Who here is stressed out?! I don't care what stage of life you're in, it seems to me that everyone is going a million miles a minute. I know I am! By the end of my multi-tasking day, I drop into bed exhausted. I envision the beautiful picture of tucking my kids into bed, reading them tons of stories, telling them stories of my childhood, singing to them and gently kissing them as they fall quickly to sleep. YEAH RIGHT! I'm holding my tongue trying not to yell "GET IN BED!" for the millioneth time, holding my eyes open as I tell a 30 second story and trying not to be cross with them. So much for the wonderful memories - I'm exhausted! Does this sound familiar? Why then do I have hard time sleeping? I'm dealing with insomnia. I wake up maybe at 3:00 a.m. and I'm up for basically the rest of the night. I do know that lack of sleep can compromise your concentration and well-being. Sleep deprivation also increases the risk of:
Diabetes - runs in my family
Heart problems
Mental health, including memory retention, depression and substance abuse - I don't remember anything!
Weight gain - (yes, my fellow weight gainers - how are your sleep patterns? I'm now going to blame the extra lbs on my sleep! That's a new one!)
Getting less sleep means more stress, becoming a vicious circle. I am working at de-stressing my life or at least learning how to cope with stress better. I'm realizing that some things are out of my hands. (As I'm typing this, it is 4:38 a.m.) My hardest thing is turning my brain off. I'm looking for different techniques to help me sleep better. I have put a notepad next to my bed to jot things down and hopefully be able to put that particular thought "to bed" (how appropriate...)
September 13, 2007
Who Needs Sleep?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
Getting no sleep just plain ol sucks. I hate that feeling when you wake up at 3:00 and just count the minutes down to when your alarm clock will go off. Grr Frustrating!
I always find exercise helps me sleep MUCH better. I always seemt o get a better sleep when I have hit the gym that day.
Hello! Love the blog!
I too have suffered from insomnia. Medicine didn't help. What I found worked for me was comppletely decluttering my bedroom - if you have a tv there take it out. The only thing you should do in the bedroom is sleep - don't read in bed or watch tv. Have a going to bed ritual you do every night so your body and mind starts being trained on when to feel relaxed and when to sleep. i take a bath and read a bit in the bath every night before bed. and i go to be every night at the same time, no matter if it is weekend or not. i also keep a pad of paper and i pen on the nightstand so when i worry about something i just write it down so i know i won't forget the next day - this helps your mind relax more. i also need to eat a snack right before bed because if i feel hungry i won't sleep at all. these are some of the things have worked for me. i still get nights, or weeks, where i don't sleep but overall my sleeping habit are back to "normal".
i know poor sleep added to my weight problems before. I used to stay up late and wake up early, but i also used to get a poor sleep due to mild sleep apnea (never properly diagnosed but when you wake up choking a few times a week...).
I had to create a routine for myself to make things better; going to bed by 11:30, not drinking water before a certain time so i won't wake up during the night and reading always helps makes my eyes tired and sleepy.
but then again i don't have ankle biters to contend with :)
I battle with insomnia, too. For me it's related to stress. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm worried, until I start having symptoms like... insomnia! I've read that St. John's Wort is good for insomnia, but I've never tried it. I like keeping a journal to write out my concerns and just "let loose" my feelings. It's understandable that you're under pressure right now with all of the changes in your home. If you can get some "me time" it would probably help. Good luck!
I have struggled with chronic insomnia for over a decade now and have found a couple things that help me sleep a bit better. What works is unique for each person, but these are general ideas from different doctors I have spoken with. The most important thing I was told to do is to keep a schedule: alway go to sleep and wake up at the same time. Even weekends. If you do stay up late, still wake up at your regular time and try to make up the lost sleep by going to bed early (they said to never, ever, ever sleep in). I was also told to never take naps (unless absolutely necessary, for example after having a baby). A regular bed-time routine can be really helpful, especially if it includes 10+ minutes of stretching. It will take 3-4 weeks of following a regular routine and schedule, but once your body adjusts and knows what to expect, you'd be surprised at how well you sleep. Good luck!!
I too have frequent bouts of insomnia.
I know most people disagree with this but I have found working out at night helps me sleep much more soundly. I finish my work out about 2-3 hours before I go to sleep. I don't know if it dehydrates me or what but it knocks me out. Also... and we all know this.. I have a window wherein I can seemingly fall asleep and stay asleep more easily (just like our kids!) and if I go past that I'm up all night.
Hear hear on the suggestions for creating a routine. I have a hard time winding down from the day without my evening workout; last night, despite being exhausted and fighting a cold, I could NOT get to sleep -- I didn't work out yesterday. I like taking a shower, then relaxing before bed. Last night it was hurry to get home, hurry to do this, hurry to do that. No wonder I couldn't sleep.
You brought up a very important subject. I have a friend who has been suffering from insomnia for a year now and he is at his wit's end. I've been trying to get him some help but it hasn't been easy. It was good to hear some suggestions from fellow bloggers that I can pass on to him.
Katie, I hope the insomnia will pass soon for you. Maybe take a few days off from doing anything too intense exercise wise and try walking and/or a yoga class instead. Good luck! :)
Healthy Pear, just stopping in to clarify: Molly posted this, not me. If I were up at 3 every morning, I would be in a psych ward!
Oops! Sorry, about that! I wish Molly all the best and hope she will get over this SOON! :)
When I wake up in the middle of the night like that I get a small glass of milk and check my email. I am up for maybe a half an hour and then I go right back to sleep. Deep sleep, right away. I could probably skip the email part, but it gives my body a chance to start processing the milk before I lay back down. I don't want to say this is a miracle cure, but it works 99% of the time for me.
Sweet dreams!
Great post, Molly. I also thought it was Katie writing this. I thought, gee--I didn't know she has insomnia like Molly! I also thought that the picture looked like Riley, but then I thought that it might be a picture of Katie when she was very young. (I can be rather thick at times).
I'm embarrassed to say that my answer to insomnia is Nyquil. Is that terrible? I usually can fall asleep and stay asleep--but once in a while a kid drags me out of bed and my mind won't let me go back to sleep. Aaaugh!
Just want to say good morning... since it is slightly after 3:00. :\
I can't sleep. But today that is OK since it is my son's 7th birthday. I'm getting lots done, that can't get done when everyone is awake. Ahhh, motherhood. Sleep is good but causes me more stress if important things aren't done. Battling that damn cold, needing sleep, I was in bed realizing that he would wake up to an undecorated house, unwrapped presents, no cake. I was too sad for him to sleep. AND too exhausted to stay up after he went to bed! (3 different birthday parties yesterday, none for him.)
I am wondering if "beating stress" is a magazine myth. Is it possible? Did our cave-women ancestors ever get over the threat of a saber tooth tiger in her cave?
Speaking of stress... Katie: Get to the gym (I've been looking for you!) or I'll ask Rona to visit you! :O (;
Oh boy, been there done that! Some other ideas to try. Make sure you keep the lights dim before bed and the noise low. Of course this is impossible with kids. Look into taking some melatonin before bed. I bought the Delta Sleep System by
Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. You can get it on Amazon - basically a CD of calming music to listen to to try to get back to sleep. Meditation podcasts may help too (assuming you have a MP3 player to listen to them in the middle of the night).
Also, I find that I'm awake because I'm worrying about stuff. So I read fiction or magazines and listen to music on my iPod to get my mind off things.
Good luck!
Post a Comment