Haven’t slept properly for weeks now

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Looks like you’re right greenfinch, I would definitely not order anything medicinal online… but might give my doctor a ring

Ahhh Nanna8 Says you do not need a prescription for them but it is odd not for Holland and Barrett to stock them if this is the case, I will google it just to check

Unless things have changed melatonin is only available on prescription in U.K. unless you are prepared to risk buying online. I may be wrong.

Just went on the Holland and Barrett website and could not find melatonin could only find this, has anybody used this with any success?

Have been awake since 4 am, not that I was sleeping properly up till then, it really is getting me down now so Will go in Holland and Barrett today and try and get the melatonin tablets thanks for the tip…??

I’m another insomniac and it gets boring not being able to sleep when everyone else is snoring away. I find it goes in cycles - a few bad nights then a better one. I haven’t slept through the night for many years but I just accept that now. I have found anti histamines are good which I sometimes have to take anyway for hay fever. Also melatonin tablets help you actually fall asleep but they are expensive here. You don’t need a prescription for them and my doctor tells me they are better than sleeping tablets from a health point of view.

muse

I’m another who has notebook by my bed. It was recommended to me when I started teaching at the age of 36. There was so much on my mind that when I got to bed, I was getting probably on average 4 hrs sleep and finding it difficult to drop off like you. I still do it now 11 years after retiring.

Once it’s on paper, as SueDonim says, you sleep.

As an ex teacher, I needed a book by my bed as well to pop random thoughts in as they occurred to me.

I was once told to always add a couple of “easy” tasks to a list so that they can be ticked off quickly - gives you a boost to see the ticks so you can then do more complex tasks.

I’m currently President of a large WI group and my bedroom notebook gets well used!

Could I suggest lying on a yantra mat for 20 or 30 mins before you try to sleep? It sounds mad but it is so relaxing works well for me. A bit off putting I know but it does seem to relax you

Early

Have you tried ASMR? Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Lots of information and resources available. Often it’s just listening to a softly spoken or whispering voice or quiet, repetitive sounds resulting from someone engaging in a mundane task such as turning the pages of a book.

I have a couple of favourite ASMR “artists” I like and work for me but you need to find ones that suit you. I have to take meds, a side effect of which is insomnia. Sometimes my body is achingly tierd but my head still feels wired and won't quieten down. A few minutes of ASMR on my mobile phone by the bed and I’m soon asleep.

Thank you Early,will look into that..??

Have you tried ASMR? Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Lots of information and resources available. Often it’s just listening to a softly spoken or whispering voice or quiet, repetitive sounds resulting from someone engaging in a mundane task such as turning the pages of a book.

I have a couple of favourite ASMR “artists” I like and work for me but you need to find ones that suit you. I have to take meds, a side effect of which is insomnia. Sometimes my body is achingly tierd but my head still feels wired and won't quieten down. A few minutes of ASMR on my mobile phone by the bed and I’m soon asleep.

The thing is up to about a year ago l used to sleep fine, maybe it’s an age thing ?… just getting worse ?

I am the opposite- I can sleep for 8 hours with thrips to the loo, without even trying.

I do have a sort of routine. I rarely watch TV beyond 10 pm. I check my computer, wash the odd coffee cup, in this weather fill a hwb then have a quick shower. I enjoy reading in bed at night so I always have a book on the go. I always try to turn off the light at midnight, turn over on my left side, and usually I am asleep within 5 minutes. I am trying desperately not to have a snooze or three during the day.

I know it is easier said than done but try not to thing of home or work problems and try to relax. The more you think about sleep the less likely it is to happen. I take after my father whereas my mother was like you, slept little.

After well over a week of not sleeping I must admit I took a zopiclone (just the one!!)last night, well the early hours of the morning actually about 2:30 am and I did sleep through till eight but won’t take one again now for probably three weeks. I was listening to podcasts which don’t always help because I find I’m concentrating on what they’re saying!!…?‍♀️

It’s horrible not sleeping, m on the odd night I do get 5/6 hours I feel a different person and wake up with a spring in my step,,Every now and then when desperate I take a sleeping tablet, it works that night but not the second for some reason.

I do find I sleep better if I have had some exercise during the day, usually a walk and also I think it is important not to drop off other than at night. Many years ago I was told to concentrate on the word "relax", just quietly keep repeating it in your head and try and let yourself relax. Apparently the brain gets fed up with the repetition and gives up! My mum preferred "blue moon", breathing in to blue and out to moon. Its horrible lying awake at night and I hope you find a solution.

I used to listen to BBC World Service on a clock radio that switched itself off. I now listen to audio books on ipad which switch themselves off. If I wake in the night, I switch it back on.

Hetty58

lack of exercise = lack of sleep. If your body is ready for rest, you'll fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer. Have you tried a nice, long evening walk?

Not necessarily. I have found in the past, that my body is weary, whacked out, from various exercising, but my mind is still wide awake and active?.

It can be such a nuisance can’t it.

Hetty58

lack of exercise = lack of sleep. If your body is ready for rest, you'll fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer. Have you tried a nice, long evening walk?

I suppose I don’t really walk enough but my job in a busy care home gives me plenty of exercise I can assure you..Although I only do that 4 days a week so maybe try to walk on the days I’m not working..

lack of exercise = lack of sleep. If your body is ready for rest, you'll fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer. Have you tried a nice, long evening walk?

Lack of good sleep really is miserable, and you are probably very wise to try to avoid the medication route given your history of addiction ( well done on kicking it!). I suffer occasionally, and could be far worse, but the few things which work for me are; a sleep spray, I use This Works which is lovely, I also have Radio 4 on quietly, which morphs into the World Service, so if I wake up, I just lie and listen to it without fretting that I am awake, I guarantee I never hear the end of anything! To actually get off to sleep, I find that composing a letter in my head, or thinking about moving into a house in the village that I have my eye on and re-decorating it, is enough to send me off! Good luck, it truly can be miserable and I hope you find a solution.

The thing is I’m not aware of anything actually on my mind, it’s just busy random traffic in my head..?‍♀️

I’m another who has notebook by my bed. It was recommended to me when I started teaching at the age of 36. There was so much on my mind that when I got to bed, I was getting probably on average 4 hrs sleep and finding it difficult to drop off like you. I still do it now 11 years after retiring.

Once it’s on paper, as SueDonim says, you sleep.

SueDonim

That’s miserable.

Have you done all the usual things they suggest, no screens for an hour before bedtime, a warm bath, calm atmosphere etc? Are you lying awake worrying about things? If you are, I was told of a technique that was remarkably effective for me. When you get into bed, write down anything that’s on your mind on a bit of paper or notebook then lay it aside and tell yourself you’ll think about those things in the morning.

I was very sceptical indeed but to my astonishment, it worked! Not only did I manage to sleep, it also eliminated the awful dreams I’d been having. It’s almost as though I was giving myself permission to relax and sleep. I only needed to do it a few times, it kind of reset my body, or something.

A similar technnique works for me, though I do not have a sleep issue.

I have found that if I have about five or six things or more that I need to get done on a day that I can get a bit overwhelmed by it, even though they are not each in their own way any problem.

For example, do some washing, order some shoes online, etc. The mix is on my mind all together.

I have found that if I sit down and write a list of tasks to do, . and it is, perhaps, seven or eight items when the list is completed, then I just look at the list and decide which one it is best to do first, but not try to put the rest in a timetabled order, then go and do that task, then go back to the list and choose the next one, and so on.

If they are all about equal priority I tend to do the quicker ones earlier so as to reduce the number of tasks still to do, and to alternate physical ones with sedantary ones. For example, washing some shirts, ordering shoes online.

Some more very good suggestions thank you.?? I did use the CBT oil with no effect whatsoever and ended up giving it to my daughter-in-law. As most of you know I am a recovering alcoholic and pills don’t really affect me that much, I have to say and I know I shall be shouted at but sometimes I would take 3 or 4 zopiclone at a time and I think that is 22 mg which obviously is not good and probably not safe but it did guarantee a solid nights sleep and I was desperate! ?I am now A full week without taking anything and I am still not sleeping well, going to work later and that will get me going, I find the energy levels from somewhere and as I work in a care home I need to but if I’m just at home I just feel completely drained for most of the day..