Sleeping Badly

[sherrardk]

I haven't had a good nights sleep in weeks. I fall asleep fine but wake up two or three times a night. It's making me miserable in the day time (I have become a glass half-full prison and I am getting pissed off with it). Is there anything I can do or is it just me to those things? Thanks.

[meglet]

This always happens to me when I'm stressed. Getting to sleep is fine but often I'm awake in the night for up to 2 hours. My solution is to listen to some low volume white noise such as TV news or radio. The drone of noise will send me off quicker than anything else. I use headphones to avoid disturbing the other half. If its really bad I get up and have a cup of decaf tea and a slice of toast and that'll work too.

[Eve]

Awww, it's awful not being able to sleep properly, you must feel run ragged.

I try to have a set routine. I have no TV in the bedroom, it's used for sleeping and getting dressed and such only. I will rarely even read in there. I have a routine of getting myself relaxed down before bed then going round locking things up and getting ready for bed so my body knows it's sleep time.

Sometimes though something just knocks you. How about curling up with an easy read book with a cup of camomile tea.

Visualisation exercises and relaxation techniques can help too. Get yourself nice and relaxed, I find the ragdoll technique useful where you just relax everything in your body and go loose like a ragdoll. Or you can imagine each part of your body relaxing bit by bit (I like one where I imagine gentle waves lapping over me bit by bit, like a tide coming in and out).

Try to find your own little cosy place in your head, something like imagining your ideal bedroom if you won the lottery, somewhere you can relax (even if it means you having someone who has done your cleaning, ironing, cooking for you etc...) and just chill out in it, relax, go to sleep etc...