Sleep-deprived.
Over the past four years or so, I have developed what has become a chronic sleep problem. It comes on for weeks at a time. When I'm experiencing the problem, I wake up at 3, or 2, or 1:30 a.m., and can't sleep for either the entire rest of the night (!) or can't sleep until around dawn. Then, I'm so exhausted I have a very hard time getting up. Sometimes, it gets so bad that I can never fall asleep - I literally lay (lie?) there awake, all night long. This even happens when I take sleeping pills.
The problem is usually a racing mind. When I wake up in the middle of the night like I'm talking about here, it will be with my mind racing, full of all the things I need to do, thinking and re-thinking sometimes the same things. And worrying about, will it all get done, HOW will it all get done, what will be the results and effects if it does (or does not) all get done, etc.
I've been having this problem for the past week. Started last Monday, I think, when I was awake from 3 til 6 a.m. Tuesday night I woke up at 2 a.m. And so it continued for the entire rest of the week, even when I took sleep aids to curb the problem. By Friday evening, I was completely disoriented and barely functional. Despite this tiredness, and even with a full dose of sleep aid, Friday night was the same (for sleep) as the prior 4 nights. So Saturday night I said, no sleep aid, it ain't workin', and, as I got ready to go to sleep, I tried to talk myself into believing I would have a full, restful night's sleep, would sleep the whole night through, and would turn my mind off any racing thoughts.
I don't know if it was this talk with myself or the sheer exhaustion, but Saturday night I actually did get a full 8 or 9 hours, hoo-rah! I felt so-o-o much better Sunday, having had some real rest! So I tried this little talk with myself again last night, but this time, unfortunately, no dice. I woke up at 1:45 a.m. Argh! After lying awake for a long time, I did finally start fading in and out of fitful dozing. So now, I have a pretty good (week long) sleep deficit going, I am tired again today, the circles under my eyes are ghoulish, and I just really want to know, what can I do to stop this problem?! Any help out there from anyone who's suffered sleep problems?
posted by Wendy @ 10:14 AM
1 Comments:
Hey girl!
Sorry to hear about your sleep issues. I have/had the *exact* same issue! What helps me the most is keeping a notepad beside my bed and writing down the thoughts in my head before I turn the lights out. If they are mainly worries, and ones over which I have some control, I jot down possible plans of action for the next day. If they are worries over which I have no control (medical test results, etc.) I make note of the worst possible thing that could happen, then write down how I might deal with that. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes and for some reason, leaving those thoughts on the paper helps keep them from repeating over and over in my head! :) Also, I stopped drinking caffeine after 3pm because my mind wouldn't quiet down in time for bed. And speaking of beverages, any more than one glass of wine after 8pm or so and I *always* wake up like you described. The alcohol causes that 1-3am waking where one can't get back to sleep. So if I'm going to indulge later in the evening, I try to keep it to weekends when I can sleep later in the morning to make up for my wakeful hours. These are just some ideas/things that help me, and I hope you find something that helps you, too. Everyone deserves a good night's sleep!
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