insomnia anyone?

Prior to kids I NEVER had problems falling or staying asleep. But, ever since the kids were born I find it hard to relax enough to actually fall asleep and stay asleep. I say that on average I get about 5-6hrs of sleep/night, even though I am usually in bed for like 8hrs! Mine are sttn and have since 8months old, but they do go thro phases (they are sick right now), when they wake up a little bit at night and cry, I never really have to do much, but every little noise wake me up and then I end up staying awake anxious that they might not go back to sleep, or that they might wake-up again in an hour! I find it gets worse when my DH travels because I know that I am "on-duty" 24/7 - DH is traveling right now and will be for the next few weeks.

I am considering talking to my dr about medication, but really didn't want to go that route if I could at all help it. I function ok during the day, but am pretty much tired all the time. I try to nap when the kids do, and sometimes that works and sometimes I just lay there and can't shut my brain down enough to actually go to sleep.

anyone have any tips or tricks that help you go to sleep and help you stay asleep?

TIA!

 

I know what you mean...I rarely ever am able to fall asleep before 1 a.m. I'm not sure its insomnia or just "fun" time for me, lol...I watch a movie, get some work done, catch up on emails, etc most between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. I could stay up alot later some nights, but have to MAKE myself get in bed by then.

If its really a case of not being able to wind down enough to get to sleep or stay asleep, then you may need to at least talk to a doctor...there could be other solutions to help besides medication.

 

I am so sorry you are dealing with this right now. I went through a phase like that right after mine started STTN. They were STTN but I could not! It was truly one of the most frustrating things. I did end up talk ing to my dr. and she gave me Rozerem. It is prescription grade melatonin and is not addictive nor is it a narcotic. It basically helps to re-regulate your sleep patterns that naturally go awry after having children. I took it for about a year and am now able to sleep just fine. Most importantly though, I do work with a therapist and a large part of my insomnie resulted from me freaking out and getting frustrated while I lay there unable to sleep. I became sort of obsessed with it and would just work myself up more. My therapist has really helped me to not panic when I am not sleeping.

 

I have struggled with this on and off since Nadia was born -- it's like I can't turn off "parenting mode" long enough to get a really good night's sleep -- I always have one ear out for a baby. And then, I have so much stuff I want to do to relax after the kids are in bed, that I end up staying up too late.

So, I do a couple things -- I use really loud white noise (a rain CD) to drown out DH's snoring, which keeps me awake. And, I always read in bed, which eventually just makes me pass out.

I've been too afraid to take anything, because I do need to be alert enough to wake up if a kiddo wakes up...

 

I found the book "Say Good Night to Insomnia" to be really helpful. It's mostly just about good sleep hygiene -- and I admit I ignored all the worksheets and the specific 6-week plan or whatever it is -- but it had some great instructions for how to get past your sleep barriers.

The one I found the most useful was the suggestion not to go to bed until you are tired. If you spend 8 hours in bed but are only sleeping 5-6 hours, that means you're spending 2-3 hours (probably) stressing about sleep, and that is counterproductive. Much better to wait till you're sleepy, even if that's midnight and you have to get up at 6. You will fall asleep more quickly and be less frustrated. And over time, you will be able to go to bed a little earlier, once you get over your anxiety about falling asleep.

I also learned that trying to nap does not help me. If I sit down on the couch to read at naptime, I nearly always doze off (even when I don't want to), and I don't fight it -- but I rarely go to bed with the intention of "trying to nap." Also, as the book says, if you try to nap to catch up on sleep, that just means you're not as tired at bedtime, and it perpetuates the cycle. So it recommends only napping if you are truly too exhausted to function, and then just for 20 minutes or so.

I do take medication (Ambien) sometimes, but never when DH is out of town -- I worry that I wouldn't wake up if I really needed to. On the whole I'm sleeping fine these days, but it took until my DDs were about 18 months old before I really got over that hyper-alert state. And I fall back into it for a week or two whenever they go through a phase of waking at night (but fortunately that gets less and less common as they get older).

 

QUOTE(Becca34 @ Jan 21 2009, 03:16 PM) [snapback]1155811[/snapback]
I've been too afraid to take anything, because I do need to be alert enough to wake up if a kiddo wakes up...



I just wanted to add that I was afraid of not being able to wake up if needed but the Rozerem still allows for you to wake up and function properly. It is not something that knocks you out, it just regulates your internal clock. I hate taking medicine but I was already exercising (running 4 miles a day) AND running around all day after the twins. I avoided caffeine and all the other things that you are told to avoid. I felt like I was doing everything I was supposed to do and STILL could not unwind. I did not know what else to do so I decided to try the medicine. After a year I was happy to not have to use it anymore!

 

warm bath, lavender, sleep mask, ear plugs, not using computer or tv at night (artificial light). i'm not great at meditating, but I do try to refocus my mind on something else (other than kids and related stresses).

over the years, I've taken many sleep meds including ambien and lunesta. they do help, but can be come dependent on them.

alternative options: Valerian or Melatonin

 

wow..I could have written your post. There are nights where I can fall asleep quickly but then when I wake up b/c I have to feed Collin or the dogs move I spend sometimes an hour trying to get back to sleep and then it seems to start all over again...then there are nights I can't fall asleep and still have moments when I can't get back to sleep b/c I just got done feeding Collin or a dog woke me up....I'm tired all the time. On nights I go to bed at 730 my DH can't understand why I'm so tired b/c supposedly I slept in between overnight bottles...he has no idea.

 

I drink.

I say the babies make me drink but my husband doesn't think that's funny. (Seriously, if I have problems sleeping more than two days in a row, I'll take two bendryls and pay the price the next morning trying to function.)

 

I take 1-2 tylenol pm everyday. I spoke to my doctor about it and she seems to think it is okay.

 

How much exercise do you get, what kind, how often?

This might be way way way out there and/or intrusive, so just ignore as needed, but do you have/have you had any problems with depression and/or anxiety? Both can really mess with your sleep.

Anyway, ditto pps' suggestion to wait until you're really tired to go to bed. And if you can't fall asleep, get up. There's nothing like lying in bed unable to sleep to make you unable to sleep!

I've also heard that some sleep clinics treat severe insomnia by drastically limiting your time in bed. So for a while, you are only allowed to be in bed between, say, 1 am and 5 am. Then you gradually work up to longer sleep. (I don't know much of the science behind it, but it sounds like reverse psychology - instead of desperately seeking sleep, you desperately seek NOT sleep for a while - as well as just plain tiring yourself out enough that you'll be able to sleep more.)