Sleep

[Anothermumtoo]

Hi everyone

I feel slightly anxious and having problems sleeping. Can anyone recommend anything to help?

You could try using the headspace or calm app before bed.

Or some herbal valerian tablets might do the trick, you can get them in boots :)

I have found it helpful to have no screen time (tv or phone) for at least an hour before bed and low lighting. The headspace app is good or I put on some very relaxing music . Lavender pillow spray also helps.

Magnesium. Good for anxiety and sleep. I'm not an advocate of herb remedies usually, but tried it out of desperation and haven't looked back.

*herbal

I've just started taking some CBD and it really helps me relax a lot. Sometimes there's so many things flying around my head at the end of the day that I struggle to switch off!

I use this company, they've got some good articles on cbd too if you want to read a bit more about it goodbodystore.com/articles/the-potential-benefits-of-cbd-for-sleep/

Will second the magnesium recommendation. The fuzzy kind that dissolves in water. A sleep game changer

Sigh. Fizzy, not fuzzy.

For me exercising and mediation help. If you cant sleep due to an anxious time in your life and your mind is racing so you cant sleep then talking therapy was a life saver for me. I work on the long haul routes so some of my sleep deprivation comes from jet lag and all it takes is sweet hot chocolate before bed at times. I am going to try the magnesium as some posters have suggested as just back flying now after 18 months off from furlough.

Cherry juice - drink it in the evening. I find it helps.
Stop drinking alcohol, it plays havoc with my sleep.

Something that always works for me is I imagine I own a farm and I plan the layout in my head and then I decide how many cows and chickens ect I have and how much milk and eggs from them i will get. And then how much of those I will take to market and how many I will keep. How will I price the eggs? How much profit will I make if I sell all the eggs and milk I take? Will i make some of the milk into cream or butter or cheese and will that change the sale price?
Ect...

It gets you doing sums in your head.
But you can also make it fun by imagining the names of your animals and maybe going off on tangents like - what veg will I grow? And if I keep some of it back along with the milk and eggs, what could I cook?

I think combining math with each part feeling like 'right I've completed something' encourages encourages sleep. Because its like combining counting sheep and finishing a chapter in a book at the same time.

Usually works for me. As long as I only use it once or twice a week so that it feels new each time I do it and I don't run out of tangents to take.

I'd second magnesium.

It's not a herbal remedy though. It's an essential micronutrient.

I have quite the opposite situation: started to use Modafinil because I am too sleepy past days because of the weather. Even though my wife (who is a doctor) says I am over-working.

Just have tough days before going on a long vacation. Idk, I would recommend you not to use any medication and just leave some space, as some people advised you above -- without the gadgets.

I started taking magnesium during peri menopause as a lot of women said they struggled sleeping and haven't had a problem.

I do mental maths or counting eg to 100 in a foreign language. The brain is distracted from processing problems and the emotions are dulled. On bad nights I’ll try listing all the counties of England alphabetically, thereby boring myself to sleep (never get past Cornwall!). I never put the light on or my glasses, never look at the clock. Very occasionally I’ll get up and make a milky drink. Finally I sometimes put on the radio; Radio 4 overnight is strangely soporific!