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

As many others I experience a dry mouth at night - I have Sjrogrens - so my poor husband is always nudging me to stop snoring - and I wake frequently throughout the night, finding it hard to get back to sleep. For some bizarre reason, I then feel compelled to look at my clock and in my mind predict what I think the time will be. The amazing thing is that no matter what the time actually is, I can guarantee that I am accurate within a couple of minutes. How on earth can this be?

Why do I randomly wake up in the middle of the night? I don't need to use the loo so it's very random.

Hi Lisa. What can I do to get to sleep when I find my mind racing with all sorts of problems and thoughts? Rescue remedy sometimes helps but I'm never sure whether it will work or not.

I find this too, I’m always cold during the day, but once in bed I overheat. I need the water for the dry mouth too despite drinking copiously during the day.

Has anyone found hypnosis works well as a sleep aid?

I get to sleep easily and wake after about 4 hr for the loo. Then it is on and off for the rest of the night. Never used to be like this. Past 4-5 years I think.

As soon as my head hits the pillow, I feel hot. (I have a cool bedroom and thin quilt) I wake up several times feeling hot or with a very dry mouth and uncomfortable throat. I take a sip of water and usually go back to sleep. Sometimes I get through a glass of water during the night, which reflects how many times I wake up. I feel terrible by morning, not rested at all. I am a bit desperate to know how to get a good nights sleep.

Over the years I've tried things like drinking hot chocolate (dairy/lactose-free) or herbal teas (like Chamomile) before bed. I've had essential oils for massage, in a warm evening bath, in oil burners, on tissues or dry flannel/cloth under the pillow or a few drops on nightwear, on 'sleep stones'. I've tried relaxing in a bubble bath with essential oils, clean freshly-laundered nightwear and bed linen. Reading in bed and even (admittedly many years ago) natural sleep remedies. But would like to know if there is anything else that might help get a decent night's sleep? A long time ago I was prescribed sleeping pills but I take medication for other health problems so am reluctant to resort to this method again (I don't take anywhere near the amount of medication I've been on previously, as decided about 15 years ago only to take what I absolutely felt I needed and no more, so cut a lot of it out, with support from my GP). I find it difficult to concentrate or remember things so meditation or visualisation-type techniques do not work for me. Would combinations of any of the aforementioned more natural techniques help?

There are times when I will go to bed really tired only to be wide awake by the time I reach my bed. There are times when I go to bed ready and willing to allow myself to fall asleep and hours later am more awake than ever. Any ideas? It is so very frustrating that neither will work when my head seems to be in this mood!

I keep getting woken up by overheating. I’m post menopausal so it shouldn’t be hot flashes bothering me.
I go to bed and everything is the right temperature but often I am woken by being too hot and I can’t work out what to do about it, other than stick my foot out of the bed or throw the covers off until I’ve cooled down somewhat.

I am so sleep deprived. I just can’t sleep at night. Put me in a comfy chair with the TV and I’ll be asleep in minutes. Though if I move from chair to my room I cannot sleep! What is going on? How do I change this?

I don’t have troubles falling asleep but do staying asleep. I can wake up up to 8 times a night. When I wake up after 0430, it is extremely rare for me to go back to sleep. I usually wait for the heating to come on (in winter) and get up around 0530. I am fortunate that I manage a nap in the afternoon, but the constant napping all night is a bother. I have stopped worrying about it as it doesn’t help!

Why can my DH snooze in the morning, the afternoon and the evening-in fact whenever he sits down, yet still fall asleep quickly when he goes to bed and stay asleep for at least 8 hours?
I never sleep during the day but still have trouble dropping off and tend to only sleep 6-7 hours.

I know most people can't sleep but I have the opposite problem. I can sleep the clock around if left to my own devices. I've set myself a sleep routine and go to bed/get up at the same times every day. I aim for 10 hours but I'm still tired. There is no medical reason as my GP has checked me over. Why do some of us need far more sleep than others?

Hi Lisa, my question is "how do I get back to sleep quickly if I wake in the early hours of the morning?"

correction: do you have to help.

Hi, I have a question for you Lisa.
What suggestions or solutions do you to help someone who experiences continuous daytime theta waves to be able to get to sleep easier and quicker rather than lay awake for hours?

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 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.