Nighttime anxiety (mine)

I have trouble sleeping (I'm on lunesta because of my chronic illness). Lately, I'm having more and more difficulty winding down and falling asleep at night. I should have gone to sleep hours ago. I've got another long solo today tomorrow with the girls. I have no help. DH works alot. no family around. It's hard and I should be resting. But my mind is racing and spinning. And I'm exhausted but not sleepy. Anyone else have trouble winding down at the end of the day?

 

I have trouble sleeping (I'm on lunesta because of my chronic illness). Lately, I'm having more and more difficulty winding down and falling asleep at night. I should have gone to sleep hours ago. I've got another long solo today tomorrow with the girls. I have no help. DH works alot. no family around. It's hard and I should be resting. But my mind is racing and spinning. And I'm exhausted but not sleepy. Anyone else have trouble winding down at the end of the day?

 

Yep, I never had problems with sleeping until they were born. I think a lot of it has to do with my fear that they will need me and I won't hear them...and then there is just part of me that loves the "alone" of the middle of the night...but I'm off to try and get some zzz's. Try writing your thoughts down if your mind is racing and then go to sleep, I've heard that helps calm some people.

 

Hi Safari! I used to have a lot of problems with nighttime anxiety. Are you drinking coffee, even just in the morning? Believe it or not, getting rid of caffeine just about cured me by doing that alone. Now, I am back to having a little caffeine, but nothing like I used to have.. and for a few years, I had only decaf. If you want some advice on going decaf, PM me.

I think you also get in a cycle of being stressed about insomnia, so that just feeds it. Maybe try reading in the evening, or yoga, or even just yoga breathing. This sounds funny, but watching MASH at night puts me right out. I find I need a distraction to keep my mind from racing. If I don't fall asleep to the TV, I won't fall asleep at all.

Good luck! I know they say certain teas, like chamomile, are supposed to help. I never noticed much difference (since it's really a mental thing). You could try it, though.

 

Safari,

You and I should get together. I feel like I am a tense ball of anxiety. Especially at night when I get in bed. My minds races. I am afraid that one of them will wake up (they have been sleeping 12 hours at night for almost 4 months now) or that i won't hear them..my husband tried to calm me down and make me think rationally..I even went to the doctor about this. He gave me a prescription for Rozeram. I still woke up constantly during the night with this and was groggy the next day. He said it was "normal" for a mom to be worried about her babies at night. I am now taking Ambien which helps, but i am still groggy in the morning. And I don't like taking it b/c I am scared I am going to become addicted to it, but I don't know what else to do. I hate feeling like this. I am thinking maybe if I exercise every day maybe that will help me clear my head?? I am going to try to do that. We just got an eliptical machine in our home. I don't know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let me know if you find a magic sleeping potion!..

Aira

 

I do....sometimes are worse than others....Like last night after I played tennis I couldn't wind down for a while!

Sounds like YOU have to work on your SOOTHING ROUTINE!!! Maybe to sit quietly and drink a cup of sleepytime tea while watching something on TV and just breathing evenly.

The thing is, you are thinking about tomorrow, you are thinking about what that's going to mean (being alone etc.) and that serves no pupose. Sorry you are having such exhaustion!

 

Thx for your responses. I was up until 1am last night. I'm exhausted and grumpy today. I've already been snippy with my girls. It's cold here today, so I don't really want to take them out. Plus I'm so tired, I don't have the energy to get us all ready.

I don't drink any caffeine. I have a bladder illness so I drink only water. That's actually the main reason I take sleep meds, or I'd be up all night peeing.

I like Lunesta better than Ambien. I hated that Rozerum (sp?).

I do have a wind down routine. I take warm baths, watch tv, read, etc.

gotta go...

 

I'm sorry you've been having so much trouble sleeping. I've taken Ambien many times (though not regularly) and I find that if I take it too many nights close together, it doesn't work as well.

I've had some success with a calming routine that I learned from the CD "Letting Go of Stress" by Emmett Miller. I was very skeptical, but my therapist recommended it and it's actually good.

DH used to sleep like a log, but he's been having trouble recently too, and he swears by his mp3 player. He listens to audiobooks and it occupies his mind so that he can fall asleep. (It doesn't work for me, though.)

I was a light sleeper before I had kids, and everyone says you become a lighter sleeper as a parent. Argh. My sympathies!

 

safari, i think that so many of us suffer with night anxiety, i know i did even before the twins. i wish i knew a way to ehlp you but i can't even help myself. all i can say is take a deep breath and think, thank God for my two angels, maybe i will sleep better tonight!

 

I had this real badly for months. I still have a lot of trouble sleeping. I take klonipin and ambien cr. Do not get hooked on klonipin, lorazapem, ativan, etc to sleep. It's very very addicting (I ended up in the er when it stopped working). I am trying to wean off of it.

I went to a psych, She said I needed good sleep hygiene. You have to have a calming routine you do EVERY night. I learned yoga breathing, and I do that in bed, lights off, with a cd playing. It works sometimes. Helps me mellow out. I also learned that magnesium as a supplement helps with sleep (and the pharmacist said it does).