HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

SLEEP EXPERIMENT

Support Forums
>
Fibromyalgia
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 6/6/2014 7:52 AM (GMT 0)
Well, as you may have guessed....it's a failure. smhair

It's 4am and I can't sleep. nono

I may have to start taking benadryl every night to knock me out early. mad
Posted 6/6/2014 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
Grrr. Sorry to hear that. Hot bath/shower? IS it pain that keeps you awake or is it just awake?

Sorry, you probably have told us earlier...
Posted 6/6/2014 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
I swear our bodies are just wired wrong...i slept , but fitfully..odd dreams....hope you get better rest tonight...most of us know what you go through with the sleep issue...
Posted 6/6/2014 5:09 PM (GMT 0)
Don't give up, Joy! I was where you were at one time. It was hard staying awake during the day but I forced myself and then I would go to bed earlier and could fall asleep. Eventually things clicked. I have never taken anything for sleep either.

I also have the TV on when I go to bed. They say not to do that but it helps me fall asleep. I might watch about 15 minutes and then I'm asleep.

I would never just lie in bed for hours. If I couldn't fall asleep in about 20 minutes, I would get up and do something...usually get on the computer or read something until I started getting sleepy. Just lying there will drive you bonkers, stress you out, and make it so you definitely can't sleep!

I would go to bed and set my alarm to get up around 7-7:30 AM. I never stay in bed longer than that. I also never lay down in the bed in the middle of the day. I only lay in bed when it's time for my nighttime sleep. I have dozed off sitting up in a chair...my 20 minute power naps. They are refreshing but I rarely do this.

Here are some tips to help you get back on schedule. I pretty much did these things to help me. I now head to bed between 10-10:30 PM and am up around 7 AM. The sun wakes me now plus, I've been on this schedule for quite a few years and I don't need an alarm to wake up at 7 AM. I know you can do this because I did it!

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/reset-sleep-cycle

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/05/09/7-tips-to-shift-your-sleep-schedule/

Sherrine
Posted 6/6/2014 8:22 PM (GMT 0)
I never lay down during the day nor nap. Sometimes it's the pain keeping me awake.
I don't sleep unless I'm sleepy.
When I start feeling sleepy I have a set routine....
Take medicines
Brush teeth
Fill water in cpap
Lay down and read a chapter or two in a book
Turn off bedside light
Put on cpap
Turn on relaxation tape and listen until asleep (sometimes it takes two times)

My mind just won't shut up if I don't listen to the tape.

It's hard to wind down.
Posted 6/6/2014 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
Routine is good. Right after my divorce 14 years ago, I used to play this fiddle and guitar CD of Irish tunes (NO JIGS.) It amazes me how, even now, I can play that CD and feel my body relax.

Many nights I have to go take a bath before my body will give in.
Posted 6/6/2014 11:36 PM (GMT 0)
Would something like chamomile tea help? Or there are relaxation tablets containing things like valarian, passionflower, etc. (if one is not allergic to them.  Also, sometimes they do not mix well with certain meds).

Hope you find a solution soon, and happy dreams. yeah
Posted 6/7/2014 4:32 AM (GMT 0)
I have several allergies so I have to be careful of what I take.

I wish my doctor would give me something to turn off my mind at the end of the day. I might just be able to sleep normal hours. :-/
Posted 6/7/2014 4:38 AM (GMT 0)
Joy,

That's too bad your doctor won't! I sure need something - 2 somethings, actually. I wish I didn't, but it sure beats the alternative. I remember those nights, tossing and turning...and feeling only half there the next day. Ugh.

Hope tonight's better for you.

Debbie
Posted 6/7/2014 4:42 AM (GMT 0)
Some of us just have a screwed up sleep cycle and it will never change. I come from a long line of insomniacs. It's like our bodies are on a 36-hour cycle and everyone else's is on a 24-hour cycle. If I go to bed before 10 p.m., I'm sick or in a horrid flare. That's a fact. I might go to sleep at 11 to midnight some nights, and that will work for a while, but then there are nights that I just absolutely am not sleepy and even sleep meds do not work. If it were as easy as sticking to a routine, then I would have been cured when I worked all those many years in a 9-5 job, but I still had insomnia when I worked normal hours all those years and went to work sleep deprived and never napped.

To me, if you haven't experienced chronic insomnia (I'm speaking years instead of day, weeks, or months), it's like someone who doesn't have fibro trying to understand it.
Posted 6/7/2014 6:22 AM (GMT 0)
I do hate it when I can't turn my mind off. That does happen to me but not every night. What I do when that happens is I start praying for family and friends and the next thing I know I fall asleep. Maybe it's the peacefulness that causes that. So you could try that...or meditating.

I'm so sorry you are having this problem. It's pretty miserable.

Sherrine
Posted 6/8/2014 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
Bwfm, I have stayed awake all night on average of being awake for 18-24 hours. When I do fall asleep I sleep for about 10-12 hrs.
My clock is all screwed up.

Sherrie, the hypnosis tape I listen to is the only thing that seems to relax me, but only when I'm sleepy.

I was just thinking something.....
I haven't slept normal hours since my kitty who slept with me every night died. I wonder if there's a connection?
Posted 6/8/2014 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
I am so much more alert at night..i try to do a mini chore before i start my bedtime routine...knowing i am a slow starter in the morning...

I noticed you said sleep apnea..is that why you cannot take sleep aids...my husband had that at one time and they made him a dental device that corrected it..the first one did not work so his dr went to a sleep conference and had the team brain storm it..til they could make one that worked for him...

We have very busy brains with fibro often so the relaxation tapes is a great idea
Posted 6/8/2014 8:40 AM (GMT 0)
I don't understand why my doctors refuse sleeping pills. My sleep apnea doctor said I need to take melatonin(?), but my rheumy says I can't take it due to my lupus. It will cause nasty flare ups for me.

It's getting close to 5am so I'm going to start winding down and maybe get to sleep by 7am. Sigh.....
Posted 6/8/2014 11:23 AM (GMT 0)
You know, losing a beloved pet can do a lot to us. When I lost my dog I cried for over a year until I got another dog. So maybe this is part of it. Having pets are wonderful and they say just petting your cat or dog takes away stress. Sooooo...could you get a kitten? I know you are with your parents right now. Just petting the kitten could relax you so you could sleep....not to mention all the love you would receive.

Sherrine
Posted 6/8/2014 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
I love cats, but am very allergic to them ..my daughter had one and moved home a few years for a job..that cat was so loving..with all of us ...she would come to you and knew where your pain was and snuggle up to the pain area...she always had instinct about what her humans needed..my daughter had picked her as a baby at a shelter..and the cat picked up my daughters sweet and loving ways..she is just a cat version of my daughter..sherrine is right about how much love they bring..and we are attached to them , like any family member
Posted 6/8/2014 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
My sleep pattern seems to have been designed for a planet with a longer day! It's a mess, honestly.

The only thing I really find makes a difference is to try to do things like brushing teeth, etc. a couple of hours before I think I'll be ready to sleep. That way, when my body & brain wind down, I can hit the sack without maybe getting wound-up again. Also, if it's near time to sleep, I avoid watching or reading anything that's likely to mentally stimulate me. Otherwise, my adrenaline seems to kick in, and I'm up for at least several more hours.
Posted 6/8/2014 8:38 PM (GMT 0)
Couchtater, I'm the same way. I can stay up for about 36 hours without being tired and then I can sleep for 12+ hours. It is so hard to conform to society's expectations and work when we have this going on. I'm at the point in my life than I can sleep when I want, but if I had my druthers, I would really like to be "normal." I've tried many times, but it's very hard to do.
Posted 6/8/2014 10:37 PM (GMT 0)
My folks are very "no pets in the house" people. I managed to wiggle my last cat in through my dog dying and my folks were not living with me in the house. My niece's cats came when her and her mom moving in temporary. When my sister moved out we got my niece and her cats. All what's left is one of her cats and he sleeps with her.
I made a promise to my folks that I wouldn't get another cat until we were cat-free.
Posted 6/8/2014 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
Maybe. If they think having your own kitty to love would help you sleep they might change their minds. It can't hurt to ask. You are trying everything possible and there easily could be a cool elation between the loss of your cat and now not being able to sleep.

I found a couple of interesting links on how pets help us.

http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/pets-depression

http://pets.webmd.com/ss/slideshow-pets-improve-your-health

Sherrine
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply