Sleep tips?

Simky906

I had a rough night last night; I woke up at 3:30am and never got back to sleep. Finally gave up at 6:30 (alarm was set for 7). My mind started going (should I get one mnore thing for each of my BM? It doesn't feel like I have enough. Should I return the dress I originally bought for my rehearsal dinner now or wait until after the wedding since I may still want to wear it.) The only time I've ever slept this poorly is when I'm sick so work today is not fun. Does anyone have any tips that might help with this? I'm concerned it's going to get worse with only 5 days til the wedding and I do not function without sleep. I tried counting backward from a thousand, I tried getting up and getting some milk, no help.

Jells2dot0

When I was working midshift and had to go to bed at 6pm, I tried Lavender Oil to help relax my body and mind. I think it helped some, but not as well as my Ambien

SmileDamnit

Jells2dot0 said:

When I was working midshift and had to go to bed at 6pm, I tried Lavender Oil to help relax my body and mind. I think it helped some, but not as well as my Ambien

This. I can't sleep without dousing my pillow in lavender oil. The 100% pure grade shit - not the weak crap you pick up at the grocery store, though. It doesn't necessarily keep me asleep all night, but it most definitely helps me to fall asleep when I first go to bed &/or if I wake up in the middle of the night.

AddieCake

Ditto the lavender. I also use lavender scents to wash my bedding. And maybe try some Unisom.

mrsmagicgeek

Sex helps me fall asleep when I'm having trouble.

Just to be clear, I mean afterwards, not during :P

Simky906

Well, I know I'll be investing in some lavender oil today!

@foundmymagicgeek That actually helps me too, but FI does NOT respond well to being woken up in the middle of the night.

mrsmagicgeek

Simky906 said:

Well, I know I'll be investing in some lavender oil today!

@foundmymagicgeek That actually helps me too, but FI does NOT respond well to being woken up in the middle of the night.

Yeah, that happens sometimes. I still tease my DH about the time I tried to wake him and he told me "now is the time for sleeping!!!" (He has no recollection of this and quite often talks in his sleep)

hellosweetie1015

Lavender does exactly nothing for me - I hate it, hahaha. 

I spent approximately 6 months getting about that amount of sleep every night. I tried everything. Lavender (see above), chamomile tea (hate tea), chocolate, turning everything off, blackout curtains, sheep counting, everything I could think of. I'd lay there in the dark, smelling lavender, tasting tea and chocolate, with imaginary sheep and everything else running circles in my brain until I felt like I was going crazy.

One night, I was hungry, and the only thing I had that didn't take thirty minutes was oatmeal. I made it with milk instead of water, and slept like a baby once I finished. 

Also, oddly enough, Oreo Blasts from Sonic helped too (not Blizzards though), although I think that's a pretty weak correlation.

lyndausvi

Honestly, when I go through times of when my mind just will not stop thinking I take a sleeping pill (generic ambien). My doctor gave me 5 a few days after the rafting accident in mid-june. My brain just would not stop thinking long enough to sleep. I still have 3 left, so I don't use them often. I just find sometimes it's the only way I can shut my brain off.

Simky906

CaitTDid23 said:

Lavender does exactly nothing for me - I hate it, hahaha. 

I spent approximately 6 months getting about that amount of sleep every night. I tried everything. Lavender (see above), chamomile tea (hate tea), chocolate, turning everything off, blackout curtains, sheep counting, everything I could think of. I'd lay there in the dark, smelling lavender, tasting tea and chocolate, with imaginary sheep and everything else running circles in my brain until I felt like I was going crazy.

One night, I was hungry, and the only thing I had that didn't take thirty minutes was oatmeal. I made it with milk instead of water, and slept like a baby once I finished. 

Also, oddly enough, Oreo Blasts from Sonic helped too (not Blizzards though), although I think that's a pretty weak correlation.

Too bad I'm nowhere near a Sonic; I would love an excuse for an Oreo Blast!

Ndelible

Very hot baths and then straight to bed. No reading, or watching TV in the bed. OTC herbal sleep aids like Midnight work well too.

NYCMercedes

Melatonin! I take 10 mgs. It's available at any drugstore OTC. Oh, and deep breathing.

Simky906

NYCMercedes said:

Melatonin! I take 10 mgs. It's available at any drugstore OTC. Oh, and deep breathing.

Will definitely check that out too. Thanks! I am currently guzzling a diet coke and praying I can make it through the next four hours.

mrsmagicgeek

Start small with melatonin until you know how your body handles it. If I take more than 2mg I am half asleep most of the next day.

I take one Tylenol pm (or just one benadryl tablet, same thing without the painkiller) to help me sleep when I need it.

Etf words

climbingsingle

Chamomile tea
Reading before bed
Sex
Unisom

All these have worked for me.

Simky906

foundmymagicgeek said:

Start small with melatonin until you know how your body handles it. If I take more than 2mg I am half asleep most of the next day. I take one Tylenol pm (or just one benadryl tablet, same thing without the painkiller) to help me sleep when I need it. Etf words

Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely start with the lavender but I'd like to have a backup just in case that doesn't work. Hopefully tonight I'll zonk out since I'm so tired but I definitely don't want to feel like this on my wedding day.

Simky906

ClimbingBrideNY said:

Chamomile tea Reading before bed Sex Unisom All these have worked for me.

The chamomile tea is a good call too; would have been great if I'd thought of that last night since I have some in the cupboard. My sleep deprived brain does not think very well apparently.

hellosweetie1015

ClimbingBrideNY said:

Chamomile tea 

Reading before bed 

Sex 

Unisom 

All these have worked for me.

Reading just keeps me up, haha. I have to know what happens next!!!

lc07

Lavender just makes me crave french fries. I blame the awesome French restaurant down the street.

I use a sleep sound machine. My mind laches onto the noise and doesn't think about other random shit. You can try a free app called Relax Melodies: zen sounds & white noise for meditation

Or youtube stuff. You can find 8 hour youtube tracks.

Sleep sound machines are fairly inexpensive but at least you can try that before you buy. My doctor had me on knock-out anti-seizure drugs and I still could not sleep but the sleep sound machine did the trick.

JoanE2012

NYCMercedes said:

Melatonin! I take 10 mgs. It's available at any drugstore OTC. Oh, and deep breathing.

Ditto the melatonin!

blabla89

I find that progressive muscle relaxation helps me a lot. If you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend it. Basically you tense and then release each part of your body and focus on the feeling of relaxation in each body part. It helps me take my mind off of the racing thoughts so that I can get to sleep. I got a CD from a therapist I saw years ago, and still use it because it really does help me sleep. Youtube has a bunch of different PMR recordings.

Simky906

blabla89 said:

I find that progressive muscle relaxation helps me a lot. If you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend it. Basically you tense and then release each part of your body and focus on the feeling of relaxation in each body part. It helps me take my mind off of the racing thoughts so that I can get to sleep. I got a CD from a therapist I saw years ago, and still use it because it really does help me sleep. Youtube has a bunch of different PMR recordings.

Did the muscle relaxation in combination with the lavender and I slept like a log! And I have melatonin if I need a back up method for the next few days. Thanks ladies!

wandajune6

I love melatonin too. Costco sells a type that's supposed to have a stress reliever included. I bought it because it was cheaper than anywhere else (big bottle for ~$5) but I think it might work better than the original.

I also keep a notepad near my bed when I'm stressed. I'll just write down anything that I'm worrying about with the plan to deal with it in the morning.

daria24

If I'm really desperate, a Benedryl will knock me right out, but I will be practically comatose the next day. Valerian root pills or tea also works, it doesn't knock me out but it does calm me down. The pills have the worst smell on the planet though, you have to down those suckers immediately before you start gagging. The tea is usually mixed in with lavender and other stuff so it doesn't have a strong flavor.