Insomnia. How well do you sleep?

I'm 73 but my sleep problems have been going on for around 15 years.
I have tried everything no electronics, hot teddies, cinnting sheep, deep breathing, Nytol, sleep gummies, sleep patches, magnesium glynate just got the prescription stuff to try now. Last resort. I have no idea why! I go to sleep fine but wake up around two hours later and then take another two to three hours to fall asleep again. If I get 5 hours its a good night.

That sound like me Maggs, am grateful to get 5 hrs total. Slow to fall asleep then awake after hour or so and toss about with radio/audiobook maybe til about 6 when have an early small breakfast, then with luck I get a sound block of sleep till 9 30 or so. All very hopeless if some appointment even a coffee date to keep.

Silent gerd can do it for many people. Most don`t know they have it but the acid, as strong as battery acid, trickles gently up the oesophagus. It can cause pain, which awakens, then you stand up for the loo and back down it goes, enough of an ache to waken but not enough to realise the cause

It can cause an irritating night time cough at times

I have had this for over 30 years, best to sleep on a slope but the bed wedge does not induce a comfortable night. Bricks to raise head of the bed, A slope made with pillows. Sleeping on the left side is better than sleeping on the right

I still get this even though I have my last light meal by 4pm. I always wake up, every single night but it helps that I know the cause and it is not usually a need for the loo. I go to my ensuite, drink some water, raise my pillow and quickly get back to sleep

I don`t take any medication and am an early bird, always in bed by 10 and awake with energy between 5 and 6, same all my life and my AC are all awake early too

I'm so sorry that you found Zopiclone so strong, when I used it I found it worked really well for a while but you're not meant to use it long term as it is addictive. I would recommend you ask your GP for Daridorexant which I've read the review for and it's non-addictive. Finding this new medication helping me to sleep, just takes me a long while to get to sleep.

I've found if I eat something about an hour before I go to bed it helps me sleep. I have to eat every two hours or I get jittery. I am hypoglycemic. I need a protein fix of some kind regularly. Caffeine, chocolate, anything sugary keep me from sleeping. I had a hard time sleeping during puberty and again during menopause. I will not do antidepressants or any sleep aids. They destroyed my brother, several of my cousins and my late husband's brother. His brother ended up committing suicide. Drugs can destroy us.

When there’s a full moon I don’t sleep well, not sure why.

Last week I was talking to one of my neighbours who mentioned her older sister started to walk up often during the night with continuous loo visits. At first she didn’t think anything was wrong until she was informed she has diabetes. Are you also getting a wish to eat a lot?

I expect it is just with us getting older

Happy Christmas,

My sleep varies even though I take nitrazepam. If I have a long journey planned, I often have great difficulty sleeping the night before (almost like childish excitement) and if I’m away on a weekend break, the thought that I must sleep to make the most of it, stops me sleeping! Forgot to throw in the loo trips too…

I’ve started using mouth tape as I’m a heavy snorer (so they tell me😁) and a friend said it has made a huge difference to her sleeping pattern. We’ll see.

Melatonin helps me. DS used to live in the States where you can buy it over the counter in health food shops and supermarkets. He has now returned to the UK so when I finish the last of the stash I am stumped. I only take it if I have had a run of bad nights which means a large bottle lasts ages. Kalms from Boots sometimes works but only for a couple of nights. I find any kind of upset in the day, even quite minor things, means I have a disturbed night. Several loo trips in the night dont help either. You have my sympathy Quietlife.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

I listen with sleepphones (Bluetooth headphones) to The Archers, I always fall asleep within one episode 😂 so I have to listen twice, no matter what time I go to bed, I cannot settle without The Archers. I done this since lockdown and I think my brain hears the music and that’s it, anyway I know it wouldn’t work for everyone, but it’s the best soap imo. Also Nytol and magnesium is good, plus a comfy bed and brushed cotton sheets. Good luck and Merry Christmas 🤶🏼

Quietlife

I hadn’t finished this and posted it by mistake. My doc prescribed zoplicone which was so strong I tried to get up to go to the loo and fell out of bed and cracked 3 ribs. I was basically still asleep.

Try just to take half, that works well for me, if I know I can spend 8 hours in bed. Anything less and I am still sleepy next day. I have a tablet cutter that cuts through the line perfectly.

I listen at bedtime too but then read the facebook group about it. I do this in bed. There is also a usenet group about the archers. uk.media.radio.archers. umra.

It's 22.00 on Christmas Eve and I've been awake since 23.30 yesterday and still don't feel tired. Bored, but not tired. I'm 71 and had a minor stroke 2 years ago and was then diagnosed with heart failure. Also, I have had recurring UTI's every month for the last year, I've recently been diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease So, I can't exercise as I'm unable to walk more than a 100 yards without getting breathless and I have to be careful about medication because of the extra strain on my kidneys. Some people have all the luck eh ?

Merry Christmas everyone.

vickya

I sleep very badly. For the last few years an hour or two, 3 max. It has been suggested old people are disposable, no longer useful, so are on watch over night as don't need to be fully there. Just need to scream if there is anyone from outside and the rest wake, The outsiders will then kill and eat the old people but they are not needed!

I have reported your bizarre ( and potentially frightening) rant.
There are several members on here who are not entirely happy being alone at night.

crazyH

During and since my divorce, 20 years ago, I have been on Zopiclone 3.75mg. It is beginning to lose its efficacy now. So I might ask to increase it 7.5mg.
Last night I went out for a meal. I had a glass or 2 of. Prosecco. I noticed I slept better 😂

20years is an awful long time to be on zopiclone, I expect you know they are addictive and sometimes give a hangover effect the next day, my sleep pattern is terrible sometimes I don’t go to bed until 6.0 am and sometimes have disturbed sleep.
If I need a good night sleep I take sleep aid from Morrisons it’s better than nytol

I have restless legs. My GP has prescribed tablets for this. I wouldn’t be able to sleep without them.

petra

vickya

I sleep very badly. For the last few years an hour or two, 3 max. It has been suggested old people are disposable, no longer useful, so are on watch over night as don't need to be fully there. Just need to scream if there is anyone from outside and the rest wake, The outsiders will then kill and eat the old people but they are not needed!

I have reported your bizarre ( and potentially frightening) rant.
There are several members on here who are not entirely happy being alone at night.

Vickya
Serious question, I’m a retired Mental health professional and I’m concerned that you maybe unwell, if you are not currently under the mental team I suggest you visit your Gp and tell him about your thoughts
Take care 💐

Well, today is as good a morning as any to be awake early. Fell asleep right away, but dreamt the Turkey was burning. I knew it wasn’t even cooking yet, but nevertheless went down to check. Dog followed and begged to go out.
The stars are amazing but I’m desperate for a warm bed whether I sleep or not.
Happy Christmas to all 🎄

It’s 3.40 am and I haven’t yet been able to fall asleep.i came to bed at 11.30. It’s now Christmas Day and I have. a house full of family and an extremely busy day ahead of me. Nights like this are quite frequent and it really gets me down.

Nanny27 - not a wink . So I’ve come down to have a hot cup-a-soup

The headline maybe should be "how BADLY do you sleep/not sleep?"

Insomnia is a waking hell - utterly bone-tired but semi wide awake at the same time.

And all the well-meaning advice re milky drinks, well-ventilated bedrooms, pillows stuffed with fresh lavender, a bracing walk before bedtime, etc, is useless junk invented by 'experts' who probably have no experience of genuine sleeplessness.

Just like the current generation of self-styled 'influencers'.

Trying to see a doctor here is difficult, they would never give sleeping tablets.I tried.
Every night i wake in pain, then don’t get back to sleep. I vary between 4 to 6 hours .If i get 6 hours its rare but i feel so much better, I would love 8.

My go to to get me off to sleep is listening to asmr - auto sensory meridian response.

As explained on another thread, if you have ever experienced soothing "tingles" over your scalp and down your spine from the timbre of someone's voice or a head massage asmr might be worth a go Quietlife.

You have to find the right asmr artist, as they're called, to listen to, as there's a lot of very weird & irritating stuff out there but it's such a help to soothe you off to sleep if it works for you. (Think a soft spoken Joanna Lumley or the late Una Stubbs).

One of the best for me, almost guaranteed to send me drifting off without pills, is a youtube channel called "southernasmr".

Hope you find my suggesting asmr useful as there's nothing more miserable and draining than chasing sleep & it does seem to help hundreds of thousands world wide to judge by the comments.

Same as anna7