Sleep problems

cycle-path

A lot of women here talk about sleep problems due to pain, worry, or whatever. I thought I'd start a thread where we could share things that help.

My favorite soporific is listening to podcasts on my iPod (of course any MP3 player will do), and I think my favorite podcast is Miette's Bedtime Stories. I also like Escape Pod, New Yorker Fiction, PRI's Selected Shorts, Short Story Radio, and Radiolab. There are some flat headphones you can buy from Sleep Phones, but I actually prefer using a single regular earbud.

Who else has sleep aids? 

BarbaraA

Good topic. I don't have any sleep aids that work for me. I frequently will wake at 3AM and toss and turn for 2 hours. Sometimes after 2 hours I can fall back asleep but mostly I can't. Hope to get some ideas. Thanks.

mscal02

Ladies: I drink Tart Cherry Juice. I got it from the Dr. Oz show. You can google the Dr. Oz show and put tart cherry juice in the search box, and it will give you all the properties of the juice. It has worked for me every since I watched the show and went out and bought it. I buy it at Kroger in the natural foods section, or Walmart in the milk and juice box.

BarbaraA

Do you drink it at night?

mscal02

Barbara: He says to drink it with dinner. I drink it about an hour before bedtime. My niece says that she drinks hers 3 hours before bedtime.It has also helped with my hot flashes.

mscal02

If DH is going to be up later than I am, which is most nights,I put on a sleep mask to block out the light.

cycle-path

Like BarbaraA, I sometimes wake up at night and canNOT go back to sleep. Sometimes nothing works but sometimes I find that what I call "change of venue" does the trick. 

I go downstairs and try sleeping on the couch. When the kids were away at college I used to get into one of their beds. For some reason I can frequently go back to sleep in my new "venue." 

cycle-path

Has anyone tried a Chillow? Sounds comforting for summer and might help with going back to sleep. I find it hard to sleep when I'm too warm.

ellenquilt

I can't sleep either when the room is warm.  I like to somewhere between meat locker and skating rink. I'm planning to knit myself some funky nightcaps this week for when my hair takes a hike (which should be in about a week and a half or so) because I figure my head will freeze if I don't.

ellenquilt

I am normally sleep deprived -- used to getting up a lot, but I could always fall back asleep before.  I can't do that as well now.  The other night I think I had a total of 20 minutes of unrestful sleep.  Too many aches and pains.  The next night I went to bed at 8, and while I still got up a lot (mostly to pee -- all that hydration during the day), I was able to grab enough sleep over ten hours to be more functional at work today. Going to look into the Tart Cherry Juice thing to see if it helps.

cycle-path

I find that going to bed on a not-full stomach is also helpful. Eat a light dinner, and eat it several hours before going to bed. The later I eat, the worse I sleep.

It's no good to go to bed with your stomach growling, but for me the best situation is just a bit fuller than the growling stage. 

cycle-path

Oh yes, one more thing. You'll probably all hate this.

Cut out caffiene.

If you can't cut it out completely, never drink it after noon. Never! I sleep much better when I am decaffienated. Right now I'm drinking colas -- have never been a coffee drinker -- and I'm paying for it.

When I get myself completely off caffiene, I sleep like a stone! 

Anonymous

@ cycle-path - YES, I have a Chillow and it works wonders!

SarahsMom

Hi - I use Midnite - buy it at CVS. has melatonin, lavendar and chamomile, all natural.  Good tasting dissolving tablet, 20 minutes later, la-la-land!!  The good news is that you dream, wake up feeling refreshed and not groggy. I always have a lot on my mind and this takes the edge off.  I also wear an eye mask when I need to sleep in a little.

The very worst thing you can do if you wake up at night is look at the computer - studies show that the bright LED screen fires up your brain, so it will wake you up, not make you sleepy.

cycle-path

Another of my favorite sleep "tricks" is to try to do math problems in my head. If I'm really agitated it doesn't work, but sometimes it does the trick. 

I think sometimes it's a matter of getting your brain to sort of "turn inwards." You have to stop thinking about yourself and about life and get onto a more neutral subject. That's why I do simple math in my head -- it seems neutral enough, and it often does put me to sleep. 

peggy_j

cycle-path, thanks for pointing me to this thread. 

So last week my plan was nap + go to bed earlier. Helped somewhat but not enough. This week I think I'm going to drink chamomile tea and maybe try melatonin (maybe baths at night and/or listening to a guided imagery tape)

carpediem, thanks for the reminder about the computer screens. I'm giving myself an 8pm couch curfew, just liked during rads. (sigh) 

kmpod

A mug of peppermint tea and a NY Times crossword puzzle do it for me.

cycle-path

You know, a crossword puzzle is a great idea. I think it's another one of those things that helps you turn your brain inwards. Personally, I'm more of a Sudoku fan, but I think it comes to almost the same thing. 

Sleeplessness is complicated, to be sure, but I think it's often a matter of getting your exterior thoughts to turn off. Music, math problems, crossword puzzles, etc. can help you clear your brain of the kinds of outward-thinking processes that keep you awake.