Hadricat said...
Hi there! I'm sorry you've had trouble sleeping. My anxiety and insomnia go hand in hand, one always exacerbating the other, so I understand how badly it can disrupt your daily life.
As we get older, our brains change and so does our sleep. It has been shown in older adults that sleep becomes fractured, meaning your bouts may increase but the time spent asleep for each bout decreases. My dad is in his 60's and he'll spontaneously wake up at 1am, be awake for a little while, and then go back to asleep for a few more hours. Incident of naps, dozing off, etc. increases with age and some studies have seen a decrease in the good, deep, restful sleep.
It may be that you're missing the mark, so to speak, when you go to bed. If I go to bed at 9:30, I'm out like a light. But if I go to sleep fifteen minutes later, I'm up for the next hour with racing, intrusive thoughts. You could try going to bed earlier or later than you have been recently, just to experiment.
Another thing you may look into, if supplements and medication aren't working, is making some environmental changes. Maybe your bedroom or whatever you're doing before bedtime isn't conducive to a good night's sleep. Basic rules of thumb include turning off all electronics an hour before bedtime, kicking animals out of the bedroom, and maybe a warm shower. Keep in mind that what used to work for you before may have changed. We're all works in progress, and that's pretty cool.
http://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene
Sleep well!
Sources: National Foundation of Sleep, and a year working in a university lab that studied sleep (fruit fly model)
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Thank you. Are you taking anythng to help you sleep?
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