3:42AM ... I've been up for 2 hours now. My usual get back to sleep tricks didn't work, so I decided to do what I never do and get online and catch up a bit! Now that I'm getting sleepy, there's 15 minutes until my husband's alarm goes off. Oh, well. I have free time this afternoon during which I'll be sure to get a nap!
Anyone else suffer from insomnia? Do you have any tips or tricks that help you get back to sleep?
I am at the moment,no idea why. I go to bed super tired around 9pm sleep for 4 solid hours then the rest is tossing & turning. Sometimes I get up other times I am determined to fall back asleep. It’s not helping that my husband has started snoring! I’m lucky that I don’t work so I can nap during the day.
Hi Nym,
Louise Hoy posted something similar last week. I’ve been experiencing bouts of the same and came across some reassuring research that suggests that sleeping twice in the night was the practice of our forebears. I know some will tell you to never turn on a light, to stay in bed and so forth to go back to sleep. But that rarely works for me. Like you did, I do better just getting up and doing something, doesn’t matter what it is: chores, reading, writing, movies. Typically this activity lasts until 2 or 3 when I can get back to sleep again. I think two sets of four hours are better than a few hours followed by hours of restlessness! And there’s always bourbon…
Oh, Sybil. That’s genius. Perhaps you could record him and sell the recordings to the sleep-deprived. You could make a mint!
I’ve suffered from insomnia for about 10 years well before my PsA diagnosis. It is kind of a family trait that I inherited though. I have a prescription for ambien but only take it when I’m in dire need of sleep. It seems that my insomnia gets worse the longer it goes. I can sleep fine for weeks or even months at a time. If I get a few nights of bad sleep in a row ( I have a four year old and a two and half year old) it gets worse until I’m six or seven days into an hour or two a night of sleep and that’s a terrible sleep as well. These freaking tablets and smart phones don’t help either.
Sybil that’s actually a really good idea! There are so many podcasts these days on so many different subjects, or maybe a really boring book on tape? If you use a podcast you can set it up so it goes off after a period of time, which is good so you don’t have to look at the blaring light to turn it off 
LOL ... loving this conversation! I should try podcasts, as it seems I fall asleep in the middle of the day when I'm trying to relax and listen to one!
One thing I noticed is that I will get a few solid hours of sleep, and then it's like my body says, "Ok - you've just slept soundly for a few hours so you're done for the night!" I kind of have to get up, do something, and "reset" by brushing my teeth, etc. again and going back to bed.
I fell asleep yesterday afternoon and slept for a few hours and then tossed and turned last night. Ugh. I can't seem to win. If I could get my night worth of sleep from 2-7pm, I'd be golden. LOL
I've been going through something similar for months. When I was on prednisone I noticed I didn't sleep well. Anyway, I typically don't sleep well but I think it's mostly worrying some nights. I get stressed about PsA and worry about permanent damage.
I typically wake up several times a night. I'll be ok for a week, then it'll start again.
I usually put my headphones in and put something on netflix. And then I pop my iPad under my pillow. And either I listen or fall asleep. Either way It usually blocks my hubby’s snorting.
Sybil, how about you record your husband as he reads aloud the train timetable, including ALL the stops for each train and the times they arrive at each station. It could be a huge help to so many!
A while back my husband started chatting about his train journey to work & I nodded off almost immediately.
What an interesting discussion... relaxing spoken word as a sleep aid.
There is actually an internet subculture, I guess it is called, where people seek out video or audio of people speaking in a particular fashion as it triggers a pleasurable relaxing response. Without delving too much into the phenomenon, the effect been for people to share information about particular shows or speakers who trigger this response for them. One of the most popular is a show that use to air on public television called 'The Joy of Painting' with Bob Ross. People listen not to learn to paint but rather induce relaxation. There are several episodes on YouTube. It has reached a point where people have recorded their own videos speaking in a soft voice or whispering.
I have tried books on tape. There are free recordings of books in the public domain recorded by volunteers available online at librivox. Given that these are amateur readers. I expect it would be easy to find a work and narrator that might help make one drowsy.
The police hammered on our door at 5:00am several weeks ago. They had come to the wrong house. My across the street neighbor woke and found his wife missing and called the cops. They came to our door (where all the lights were off) instead of to his house (where all the lights were on). His wife had gone for a walk so all was fine. I tell you this because when they knocked on the door and the dog started to bark, I was fast asleep. My reaction was to grab the blanket which was down at the foot of the bed and pull it over my head. I figured if I hid, the noise might stop! Our minds are quite amazing and often quite ridiculous!
sybil said:
I once slept through a burglary when alone in the house even though I'd heard the break in, & I wasn't drunk or even particularly tired. Some sort of denial mechanism perhaps.
Have you tried, yoga nidra or guided meditation. I have used this many times to sleep as I, too suffer from insomnia. Doctor has prescribed me medication to sleep. Everynight, I take my medication and if it does not work, I try this. Depending how excited, stressed or anxious I am. I may need a second dose. Good luck.
oh boy.. where do I start.. lol... I feel like i am looking in a mirror... i do the same exact things... during the night.. it used to be the pain waking me up... but now after taking the Enbrel.. I am doing well.. so there is no reason at all to wake up but I do... it is not every night... just most...I am so afraid I am going to run out of excuses at work and lose my job someday... Within the last two months... I have had to call in due to the insomnia... ughhhhhh
Gentle huggs
Karen
I am learning Spanish. I got an iPad app and listen to the lessons. Puts me back to sleep!
I have had insomnia since my oldest started having complex seizures at 9 months old. That was....16 1/2 years ago. Back then, I didn't sleep much and when I did sleep it was a light drowse so that I could listen and make sure my son wasn't seizing in the middle of the night. Somehow that pattern stayed, and now I find myself absolutely exhausted - literally woozy with the need to lay down and rest, but once I get there, I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. I've tried reading. I've tried listening to music (Baroque at Bathtime is the the BEST CD I've found for inducing relaxation), I've tried taking several sleep aids both prescription and over the counter. My doctor is hesitant to give me much of anything because (in his words) I'm already on enough meds to knock over an elephant and should not be having this problem. My husband (poor guy) is a very light sleeper, so he wakes up every time I flop from one side to the other, or get up to try to do something to make me sleepy, or if I sigh too loudly when annoyed that I can't sleep or get up to try the age old trick my parents used to make us do, "get a drink of water, lay on your tummy, and think happy thoughts." I refuse to allow myself to nap during the day because I don't want to spoil my possible night of sleep (though I have been known to nod off in the middle of a movie, while watching t.v. or reading my nook). :) Glad to know I'm not alone!!!