Broken sleep

NanKate......if you are advised to turn off all electronic devices half an hour before bedtime, how are you then falling asleep listening to stories on a costly downloaded app? Just wondering!!

Phenergan was prescribed for me by my doctor and was fairly effective. However, I'm not keen on taking medication every night. Those advocating Night Nurse need to be aware of the ingredients, you will be taking a high dose of antihistamine and paracetamol so beware, it's not magic. One natural solution that has been good for me is Sleep Easy Tea by Clipper.

Worrying about not sleeping is arguably the biggest cause of insomnia. I agree with some other suggestions. I sometimes take 500mg paracetamol which sends me off. The radio tuned to a programme with a quiet babble of voices also helps me. I've tried the older antihistamines but they give me a hangover. A glass of sherry helps some people. Wine definitely helps me. Not napping helps too. Years ago, folk had two sleeps, and got up in between. I would do that if I lived alone. Good luck.

I’m the same as Yggdrasil- the world service is fab but so often miss the end of something interesting but you can’t have it both ways ?

I have a very similar sleep pattern, often sleeping for 3 hours then awake for 3 hours and (if lucky) sleeping again for 2 or 3 hours. I found an article at www.sleepopolis.com on Biphasic Sleep which describes this pattern, and although it makes no difference to my actual sleep I’ve found that being able to give it a name helps me be more accepting of it. Hope this helps a little.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I try ear buds and a story CD, I always fall asleep before the end.
As an alternative, perhaps hypnosis would help you break the habit. Hypnosis helps me to eat less when I need to reduce my weight, and I have known it help a friend with fear of flying.
I think it's important not to stress over it.

It makes no difference what time I go to bed I am always wide awake at around 4pm I make a cup of tea and watch TV for a while before trying to go back to sleep and get a couple more hours I also nod off about 4ish in the afternoon so have tried to make myself busy and not sit down which is fatal for me.

Regarding the taking of anti-histamines, which I think includes Night Nurse and Nytol, long-term use is probably not a good idea. Please be aware that "anticholinergic medicines have short-term cognitive adverse effects ..(and) it is uncertain whether long-term use of these drugs is associated with an increased risk of dementia." JAMA Intern Med. Published online June 24, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0677. To be frank, I don't sleep well, but I would not be taking anything which might risk my brain health now or later. yggdrasil I too listen to the World Service through the night. Isn't it annoying when you finally drop off during a really interesting programme!

Flutey, congratulations on beating reflux!

If you are plagued by worries and unhappy memories when lying awake in your bed, you can try the following techniques that help me .

My favourite mind trick that I always go to is to deliberately to tell myself a story as if telling it to someone else who doesn't know the story . I usually choose scene from a favourite film.

The other thing I sometimes do is think about my bed and the ways it is just right for me. The way I have arranged the under blanket, and my pillow, the pattern on my pillow case (which i have to remember as I can't see it)how I have chosen just the right sort of cosy covers for me including my favourite soft throw. And so forth.

I used to get up and do the ironing or do paperwork -now the thought of doing that sends me back to sleep just to avoid it. Seriously I find a banana at bedtime helps me stay asleep and my kindle or an audio book fill in the time pleasantly if I wake up. Try to enjoy the awake time.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

I read a chapter or two of my book, usually works to take my mind of all the things I've remembered I should be doing or shouldn't have done!!

sounds like we should all come here and chat!

One a day Nytol is great. Buy it from the pharmacist. They recommend not taking it for more than a week but to be honest if I’ve had a bad run of not sleeping and feel desperate I take one for maybe two days at most and get back on track. Took one last night and slept like a baby ?

There is an excellent series of very short TED talks on sleep by someone who has researched it in depth and written a book for general readers. You can get a lot of his ideas by looking at the talks. Here is a link to one of them www.ted.com/talks/matt_walker_6_tips_for_better_sleep
He doesn't think any 'sleep aids' are a good idea - they don't give you natural sleep, but there are lots of good ideas he offers. Good luck!

I have downloaded the speeches of Sir Keir Starmer. If I wake in the night I switch them on. I am asleep again in minutes.

I tend to manoeuvre to the very edge of the bed. I find I soon drop off.

I use valerian. It doesn't always give me a full night's sleep.
I find it cheaper to buy than Kalms.
If you Google you can get it from online chemists. Or if you're lucky enough to have a pound shop or B&M type store they often sell Sleepaid brand which is good too (and cheap).
Occasionally I use Amitriptyline if my IBS is the issue.
Valerian doesn't leave me with the hangover type effect that chemical drugs do because its the natural state. It does smell though as a down side.
You can also try CBD. Its expensive though.

When visiting an 18th house in New England (can't remember which state it was) we were told about the two sleep sessions. Apparently it was quite common for people to go out and rob people in the interim and then go home and go back to sleep! I don't advise this though Flutey1

Try staying up for at least two hours longer at night.

When I do so, I then get an interrupted six hours.

The worst thing you can do is worry about not getting enough sleep. You get the sleep you need, even if it is in two- or three-hour stretches. If you wake up, don't get out of bed and stimulate yourself by doing things like making tea or, worse still, watching tv, but use relaxation exercises to get yourself back to sleep. If ever I wake in the night (very rarely), I take myself on a journey from my holiday hotel to the beach, but I never get to the beach!

Be careful of overdoing the lavender. If you use too much it can make you pass out. Case study was a women who used essential oils in the bath, candles, body lotion, room mist, and pillow spray. Husband called ambulance as he couldn't rouse her.

minxie

Back in I think the 17/18th century. People used to have what was called a first sleep and a second sleep. They would naturally wake up and get up and do whatever before returning back to bed for a second sleep. I sometimes wonder if this imbedded in us as sometimes I wake in the night for no reason. It’s an interesting subject

Yes, Michael Mosley did a Programme on sleep and mentioned this fact. It helped me not to feel stressed about waking after a few hours so I just read for a while then try to go back to sleep. I don’t get up and do something as I don’t want to disturb DH and our dog, if I was on my own I would get up for a while.

I have tried Melatonin in the past for jet lag and sleep problems but it didn’t have any effect at all for me. I occasionally take an antihistamine which helps to make me drowsy if I can’t get back to sleep at the second attempt.

When I can't get back to sleep I try to think what I would do with a large lottery win. Daft really as I don't buy a ticket! But I find it sends me to sleep.