Sleep Q&A with Lisa Artis of the The Sleep Charity

Hi, I have trouble dropping off, once laying there in the quiet dark room , my head starts buzzing, I cannot switch it off, drives me mad, once asleep , apart from regular loo breaks, I stay asleep, but am finding I am not getting up till 10am on average, so half my day is gone!

I struggle both to drop off to sleep and sometimes dropping back off if I wake - advice please

I've have often read that you should sleep in a darkened room with the curtains closed. I do however like to sleep with the curtains open so I wake up naturally when it gets light. Am I wrong to do this?

Hello Lisa - I am 69 and my sleep can be quite unrefreshing quite often, although generally I manage around 6 hours. I always feel as though I'm short-changed sleepwise! I sleep alone by the way. My question is:

Why is it that some nights I go to bed tired, read for a while till I feel sleepy eyed and then spend the whole night with my brain wide awake, often seeing 0400 am not having slept all ...and eventually getting about an hour or so before I wake again around 0600-0700? This doesn't happen often, maybe once every month or so...but when it does it's really
frustrating. I usually sleep normally the following night.
Thanks

I have never been a 'good' sleeper and after waking in the night - if it's after about 4.30 am - struggle to get back to sleep as my mind is racing. I go to bed at about 11 pm and always get up at about 7.30, so keep regular times, and observe all the no computer rules, avoid alcohol etc. My fitbit tells me that I get about 6 hours of sleep on average every night - though it often thinks I'm asleep when I'm just lying still. Having said that, I don't often feel really tired during the day, so maybe I just don't need a lot of sleep?

I seemed to have got into a routine of disturbed, patchy sleep since caring for my husband, who had severe dementia.
He died about a year ago, do you have any suggestions about re establishing a better sleep pattern?

I can usually fall asleep ok but it is when I wake for the toilet after a couple of hours, I then find it hard to fall back to sleep. Is there anything that can help falling back to sleep when you have already had a couple of hours sleep.

Hello Lisa,
Like many other posters here I tend to fall asleep easily but wake up around 4:30 a.m. and sleep fitfully till 6.30. I now find I feel really tired in the afternoon, and I’m much too young to be taking naps! Do you have any advice for breaking this routine, and tips to get through that sleepy phase? Thanks

How can I stop waking up "properly" in the night? I appreciate that it's a completely normal thing and that most people do wake up multiple times in a night, but I am at my wit's end.

I wouldn't mind waking up if I could just roll over and go straight back to sleep, but when I wake up I am very "consciously" awake, if you know what I mean? And it can take hours to get back to sleep. Given I wake up every hour or so it makes for a very broken night, and I never feel as if I get any "proper" sleep.

If I get 3 hours in one go I feel as if I've won the lottery, and so much better the next day!

I agree with Poppyred.

Insomnia is usually a long term problem, so why can’t we take tablets to alleviate it.
Medication is prescribed for most medical issues, so why not sleeping tablets.
I am 76 now, and have to take sleeping tablets on a regular basis. My GP would like me to come of them and I have tried in the past.but not very successfuly.
In a discussion with him two years ago, I said “well, dr. Does it really matter at my age “. And he agreed.
The alternative would be hallucinations and deep depression trying to come of them.

How am I able to function reasonably well during the day when my sleep is now so poor? I can be awake for hours on end through the night but it’s only after 2 or 3 days of this that I manage a good nights sleep due to accumulated exhaustion!

What’s the best way to overcome daytime tiredness without taking a nap which prevents sleep at night starting a viscous cycle?

Hi Lisa I'd love to hear about how important the right temperature is in the room you're sleeping in. I do find that whatever time of year I prefer to have the window open to get some fresh air. It would be good to know what's advisable for the optimum temperature though.

So many questions for you, Lisa...! These are but a few.

1. We are told that poor sleep is very detrimental to our overall health. If we can't sleep, what are we supposed to do?! Is it really so dreadful for us?

2. I lay in bed and my brain has a scattergun of ideas, each flashing one after the other. It won't turn off.

3. Is reading prior to bed a good or bad thing to do?

4. Is melatonin worth sourcing? It is not recommended here but I have heard good reports of using it.

5. I tried the 'Sleepio' programme but struggled at having to rise from my warm bed and go elsewhere until I felt tired again. I would have been up all night!

6. I would not like to resort to sleeping tablets but are they really the devil's work?

7. I try to go to bed at the same time, following sleep hygiene protocols but to no avail.

These are the first few points that came to mind. Apologies for length of questions.

My problem is waking when I need to turn over. Once awake I feel a need to visit the loo.This can happen 3 times a night. It is such a bore, does this come with age, I am over 70?

I wake up several times feeling hot and then struggle to get back to sleep i dont have the heating on too hot and my pjs and quilts rather thin so not sure what else i could do to help me go back to sleep!

Why has HRT improved my sleep so much? Will I need to stay on it forever to sleep well?
At the moment if I miss a pill my sleep that night is rubbish again.

Hi, I wake up every night, it can be any time after midnight, and then find it impossible to go back to sleep. Most nights I'm lying in bed so tired I can't keep my eyes open but somehow I still can't sleep. How can I manage to 'switch off' and get some quality sleep?

What is your best advice for sleeping with chronic arthritis ? I use a support pillow for my knees and sleep on my side, are there any techniques to stop your brain overthinking when trying to drop off ?

My question is when we transition from sleeping next to a partner for 30 years plus - what is the best advise for sleeping alone ? does your body get used to the disturbances and take time to adjust to sleeping on your own ?

Hi Lisa,
Is it bad to only get 5-6 hours of sleep a night and is it bad to read before going to sleep? I normally don't go to bed until midnight and then read for at least half an hour usually more.

My question would be, does your body take take the sleep it needs - and wake you up when your brain has recovered enough - I seem to sleep around 6 - 8 hours - more in winter - which is when I suppose you would contract illnesses.

LyndaW

Hi Lisa, welcome to Gransnet. As you get older do you simply not need as much sleep? I'll be honest, I feel like a need more and I blame my lack of sleep (it's been years - possibly decades - since I got a full 8 hours) for my constant brain fog and lack of energy.
Also, what are the cognitive issues with lack of sleep? How do people like Maggie Thatcher survive on so little and still manage to be productive and coherent? I feel like my vocabulary completely deserts me if I haven't had decent sleep.

Hi Lynda, thank you for your question. It’s actually myth that you don’t need as much sleep as you get older – a 60 year old still has the same sleep needs as a 40 year old but it’s just sleep changes as you age, you get less deep sleep (which means your sleep is less refreshing) and you tend to wake more in the night too. When you are sleep deprived, it does affect you. People often find they feel foggy, find it harder to concentrate, struggle to retain information and feel more irritable, snappy and impatient.

Maggie Thatcher is a famous person who declared she needed very little sleep – there have been others too – but again, sleep is very individual, some of us function perfectly well on 6 hours sleep per night whereas some of us need nearer to 9 hours of sleep per night.

Loobs

I have definitely noticed it is harder to sleep since the menopause - hot flushes wake me and then it is hard to return to sleep. I am taking CBD oil as I find it a great help but wonder whether it is a potential problem? Whilst not addictive in any way, is it bad to be 'dependent' on something to aid sleep?? I do wonder whether, if I ran out of the oil, I would be unable to sleep simply because I would expect to sleep badly???

Hi Loobs, it’s not uncommon to find it harder to sleep since the menopause. Changes in hormone levels can cause sleep disturbances, and sleep disturbances can alter hormone levels, turning into a vicious cycle. I don’t know too much about CBD oil but you are right it’s important that we don’t become too dependent on something to aid sleep. We do make strong sleep associations and you’re right if you were without it – either run out or you’re on holiday and left it at home - you may cause some anxiety around your sleep.