that. It became something of a mantra for me. It may be really simple but just being able to view it as a temporary state helped me to better cope with it.

Set a regular bed time, and a pre bedtime routine.
So, for example, alarm set for 7.00 a.m.
10.30 milky drink (warm milk and honey), then shower, pjs, brush teeth.
11.00 bed, cool room, wheat bag and lavender oil on pillow (few drops).
10 min meditation on head phones. Not too loud.
Controlled breathing, inhale slowly through the nose (count of 6) hold for count of four, exhale through mouth (count of six) repeat x 10.

Keep a notebook by the bed, if you wake up, and start to fret about all those problems that seem insurmountable,write them down.

If still awake an hour later, get up, potter about, read, iron, draw, anything. Go back to bed an hour later and repeat deep breathing.

Exercise is good but not within two hours of bed.
Avoid coffee after 2 pm, and limit tea.

Avoid lie ins over the weekend. Short naps, 20 mins max are much better.

Is she accessing uni counsellor or any pastoral care? CBT and practicing mindfulness are good for anxiety, it helps me. Also I found sertraline the most effective, perhaps she needs a change of meds.