Strange thing I noticed.....

GJones27

My husband left for Brazil on Tuesday, so I'm all alone now.  Sadly, my insomnia has returned, and it's been so hard for me to sleep.  I noticed that when my husband was away during spring break, I again had insomnia.  I also had horrible insomnia before marriage when I was living alone.  I don't know what it is, but I think living with my husband has had a calming effect on disruptive sleep.  Nothing I do is helping now... I've gone on walks and done stretches before bed, taken showers (no bathtub), watched relaxing TV shows... and this insomnia is awful.  Has anyone had this before?  I don't know what to do about it.... I'm super exhausted.....

GunzNRoses213

have you tried a light sleepy pill ? or theres this lotion at bath n body works i think thats called sleep and it has lavender etc in it ... try infomercials or a really boring movie...

sometimes if i work 2nd shift I cant get to sleep till 1 or 2 ... I just try reading or doing something normal till I feel tired , then I sleep ...

ochemjenn

My psychiatrist prescribed me trazodone.  It's not like other sleepy meds where people sleep walk and eat.

Melatonin can help too, if you're consistent with it.

I don't sleep as well when DH isn't in bed with me.  Also, I don't consume caffeine after 5PM.

FaithCaitlin

I don't have any advice (maybe drink some warm milk before bed) but I just wanted to send hugs and vibes. Hope you feel better ASAP!

GJones27

Thanks for those suggestions. Unfortunately, I can't do melatonin because it is too harsh on my stomach and causes me bad pain. But I am just amazed at how much an effect a spouse has. I never realized it... Would be curious if others go through it, too.

agape1cor813

I know the few times I've had to sleep apart from my husband since we've been married I've tossed and turned and had a hard time falling asleep. Is it like you just can't sleep at all, or is it that you are having a hard time falling asleep at a decent hour?

ElisabethJoanne

I had insomnia all through school. I finally kicked it when I got my own apartment. Here's the standard, no-pills advice, which I was only able to implement when I got my own place:

1. Have a dedicated room for sleep. Don't read in bed. Don't even read in the bedroom. [This is what was impossible when I lived in dorms.]
2. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. [Also hard with class schedules where my day could start between 8am and 1pm and end between 3pm and 11pm.]
3. Have your sleep place as dark as possible.
4. Exercise regularly.

The standard food/caffeine/alcohol advice didn't work for me.
Alcohol: It's in my system for 6 hours, and then I get like a sugar high. So, a glass of wine at 6pm will have me wide-awake at midnight, and so forth.
Caffeine: Standard advice is no caffeine after noon. I can have coffee up to 6 hours before bedtime. I can have soda at bed time.
Food: Standard advice is only a light snack within an hour of bed time. I have to have a fairly full stomach to get to sleep easily. I also take medications that make me nauseous right before bed, so I can sleep through the nausea. The more in my stomach, the slower the nausea comes on.

catwine

i think it's sad that you can't sleep without your husband but it's also so sweet.  i don't have any advice for you, but I'll be praying you find peace and sleep!

harpsdesire

I'm worried that having to learn to sleep next to my FI will make my fairly mild insomnia worse.  I usually can't sleep well with another person too near (such as when sleeping over at friends' houses when I was younger.)

I'm sorry about your sleep troubles, but it makes me feel a little better knowing that I might do better and not worse when I'm next to him.

Sorry I don't have a real helpful answer, since I have insomnia problems myself that have not responded to anything besides 'get so exausted I no choice but to sleep' or 'whatever is stressing me is resolved'.

naomikb

I have noticed the same thing when my H is gone.  I get worried/more nervous about people breaking in and I get up in the night and wander around and check the doors and make sure everything is locked, turn on the outside lights to see if I see anyone... I think it's normal!  I know it's overboard/paranoia but I often pile things in front of the doors and make sure everything is locked at night, it helps me sleep a bit better.  And invest in a good deadbolt!  It's all psychological so whatever helps you sleep through the night.

Also I *try* to keep to a schedule, even though we talk at strange times of day and it's sometimes hard being in (slightly different) time zones.

LeahVB2011

When I lived in the dorm at college, I noticed that I didn't sleep very well if my roommate was gone and luckily I haven't had to deal with having H gone yet but for me, having another person in the room with me is very soothing. I hope you find another way to help with your insomnia.

AshNoel8

I'm sorry, I don't have advice, but I'm sorry you're going through this. I sleep great, but am always tired for some reason. I've had sleep studies done, blood work, etc, and they say everything is normal. I don't know why I'm tired so much. I will pray for you!