Help with insomnia

[sherry7899]

Does anyone else have trouble falling asleep because their muscles get all tense before bed? I've tried yoga, stretching, yoga nidra, meditation, sleep tea (all different brands) and nothing is helping. I think I get anxious about not being able to fall asleep, and my body just tenses up. I've even gotten medication (very small dose) from my doctor and that doesn't even work anymore. I haven't been able to exercise because I'm so tired from lack of sleep. It takes me hours to fall asleep, with a lot of tossing and turning.

I can fall asleep if I take Motrin PM, but even taking just one makes me groggy and gives me a headache the next day.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Thank you-
Sherry

[dutchgirl]

How about soaking in a warm bath, maybe add some epsom salts, right before bed? This would help alleviate the muscle tension and hopefully let the other things you've tried be more effective.

[JackieB]

Sherry have you tried Lee Holden's Qi Gong for Deep Sleep? It has helped me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyLWf-oNJT8

Jackie

[toaster]

Sherry, so sorry to hear that you are suffering! Have you tried progressive muscle relaxation? That is when you intentionally tense you muscles (for just a few seconds) and then release; the idea is that by contracting first, you are more easily able to achieve a relaxed state. It's called "progressive" because you go from one muscle group to the other, head-to-toe (or vice versa). There are plenty of instructions for this online if you Google it as well as audio guides to take you through it.

You may already know this, but if you can't sleep, it is extremely important that you don't continue to like in bed, as this just strengthens the connection in your brain of bed = don't sleep! It can be hard to do, but you really want to break that pattern by getting up if you don't fall asleep within a reasonable amount of time (say 30-40 minutes). At that point, get up, get OUT of bed, do something quiet (but no TV/computer screens--research has shown that the light disrupts brain waves & interferes with sleep) and when you feel tired again, to back to bed. Pushing back your bedtime is another option--i.e., if you are going to bed at 11 p.m. but are never falling asleep before 1 a.m., try going to sleep closer to 1 a.m. (Note that this is a temporary measure: eventually, when you get past this hump, hopefully you can go back to your regular bedtime.)

Hope these ideas help!

[yogapam]

Sherry - (((Hugs))), insomnia is so draining! Do you take calcium? I have heard that taking it in the evening is very helpful for leg/foot cramps, so maybe it might be worth a try? Calcium citrate is more readily absorbed than calcium carbonate.

[sherry7899]

Thanks so much for the hugs and ideas. I really appreciate it

Jackie-thank you for mentioning the Lee Holden dvd. I did the shorter floor segment, which did help somewhat to lessen the tension in my muscles.

Beth-I keep forgetting about getting out of bed if I'm tossing and turning. I will try that tonight. I am definitely guilty of using the computer/tv when I can't sleep even though I know it's a bad idea. I'll try reading instead.

Pam-I have a multivitamin with calcium, but I'll try taking some separately as well-thank you !

I did fall asleep a little after midnight instead of 2am, so that was an improvement! I woke up at 5:30, but fell back until 6:15. For me that is much better compared to the three or four hours of sleep I've been getting lately.

Sherry

[bee]

In case you don't notice it -- I pm'ed supplement info to you.

[beyond.omega]

So sorry you are having trouble. I don't know what latitude you live at, but this time of year is really hard for me because of the long days. After 4 years living in the NW, I made a particular dietary change which made it possible for me to sleep a little better (5-6 hrs per night...straight through) and generally feel better on less sleep in the summertime. It wasn't too special, but since it involves diet, I don't want to discuss it here...PM me if you are interested.

I also find baths with dead sea salt to be relaxing to the muscles, but sometimes they wake me up more than help me sleep, and its hard for me to want to take a bath in the summer time.

[PeakFitness]

This goes against the "no TV" rule, but I know a guy who has to watch the most boring movie in the world every night to fall asleep. (It's going to be totally subjective as to which movie is the "most boring".)

[Jane P.]

Watching TV is a sure sleep inducer for me, especially if it's a documentary, tho I've been known to fall asleep watching programs that I waited for and really wanted to see.

I do my nighttime prep immediately after dinner so that if I get a bit drowsy, I can go to bed immediately. If I shake myself awake, it seems to upset my sleep cycle, and then I won't be able to sleep later.

Another helpful thing for me is to limit my sleep to seven hours a night and absolutely no naps. That way, when I sleep, I really sleep.

Hormones also influence sleep issues if you're anywhere near menopause. If it's a big problem, I'd have a talk with your doctor.