Cures for Insomnia

[June]

the only cure that has worked for me is to find the cause of stress and remove it

hmm ... does anyone wana take four teenage kids off my hands???!!! i need to remove the cause of my stress!!!

No, can't take them off your hands and you would not want me too! You may need someone to talk to you about how you are feeling and perhaps they can teach you some relaxation technics.
As M Gellatly said, "keep trying different things until you find what works for you", but don't suffer in silence, make sure your Doctor is giving you good advice and their full support. Xx

[akh43]

Nice to know I am not alone with sleep problems, but wish I were as I sympathise with anyone with similar problems. I cant remember the last time I slept the whole night, certainly not in the last 10 years. I do get tired, but often at the wrong times, probably due to not sleeping at night. Sometimes I am that tired from lack of sleep I cannot keep my eyes open so I will either go to bed or lie down on the sofa, but even though I am so tired only sleep at most for an hour or 2 and then back awake again. My main problem is getting back to sleep again. I have tried all the usual things mentioned, I have also tried sleeping tablets, which didnt work either. I hate being cold in bed, only have the window open in the summer when it is really hot. I sleep with the tv on most nights, but often it helps me nod off and if its not on then I hear everything around me so the tv stops me hearing them. At the moment we have a bird in the tree outside my bedroom windows that sings throughout the night, no idea what type of bird it is as it not a normal bird, but my neighbour hears it too. I probably do most of the things I am not supposed to, but I have tried the things that are supposed to and they dont work either.

Even after the marathon day out in Manchester yesterday, although I was shattered I didnt sleep any better than usual.

I think I have just got into a bad habit re sleep and have to live with it.

I will keep my eye on the thread in the hope of something new to try.

Thanks to Andrews for starting the thread

[jojojoanne]

the only cure that has worked for me is to find the cause of stress and remove it

hmm ... does anyone wana take four teenage kids off my hands???!!! i need to remove the cause of my stress!!!

No, can't take them off your hands and you would not want me too! You may need someone to talk to you about how you are feeling and perhaps they can teach you some relaxation technics.
As M Gellatly said, "keep trying different things until you find what works for you", but don't suffer in silence, make sure your Doctor is giving you good advice and their full support. Xx

I think every mum stresses with their kids, that's part of being a mum!! especially as they grow up and start to take responsibility of themselves. So long as they're behaving, I sleep okay!! As we speak, all but the eldest is in bed, quiet, so fingers-crossed i'll sleep well tonight!! If I am tired during the day and I'm able to, I find a 15 minute 'power nap' does me the world of good!!

[jojojoanne]

I also think, worrying about not being able to sleep, stops you from sleeping, if that makes sense .. if I've 'stuff' on my mind, I can often wake during the night, worrying. Then I lay there thinking "I must get some sleep or I'll suffer tomorrow" .. and I end up wide awake for ages!! Occasionally, I accept that I'm awake and take advantage of having a quiet house!! I do some paperwork perhaps .. then I lay down and before I know it, its up-time!!

[June]

I've had sleeping issues for years and years, I had months of no sleep at all, which I didn't even know was possible until it happened to me. There are lots of causes of insomnia some physical and some caused by external reasons, however I think that it is important to find the cause too rather than just searching desperately to find the resolve, well that's what finally helped me as my problem was due to both a medical condition and external stresses, which I was not acknowledging.
Another good reason for you to look for the cause as well as the resolve is so that you can recognise the warning signs and then hopefully prevent the problem from becoming the norm.
Good luck to those who are suffering, it's a very horrible condition that I would not wish upon anyone.

[jojojoanne]

this is how you know i'm silly ... i have an ideal opportunity tonight, to have an earlyish nite and i'm sitting here, emailing my sister!!! i've only myself to blame tonight!!!

[Rainey]

I saw something on the TV recently saying that it's in more recent years we have expected ourselves to sleep all through the night and that it was known for people to have 2 sleeps i.e sleep late evening, wake for an hour or two then have a second sleep, it sounds like a lot of people here's body's are actually trying to do this but we expect that we should sleep through as that's now considered the norm. I'll see if I can find what it is I watched.

I have just now finished work, I am tired have had a full day, but know I will not be able to sleep yet, it's funny because I have difficulty getting off to sleep early at night, but I can very easily go back to bed in the morning.

Edit : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783

[McG]

this is how you know i'm silly ... i have an ideal opportunity tonight, to have an earlyish nite and i'm sitting here, emailing my sister!!! i've only myself to blame tonight!!!

....... or worse (depending on your point of view?) ........ type away on Fmuk to anyone who is still awake!

[stuartboy]

I am so luck in that where I live - in the countryside - when I turn out the light I have total darkness and total silence! A single car going passed before say 7am is unusal.

As a film connection I remember from childhood - and it still works to this day - Tom Thumb with Russ Tamblyn always works with The Yawning Man! I can't sing that without yawning! Lol.

[weirdfilms33]

Here's some light relief from this pressing subject:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04 ... 1334566895