Insomnia

Are you sure your insomnia isn't caused by worry?

If you are consciously or subconsciously worrying about something you won't sleep well. If this is the cause, you will need to deal with the worry to be able to sleep well.

Some people find it helps if they don't go to bed too early, others advise turning off the TV an hour before bedtime, or going for a short walk before going to bed.

Does it perhaps suit you better to stay up until 3 a.m. then go to bed?

The worst thing you can do is to use any kind of device with a screen - something to do with the kind of light they give off.
Having said that, I am in my 80s and have not cracked it, but I've found that having realised I never will now, I accept it.Wake up around 3am, read for a while and sip some water, then put the light out and relax my face.

Hi ...I used to sleep very badly because of financial worries but now sleep soundly. Two things worked for me... having the radio on very low... preferably listening to voices rather than music so you concentrate on what they are saying rather than your own thoughts...and also I used to ask the other half to tell me about the football team that he supports...the more details the better...my brain was bored to death & decided to go to sleep very rapidly...worked like a dream every time!!

Another one here with sleep problems - not falling asleep but waking up after only a couple of hours.
My usual bedtime is 11-30 to 12 and my switch off cues are a page or 2 of a book, followed by an attempt to do a logic puzzle - Sudoku or similar. If I'm tired, I'll drop off in about 5 minutes. I never going to bed early, even if very tired - that would mean I could be wide awake at 1 am.

When I wake in the night, I try not to look at the clock, but just lie quietly - at least I'm resting. But if I feel wide awake and have been for a while, I go downstairs and do something useful that I would have been doing anyway in the morning. Some of things I've been known to do are correct exam papers (when I was working), write e-mails (don't send till morning though), empty dishwasher, tidy kitchen. After a while I'll go back to bed and usually drop off again fairly quickly, if I've been awake 2 or 3 hours. I never sleep late in the morning, even if I've had little sleep in night - next night is often better.

Re above, it is obviously only a help if you sleep alone.

I too have trouble sleeping,but recently i have been spraying lavender oil on my bedding and it realy has helped.
It`s worth a try and the oil is cheap.

Try reverse psychology ? Try very hard to keep your eyes open and stay awake.
I find a programme on BBC sounds - not music but a comedy or a documentary - that I want to listen to, but rarely get to the end of it.
A programme I have no interest in doesn't work.

I've just resigned myself to feeling constantly under the weather through lack of sleep.
.strangely enough, I feel a bit better for having given up the idea of a decent kip.

Another vote for Phenegan. If I've had several bad nights, I take one tablet and know that I will be assured of a goodnight's sleep.

Try a magnesium tablet half an hour before you turn in. Works wonders for me and is said to be good for you anyway

Have you tried Lavender on your pillow?

I play Ted Talks on You Tube on my laptop; they are usually about 15 mins long. I'm usually asleep before the first one finishes but, if not, you will have, at least, learnt some interesting facts

Another too for CBD Oil, definitely gets me off to sleep if I am struggling ....

Get up, make tea, chuck a load in the wash / read / listen to radio / do some mending / write e-mails / play MSN games / by this time clothes are ready to hang up on the lines... That's me, most nights.

Silly Sonnet

When eyes are closed and sleep descends so sweet,
The demons of the night, they like it not.
They bid my Guardian Angels to retreat
And hinder their fine works with all they’ve got!

I try; I strive to be the best I can;
Yet strife and doubt beset me all day long.
Each wee success is but the flash-in-pan
Each tune a mournful dirge and not a song!

Each time I laugh, there’s bitter tears in store
For each success, a failure’s sure to come.
I will get less, for I dared ask for more –
I’m bound to fail, when all is said and done.

Welcome insomnia, wakefulness at night;
I cede my sleep – though not without a fight!

Just reading cookiemonsters post ref and reading all comments round insomnia which I suffer from badly.
I’ve been onto the Medvita website to order CBD oil as also read/ heard excellent reports.
Website very good, quick and easy to use and the discount code works- will report back with results- ?
Thank you cookiemonster- you made me act.

I’ve tried Kirkland’ Sleep Aid. Only need half a tablet. I still don’t sleep brilliantly but a few nights of it got me out of a pattern of no sleep until about 4am. I suffer from restless legs as well as osteoarthritis in both hips. Not conducive to good sleep health!! If I get 5 hours I feel lucky. Funnily enough if I ever do sleep more deeply I feel dreadful the next day so maybe I only need a few hours. I’m 65.

Another vote for CBD. There's also the Bach flower remedy Aspen, which is for unwanted thoughts going round and round your head. Good luck.

I used to lie awake for hours, my mind wandering and getting agitated. Now I listen to music in bed (rock bands) using comfortable earbuds. I nearly always fall asleep before the album ends. Instrumental music doesn't work though.

I highly recommend one sleeps in the spare room through the week to help you have undisturbed time/ peace / freedom to read and then meet up at the wknd . It works for us .

I have sleeping tablets which my Dr is happy to give me provided I only use them when I get desperate for some sleep.
I don'd abuse his trust. I use about 1 a week on average but sometimes, if I know I have to get up with the alarm I take one - otherwise I'm awake, worrying that I won't hear the alarm, or the battery will run out or I've set it wrongly or something or whatever I have to get up for will go like this ....... or maybe this ..... and what do I need to take/wear/have for breakfast before I go

**imagine lying on a nice peaceful serene beach with gently flowing waves *

... hmmm - very nice .... but just just remember to change my handbag oh and make sure I put the washing machine on and check the cat's water ....!! and so it goes on!

I've just bought, at great expense, some deep sleep pillow spray for my elderly mum who has trouble sleeping. She sometimes takes 500mg paracetamol which works but has side effects. She used Bach rescue remedy night time which did work for quite a while. The worst thing for insomnia is worrying about it because it becomes an obsession. Easier said than done. My remedy is to have radio 4 on low and listen to some babble.

I keep a notepad nearby and will not down my thoughts or plans for the next day or anything that bothers me. Then read for a while. I sometimes get a glass of milk and some paracetamol which works for me.

Hi
If at all possible move to the spare room - there's nothing worse than worrying that reading, playing soft music etc is bothering someone else. Make sure you have a good book, read it until the words start dancing or turn green etc, then turn the light off and good luck!

Only advice I can give is not to use your devices because they cause insomnia. I have read it all and tried it all, doesn't work for me so I have to accept it. However, I cling to something I read years ago - lying awake without stressing about not sleeping is almost as good as sleeping. Accepting it and not stressing is all I can do and I do.

The person who comes up with a cure for insomnia will become a multi-millionaire.

I now just lie with my eyes shut, as comfortable as I can be, and tell myself that at least my body is resting.