Sleep Week - post to win prizes! ?

If I go to bed before midnight I just toss and turn and eventually have to get up again, so watch TV for an hour or so, then go back to bed and fall asleep immediately! I've tried going to bed a little earlier and it just does not work! Worst part is, I could then sleep in until 9-10 each morning! Not the best start to a day!

One thing that can be bad for sleep is cats
They seem to miaow a lot and play at night.

I have got better at sleeping since watching comedies before bed. I think the laughter must do something to the brain. Also, cuddling with my husband helps me relax and have better sleep as does stroking my pets.

I just love sleep, and want to do as much of it as possible. I have to have my bed socks on though.

The menopause has changed my sleep, I wake up on average three times a night. I have cut down on coffee to two cups a day and started drinking allot more water, exercise is helping also

Something that really relaxes me is specific scents, such as "The Comforter" , a Lush body spray that's very soothing to me. uk.lush.com/products/body-sprays/comforter
If I find myself awake in the night, I spray it on my wrists, have a sip of water and put some lip balm on. I fall asleep quickly with this comforting scent.

If I get restless legs, I have a spray bottle in which I've mixed some (magnesium sulphate)/Epsom salts and lavender oil with water. Magnesium is really good for treating restless leg syndrome naturally and dissolving Epsom salts in water is good way of getting these. The Lavender oil makes it more relaxing. I mist my legs with this if I need to, or on a hot night I might mist myself all over.

After suffering periods of poor sleep for most of my life I’ve almost finished an NHS six week , online insomnia course called Sleepstation. It hasn’t been easy but has certainly helped me to fall asleep more quickly and to stay asleep for 6 to 7 hours. You can refer yourself but have to pay - there are three levels according to how much personal support you receive. If your GP refers you and you’re accepted, it’s free. There are articles to read, videos from a doctor and lots of personal support from sleep coaches. It’s certainly working for me.

I go to sleep very easily and usually sleep well until around 6am, but lately I am waking around 3:30am and can not go back to sleep. I am try a mediation app a friend recommended.

I always attributed my poor sleep pattern to a very stressful job. However, even now i am retired I struggle to get to sleep or stay asleep, and am usually awake by 5am. Maybe it's just years of habit!

I am so glad I am not on my own with an erratic 3 and 4 hour sleep pattern - I have tried everything, lavender oil on my pillow, ear plugs, CBD, (a cheeky g and t), nothing seems to work long term.
I just use CBD oil and deep breathing to drop off - but not deep enough - I am wide awake again in 3 hours.

My top sleep tip - sleep in a doubt bed on your own...no snoring, no stealing of the covers...

My sleep has been very disturbed for some months now. Put it down to death of a brother in the autumn( late cancer diagnosis) and subsequent grief and stress of trying to sort his estate. Add a 91yr old flat bound mother with increasing needs and you’ve laid the groundwork for broken nights whilst your brain tries to process different options/solutions.
Worrying about not sleeping only makes things worse so I just try to lay there quietly, dozing if possible.

Was having terrible insomnia up till a few months ago, taking hours to drop off then up at 3am to go to the loo, then someone on one of the threads on here said they bought Phenergan tablets from the chemist, my doctor wouldn't give me any more zopliocone, and i didn't want to get addicted anyway, i tried the Phenergan and it worked like a dream, 8 hours solid sleep, i cut them into 4, still get my 8 hours , its wonderful, i also use Land of Nod Lavender on my wrists, i found it in the pound shop, i'm sure this helps too, I'm a carer to my husband with parkinsons so I need my sleep, i know it's not ideal to take Phergan long term but i am taking a very small dose now.

I sleep well most of the nights, but sometimes I'm simply not tired at all, and cant sleep. I learnt to do something else, like reading or waking up and doing something that doesnt require a lot of energy/thought, until I start feeling sleepy.
What normally helps is practicing some mindfulness meditation in bed and walking or doing other physical activities during the day.

I wake up with back ache and get to a point of being exhausted before getting a good nights sleep

I drop off easily...I wake 4-5 o’clock with worries and events of the past. I am training myself to still my mind by breathing and focusing on present and future not reliving past events not easy but I have managed to get back to sleep easier ?

I always used to sleep a lot but now I have trouble sleeping I did have covid and went to sleep in my tea because I was exhausted. One day I had gone 48 hrs without sleep to look after my Mother in Law because she had Alzheimers she since has died in a care home. My husband wonders why i fall asleep in the afternoon for a hour because I feel really tired. I have tried drinking hot milk and all sorts but none avail.

I don't sleep very well at all. I get about 4 hours sleep a night at the most. I have to much on my mind at the moment so this doesn't help.

Sleep! As a nurse I thought I knew everything I needed to know on this subject but this last year was something else! I am trying to keep a dream diary which seems to help with some of the worst scenarios.

I don’t sleep well at all I’m just about managing 4 hours a night lately ? I’ve tried everything from warm baths, hot chocolate even an eye mask and pillow sprays my brain just doesn’t want to shut down until 3:00 in the morning most days then when I do finally drop off I wake up around 7 in the morning feeling absolutely exhausted ?

Most nights I sleep for a couple of hours than wake up and can't get back to sleep. A nightmare.

I have sleep problems since the first lockdown due to anxiety. My business closed due to covid causing poor sleep most nights and waking up very early each morning. I try not to let it worry me, as this just makes it worse and it becomes a vicious circle!!

For the past few weeks I have been afraid someone I know would attempt suicide so I have not been sleeping well due to anxiety. My fears were realised and the person survived and is now getting help.

I find HRT amazing for sleep, I usually get 6 hours uninterrupted sometime times more. If I forget to take the tablet one night I will be up in the night at least once if not three times.

My bf told me she needs to get up to pee during the night now, I told her she doesn’t it’s her hormones that wake her up - she started HRT and no longer wakes in the night to pee.

I find it hard to get off to sleep. I tend to worry and stress about things which doesn’t help. Listening to an audiobook to distract me can help sometimes.

I always go to bed at midnight , sometimes I drop off ok and other times it takes ages to get to sleep and then my snoring,I have naval problems, keeps my husband awake. I can't win.