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It's very rare that I manage to sleep right through until morning. I don't wake at any particular time, and it's not the case that noise is the cause as opposed to simply just waking up.
Been like this for decades, but seems more pronounced with age. I try all sorts of tricks: pre-bed soak, chill the room, no TV/phones for an hour, going to bed early/late, nothing seems to work. When I do wake I've tried not to pick up the phone to picking up the phone (as now), reading, to getting up before returning or, staying put. Sleeping apps, meditation, exercise before bed, cocoa, a wee dram the lot.
Last year or so, I've taken to having a little 20-30 minute power nap in the afternoon, which gets me over the tiredness hump, but not ideal.
Kind of at the 'accept it' and just get on stage, but would obviously prefer the pattern enjoyed by Mrs PH beside me: head, pillow, gone, morning alarm ringing for sometime before I turn it off.
Any other insomniac/poor sleepRs out there and what do you/we do? Indeed, one of our brethren is called 'insomnia' what does s/he/they do?
I'm going nowhere for the next hour!
'Always In Motion' by John Honney available on amazon.co.uk
Unfortunately I don't have any answers as I am in the same boat. Have not always had problems sleeping but started in my 40's and have tried all the things you have listed but none have worked. I have bought pills but am very reluctant to go down that route.
Retired now at 55 so can catch up with late mornings and a nap later but that's not really ideal either. 3.48am and wide awake!
[Post edited 27 Sep 2023 3:49]
Smells like a trout farm in here
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 03:59 - Sep 27 with 5608 views
Have slept badly most of my life. Have been to a ‘sleep clinic’ and had all the analysis. May or may not have sleep apnoea* and I have an ENT appointment next week.
(* Have always assumed this was a fat person’s disease and although a tad overweight now in middle-age, I used to be thin!)
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 07:45 - Sep 27 with 5401 views
PH, it sounds like it is a self full-filling prophecy for you now. You’ve tried everything but nothing works. Maybe forget about the ‘noise’ of doing this and doing that and avoiding this and avoiding that. Sleep can be a real bar steward at times. Have a good book by your bed, read before bed, and if you wake up, then look forward to reading a few more chapters if needs be before putting it down again. You never know you may eventually miss those during the night reads because you are more relaxed about waking during the night.
Well, Hayes and East, I'm not sure it's good to hear your news, but unity is strength within the 'Wide Awake Club'.
Also retired early and while I've put a few kgs on following back and ankle problems this year, had same issues before when rather lithe, and now that I've slowly started to exercise again, no doubt the sleep issues will remain.
Out of interest: Are you both early risers? I have always been one that's up and at 'em from six/six thirtyish every day, and if I need to be up earlier then that, I'm usually wide awake before the alarm I've put on for safety ever rings.
Point is: maybe we don't need as much sleep as others do, and we're overthinking it.
'Always In Motion' by John Honney available on amazon.co.uk
A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 07:45 - Sep 27 by DWQPR
PH, it sounds like it is a self full-filling prophecy for you now. You’ve tried everything but nothing works. Maybe forget about the ‘noise’ of doing this and doing that and avoiding this and avoiding that. Sleep can be a real bar steward at times. Have a good book by your bed, read before bed, and if you wake up, then look forward to reading a few more chapters if needs be before putting it down again. You never know you may eventually miss those during the night reads because you are more relaxed about waking during the night.
Didn't see this before I replied and pondered the point of: are we overthinking this? I think you might be right.
The book thing not an option for fear of waking Mrs PH before her solid eight hours achieved and coffee hit taken. To do otherwise would likely compromise basic civility before 11am.
'Always In Motion' by John Honney available on amazon.co.uk
I've always been a bad sleeper, awake two or three times most nights since I was a nipper. It is definitely more pronounced with age, I always remember hearing stories about when you're old you wake up at 4 in the morning to walk around the house, not quite but almost. Well after trying so many different things over the previous year I think I've found a natural concoction that works for me. I looked into natural herbal remedies, didn't want to go down the prescription sleeping pill thing. So now 2 hours before bed I take melatonin and camomile supplements. Half hour before bed I take magnesium, l-thanine, valerian root supplements. I tried ashwagandha, but played havoc on my stomach. And lemon balm is a diuretic, so sort of defeats the idea of sleeping through the night. I am generally sleeping for 6 to 7 hours most nights with taking these supplements. But as with all natural remedies it can take 6 to 8 weeks before you see any results. I also listen to positive sleep affirmations when I'm walking to dog, but hey that's just me. Hope everyone finds something that works for them. I know it's no fun being wide awake at 3 in the morning.
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 08:48 - Sep 27 with 5238 views
In terms of reading and not disturbing the missus, try a Kindle. It's not the harsh light that keeps you awake as they use e-ink or something. I sometimes wake up to find that my missus is reading hers (not that it's the Kindle that made me wake up) so they are pretty unintrusive.
I get periods of insomnia which sucks because I have pretty bad tinnitus. The thing for me is just accepting it. I don't get up. I don't try to read anything. I don't reach for the phone. In fact I moved my phone charger to the other side of the bedroom. Just trying to accept it if there's no solution anyway is easier than trying to beat it.
I've got a mate who uses those over the counter tablets. Nitol? Calms? I don't know. They might be alright. I tried camomile tea but it tastes like shit and I managed to spill it on myself and burn my stomach. Bastard!
Not drinking after 9 seems like a good idea. Even if it was cocoa or some shit. Bladder will otherwise try to wake you up.
The only thing you could try is a new pillow. I got a decent one from Ikea that cost way too much for a pillow but it's got a lot of firmness and depth and that's been good.
And I guess going to the gym in the evening and knackering yourself out might work. Although for me yoga didn't. For some reason I couldn't sleep well if I'd done yoga that day.
Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. He runs like a cheetah, his crosses couldn't be sweeter. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore.
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 08:57 - Sep 27 with 5216 views
I come from a family of insomniacs. Growing up in our house, you could get up at any time and someone would be in the living room taching telly or making a brew.
Up to a few years ago I'd successfully trained myself to get eight hours of sleep - no blue screens, just reading, go to bed at 10.30pm, read, sleep at 11pm, wake at 7am and get up immediately. It seemed perfect.
But I'm 53 now and the last few years have wrecked that. I wake up a lot now, every night. I've tried a lot of the remedies you've all listed and the only one that works for me is to put on an audiobook that I know inside out, put it on a timer for, say, fifteen minutes so it's not on all night, and I'm gone within a minute usually. Maybe try that?
I think it may just be that as we get older we need less sleep, so I'm thinking of going to bed later this autumn, see if that works.
Best of luck, John. Hope you find something, otherwise welcome to The Nightwalkers.
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Last night I woke up at 2 and 5, had to use the loo (which is downstairs in my house) dr has done all the prostrate checks, all clear ,I avoid drinks after 9 but nope every night is the same.
[Post edited 27 Sep 2023 18:14]
favourite cheese mature Cheddar. FFS there is no such thing as the EPL
Funnily enough, I read this around 4am this morning, when I was in the WAC. Bad thing to look at smart phone, or TV for that matter so put down LFW as reading a book is preferable, or in my case, doing the quick cryptic crossword in The Times (completed that ok!) Have a warm not too caffeinated drink; mind works well at such times and good distraction from thoughts that keep you awake. The other trick is to get yourself cold, sit on the stairs etc. free of bed/wife warmth, then when you return to cosy bed, your body relaxes and sleep more likely to ensue. Worked for me this morning but did have some crazy dreams!
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 09:24 - Sep 27 with 5098 views
Another one here. I get off to sleep easily enough but wake up after only 45 minutes to an hour or so. Then it's in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. Quite often I end up reading for a couple of hours or so because I'm so wide awake.
I also nod off during the afternoon or early evening. My sleep pattern is all over r the place.
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 10:13 - Sep 27 with 5004 views
A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 10:13 - Sep 27 by QPRSteve
Another one here. I get off to sleep easily enough but wake up after only 45 minutes to an hour or so. Then it's in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. Quite often I end up reading for a couple of hours or so because I'm so wide awake.
I also nod off during the afternoon or early evening. My sleep pattern is all over r the place.
I often wake up after an hour too, Steve.
Galling, isn't it?
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
I have trouble falling asleep too, what I do lately is get to a point where I am tired and then start counting back from 200. I rarely get lower than 100.
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 10:36 - Sep 27 with 4920 views
Early sunlight if you can and moderate exercise every day even if just a brisk walk. On my WFH days I’ll do 45 mins walking in the morning and definitely get a benefit compared to office days where it’s maybe 15 mins often in the dark to the station and being sedentary all day. I also take magnesium supplements each night which help even if as a placebo but sleep is meant to be one or the benefits.
Had insomnia for 2 years or so and tried all sorts including some heavy prescription medication but I think the key factor is stress.
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 10:40 - Sep 27 with 4909 views
A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 09:24 - Sep 27 by BrianMcCarthy
Another one that works for me sometimes is counting backwards from 1,000, taking off 17 each time.
Counter-intuitive, I know, but it works. I've told quite a few people about it and it seems to work for them as well.
The trick seems to be to breathe normally and deduct 17 on every fourth breath.
1000, breath, breath, breath, 983, breath breath, breath, 966 etc.
1000 isn’t divisible by 17 Brian so what happens when you get close to 0? It makes no sense!
I might have to try that one though but starting at 1003 ;)
I’m generally an ok sleeper but have periods of lack of sleep, often stress related.
I was watching a video about it recently. The guy making it was a bit of a knob but he had some interesting ideas like not looking at the clock. I’ve actually started trying doing that and it does help, in fact I’d come to the conclusion looking at the time was a bad idea already.
Another thing I took from it was not drinking too much water at night. Apparently after a certain time your body starts drawing water from within anyway. Fine if your mouth is dry have a small drink but otherwise wait until you get up and drink as much as you like then. He also had a wierd breathing exercise to try which I’ve never done.
Here’s the video link. ‘The Sleep Doctor’
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 11:21 - Sep 27 with 4825 views
A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 10:40 - Sep 27 by Rs_Holy
Take up yoga .... Seriously! My best nights kip of the week is after a yoga session that evening.
Have to say there was a noticeable benefit on those nights I did yoga for 90 minutes; certainly might be worth some trying.
However, the old body wised up and in time, you could down dog and warrior pose all you like, but I was soon back to old ways. After a good 18 months of JCS style knocks and set-backs, things slowly improving (last physio on the ankle this morning), so I might roll the mat out tonight for a genteel flow.
I guess we'll all know if it's a success should I not post messages at 3.14am CET...Nameste bitches!
Liking Daburgh's natural remedies idea too.
'Always In Motion' by John Honney available on amazon.co.uk
If you are physically able to and no medical conditions, try a really high intensity exercise session at some stage during the day. Your body will have to recover and that means sleeping deeply. Not an expert but that has been my experience.
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 12:21 - Sep 27 with 4721 views
It's a real eye opener (no pun intended), once you start looking into it, to discover how much of the population suffers from sleep problems. I would say over 60% suffer occasional insomnia and probably a good 40% suffer chronic problems. Looking into it and reading about the various reasons for it is enough to keep you up at night.
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A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 12:27 - Sep 27 with 4697 views
A Good Night's Sleep - tips on 12:02 - Sep 27 by highleverhoopL
If you are physically able to and no medical conditions, try a really high intensity exercise session at some stage during the day. Your body will have to recover and that means sleeping deeply. Not an expert but that has been my experience.
I've always had trouble sleeping but since I recently started doing weights I'm sleeping much better.
An eye mask helps too, stops stuff catching my eye.
I try to do deep breathes and empty my head, often by going "empty head, no thoughts" to myself over and over in my head.
The military has a technique they teach people that's all the rage of tiktok, could try looking that up. it's basically starting at your head and working your way down relaxing each part of you as you go
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