Sleep....

[countrymum]

Anyone have any ideas/tips on getting a good nights sleep. I Have always been a night owl, getting to bed far too late but this March 1st/11+ thing is keeping me awake, thinking about all the possible outcomes. Also, the everyday stuff gets thought about too, I just want to shut down and forget about it all and sleep.

I do all the right things, no television, room not too hot/cold etc. Do milky drinks really work? Also heard eating a little lettuce before bed can help.

Thanks.

[Amber]

I am a long-suffering insomniac and have pretty much tried everything (ok, not lettuce). I do resort to over the counter antihistamines (blue box, take two a night, but I can only take one or I can't think) very occasionally despite their being criticised by medics as one up from crack cocaine. They do work when you are desperate. It is really odd because I cannot and will not take any 'mind altering' painkillers (codeine) because they send me into a hazy stupor, and am violently allergic to morphine, which sends me unconscious after several hours of vomiting, so jolly well ought to sleep like a cat (was going to say baby, but babies are rubbish sleepers until you train them!). But no.

A fellow sufferer and close friend of mine, a great thinker and brilliant woman whose achievements I can only dream of, was told by her doctor that it is the fate of the highly intelligent. So just go with that one, countrymum...tell yourself it is the burden of supreme intelligence. It is small comfort at 3am, and I always think I could be so much more if only I slept like other people do, but maybe the world isn't ready for us yet!

[countrymum]

Ha ha I think I'll go with that one Amber

Yes I know 3am very well! 'They' say if one really isn't settling, to get up, make a cup of tea or something and then try again. Is a lifelong habit I guess with me and hard to snap out of, but would love to get back to an 8 hour sleep Working from home as i do, doesn't help either as I can get into lazy sleeping habits iykwim working late into the night etc.

I may try the counting sheep method, see if that works?

[Amber]

I may try the counting sheep method, see if that works?

Trouble is you need quite a big bedroom to fit them all in. And what do you do with them in the morning?

[ginx]

I only have that problem when dh snores (usually when drunk!) otherwise I am out like a light.

I have the perfect answer for you insomniacs. Have another baby! I had one at 41 and have been permanently tire since. Perhaps that is because I am just not highly intelligent. and that, my friends, is true.

So what do you think, are you feeling broody?

[Amber]

No.

[doodles]

I too suffer from lack of sleep - so I must be really clever - however I have found that reciting times tables in my head helps send me off. I never sleep past about 3 a.m.

Don't know if it is true but apparently insomnia is also a symptom of anaemia and I know I suffer from that so perhaps it's time to go back on the iron? Herman do you know if this is true or just an old wives tale?

[hermanmunster]

hadn't heard the anaemia connection - it usually makes people tired.

re sleep I usually reckon that people get the sleep they need, the trouble is that it doesn't always fall into a socially acceptable pattern!

I know when I was stressed out with a reorganisation at work, I could never sleep between 0200 and 0400 - so I used to get up, go on line and lo and behold, find other sleepless colleagues there too! Changed job and slept soundly.

[Snowdrops]

I did night shifts a few years ago and ever since then it's messed up my sleeping patterns.

I try to manage it on my own but when it becomes too much (as it has over the two week Christmas period ) I resort to lavender oil - a few drops on my pillow and it knocks me out like a light. I find once I get a good night's sleep (and don't allow myself to fall asleep on the sofa whilst watching tv at night) then I can establish a good sleeping pattern again ......................... until the next time

[Tinkers]

My sleeping is completely screwed at the moment. I may have to resort to the same tablets as Amber to try and get back into a normal routine, especially since itbis back to work tomorrow, which means getting up at silly o'clock.