I seem to have lost the knack of turning my brain off to sleep. In the past three days, I’ve gotten maybe 10 hours sleep, total. (One night, I didn’t sleep at all.) I’ve tried getting to bed earlier, warm milk, hot showers, no TV, etc. Oh, and meditation. I’ve tried listening to music to help me fall asleep, something that used to work like a charm: nada. It’s making me a little crazy, like a rat where somebody’s moved all the walls in the maze.
I did fall asleep long enough last night to have some weird dream about visiting a former friend’s Victorian house, which was filled with antiques and pets. I took a bath in an old-fashioned tub, fell asleep and woke up to running water overflowing all over the floor. I cleaned up the water and went next door to an outdoor party, where someone parked their car so it was sticking out on the street. A passing car hit it and knocked it into my car (my old Tercel, not the one I have now), which then slammed into several others. I was upset because everyone somehow thought it was my fault. Oh well!
Sure, blame the blogger.
Have you tried Melatonin?
No, I guess I should go buy some.
Get outside and take a walk for an hour or so. Exercise. Your mind is exhausted but your body is not tired.
At least you’re having vivid dreams and you remember the details when you wake up. I’ve been told that those who have no dreams or visions have no souls. I’d imagine that rethugs probably fall into this catagory.
I was told by a nurse to try a breathing relaxation exercise when I can’t sleep. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn’t.
She said breathe in deeply through your nose, then exhale gently as if blowing out candles and you don’t want the wax to get on anything. Repeat, etc.
I’ve been having trouble staying asleep for a few years now. I’m tired, fall asleep; wake up an hour or so later and…boing. Hours before I get back to sleep, but I’m too tired to even read.
Then fatigue builds up and I way oversleep at some point. Then the following night it’s hard to get to sleep….
It’s not easy to find the right amount of replacement thyroid hormone to act as a suppressant to any wayward thyroid cancer cells, keep me at a good energy level, and also not get into, however slight, hyper territory. Not more energetic, drat, but too hyper to sleep.
Exercise will help — and I think I can get my feet into decent shoes now…just haven’t done it yet….partly because I don’t have much energy. (Excuse: First couple days of walking in decent shoes I got little blood blisters on the edges of my skin grafts, which weireded me out. I called the clinic, but no one got back to me…so just decided to wait it out. I should have called back…but I couldn’t get up for it.)
Heh. The 100,000iu of Vit D is suppored to help, I keep hoping and I do find it easier to wake up most days. But once again I’m getting into low energy, funky sleep pattern.
But, really, sometimes the breathing thing helps and can be done with your head on your pillow.
Not sleeping is hell.
I second the recommendation for Melatonin. I started using it a couple of months ago and I haven’t had a bad night’s sleep since. Get the triple strength (little soft, off-white oval shaped capsules). You won’t regret it.
You fell asleep in your dream? Wow, that’s pretty freaky! I agree with Major Kong. If I get outside for a bit of the day or go down to the pub, have 2 beers and talk to some folks for a while (not politics and issues) the chatter that keeps me awake subsides.
My doc prescribed Lorazepam, which is a generic for Ativan. I don’t take it all the time, maybe once or twice a week, but at bedtime it helps me relax and sleep pretty straightforwardly.