Haven’t slept properly for weeks now

I SO sympathise having been an insomniac for years ?
I recently did an online CBT course.
Basically you need to keep a sleep diary for a couple of weeks noting:-
What time you go to bed
How long it takes to fall asleep
How often you wake in the night-early, middle, late
How long it took to fall back asleep.
After that I had to sleep restrict-for me it was go to bed 12.30-1 am. Get up at 6am but I did 7am
It did help a little but i still wake several times every night and struggle to get back to sleep!
It might be worth trying the above? When I’ve gone a few nights of poor sleep I take a nytol or night nurse for just one night.
All the best!

It's not funny, this not sleeping thing Shinamae. Fine if you feel ok durung the day, but I too often feel half awake all day. I have 5mg amitryptiline pills from doctor. Half a pill taken an hour before sleep helps me. Like you I am reluctant to use pills all the time. But if I take them for a couple of nights they sometimes change the sleep pattern for a while. Which I'm about to do now.
I've tried the lavender and sleep meditation.
Chamomile tea seems to help a little too.
We are all different. I hope some of these suggestions help you. I like the one about writing things down.

I'm addicted to Court TV and watch it every night . I get so involved with the cases, and love to hear the Barristers questioning the witnesses.....basically, I'm nuts. I follow the case until the verdict ?

I have given up worrying about my random sleep patterns! Sometimes I’m tired and fall asleep by 10pm and sleep for ten hours - apart from two or three toilet trips! Other times I’m still wide awake at 4am having tossed and turned and fretted for hours.

Now I look at my diary while getting ready for bed and decide if I need to wake up at a particular time then set an alarm. I might only have five hours sleep but I can cope with that. If I have a free morning and I’m struggling to settle down, I might set my alarm for 10am or even later this getting enough sleep, just not at normal times!

It seems to balance out, maybe three or four days of only a few hours sleep followed by a few days of late nights but late starts followed by nights when I get 12 hours sleep! I can only do this because I’m now retired, live alone and can schedule social events for afternoons or evenings. My friends know not to pop round without calling and never before mid day!

If anyone else calls while I am in bed, I either pretend not to be in or answer my door in my dressing gown saying I’m just about to have a shower after doing the housework! Friends might know I’m lying but casual callers don’t!

You can try Melatonin
ask your GP for it.
It helps me fall asleep. I have some problems staying asleep but can cope better if I have a few hours of sleep at the start of the night.

Melatonin is a natural hormone that can diminsh as we get older. Start with a tiny dose and see how you get on,

Thank you all for your suggestions, I shall for certainly try some of them..????

I'm lucky to get 4 of sleep a night and am usually up a having a cup of tea around 5am. My doctor prescribed Zopiclone which I had been taking at the lowest dose a few nights a week, but I have stopped taking them entirely after reading and suffering from the side effects - metallic tasting mouth, sweating and worse of all, shortness of breath. Taking one to one and half hours to fall asleep would be wonderful for me. Sometimes it takes 4 hours!! I have just accepted it now as my sense of taste has returned, the sweating has abated and I am less breathless since I packed the pills in. I also found that once I had decided not to stress over falling asleep and accept the situation, then sleep came a little easier.

Hi. Have you tried a lavender sleep spray ? I use the one from This works it’s a bit pricey but it does work for me. Also half a 10mg tablet of Phenergan, you can buy it over the counter. Good luck .

Shinamae. As your doctor’s solution is tablets and you don’t want to take them I would suggest first of all that you force yourself to stay awake all day. Having a nap to make up for lost sleep impacts on your next night’s sleep. Before bed a warm relaxing bath with lavender scented products followed by a cup of warm milk should help you drop off.

By means buy

I find my lack of sleep is due to nocturnal dashes to loo several times. Best thing to induce sleep for me is Lavendar oil. I used to by Avons sleep therapy. But now I make my own. I spray it round edges of pillowcase. I get some sleep then

I have a year’s subscription to the CALM app which I have on my iPhone. They have lots of sleep stories by different people, the best is Eric Braa. I listen to one every night through ear phones plugged into iPhone. It switches off automatically at the end of the half hour story. I have 1 GB on my phone plan to be able to use the Internet each night.

If I’m having a really bad night I get up make a cuppa and Rich tea biscuit take it back to bed, I play a couple of games on my iPhone then settle down with a new story. Alan Scalar is good.

Try white noise...or one of the variations, pink, brown. My daughters use it for their children, and it’s amazing. It really does work. At first you just think it’s going to annoy you, then you realise you’ve been asleep, and it’s so refreshing when you wake. My daughter describes it as a brain washout!

Also, hot milk, a banana, tomatoes, nutmeg, are a few things which induce sleep. My whole menopause kicked off with insomnia, so that’s finished now after 5 years. Could it be this with you?

Good wishes ?

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.

Esspee

See or at least speak to your doctor.

I have, he prescribed the sleeping pills..

See or at least speak to your doctor.