We all get them…those nights you just can’t settle, when you sleep fitfully then wake in the early hours, nights when your pain won’t let up to let you sleep, and my all time favourite; thinking you’ve found that sweet spot of comfort then having to move every 10 mins!
What tips do you have to help sleep?
While away the time?
Rest without getting frustrated you can’t sleep?
I’ve just had one of THOSE nights, was quite productive though…all online accounts paid up, new apps installed on my phone, old emails deleted, read kindle, watched Hobbit trailer (can’t wait!)online support group browsed (of course)
As the daylight started to filter trough the curtains gave in to the cats demands for breakie…as your up anyway! and mmmmmm COFFEE!!
Ah yes, that sweet spot conundrum. So very frustrating.
I’d love to say I meditate, (which I did really well as a teenager for pain and to allow me to drift to sleep), but unfortunately I appear to lack the focus at the moment. I am finding the next best thing to be hypnosis - even if I don’t manage sleep quickly (often I do), it seems to be much more restful than just squirming in discomfort!
I’ve got to say though Louise, that night sounds more productive than my whole week put together!
I was up for a few hours last night too. Mine isn't necessarily pain related though, and it isn't more than once a week typically. I enjoy a quiet night. I watch TV, read, etc, and then finally get back in to bed.
My PCP has advised that I take 50mg of OTC Benadryl a few nights a week about 30 minutes before bedtime. I sleep the whole night. This really helps make up for the rest of the nights during the week poor sleep .
I’m on Amitriptyline which I take about 30 mins before bed but unfortunately I lost a packet when away last week and my son (who has ADD) forgot to pick my new prescription while I was at work yesterday, so last night was sort of my own fault really.
I take pain meds, Magnesium, and Melatonin before bed. I get comfy and have my husband apply a heat pack to whatever part of my body needs it most. I also have a four inch memory foam topper, which helps greatly with comfortable sleep.I make sure I'm well hydrated as well.
I do not have a clock within sight of my bed. I've found that I feel much worse the next day knowing exactly how late I was up or how much sleep I lost.
When I can't sleep, I pray and meditate. Last October, we spent a long weekend at camp (a place I LOVE) in a heated cabin and I had a massive flare the entire weekend and it got worse every day. At night I put on my nighttime playlist and prayed and meditated all night. I felt so much better in the morning than the nights I've tossed and turned and stressed about how little sleep I was getting. I've used this technique a lot since then, and it's been great. If I get to the point where I can't find a comfortable position in bed, I often get up, go outside (weather permitting), and sit or stretch or walk for five minutes in the fresh air and then go back to bed.
I had a sleepless night last night, too. However, I was stubborn and stayed put hoping that the sandman would soon visit. He did not. I usually get up and read. Most often reading will make me drowsy and then I can get some rest.
Muscle relaxant, pain meds, and melatonin before bed. If I really can't sleep I find extra muscle relaxant helps most of all.
Sometimes I get up and have a small snack...my body gets busy digesting and has less attention for brain activities and it help me relax.
I try and stay in bed and read. I find using electronics during the night tends to exacerbate the problem long term. That said, the other night I was up playing Ticket to Ride online and reading Sherlock fanfiction after over 3 hrs of trying to sleep (my lack of sleep was due to a small dose of prednisone taken a few days before).
Wow Louise, that is a lot of productivity. When I attend university for engineering, we pulled all-nighters. We use to joke that we got more done after midnight than most people did all day. I would have to say, in your case, it is actually true ;)
I have frequent problems sleeping. I haven't come up with a good strategy for staying asleep of returning to sleep. I just started making lists of various tasks (to offset my brain fog) so that I can just pick up and get something done if I find myself awake at night. Then I do not feel like it is lost time. Though I haven't quite achieved your level of productivity. If I am having a particularly bad day, I try to do something comforting and forward looking to get my mind occupied with positive things. I make a cup of tea, have some cookies, and make a wishlist. I might plan a potential vacation. Lately, I have been thinking how nice it would be to have a spa or pool. So last night I sent for information on some swim spas. Like Sybil, I would probably have to win the Lottery... but I too can dream.
I've been struggling with nights of sleeplessness. One thing I discovered in doing some research is that long ago we all use to "dual sleep". We would sleep after dinner until the small hours, get up, maybe snack, stoke the fires, check the livestock then hit the bed again until morning.So what you did is typical "old school" behavior!
Reading about this dual sleeping let me relax a little. I had very bad insomnia several years ago and at that time I was counseled to not turn on lights, and to stay in bed and relax and wait for sleep to come (like some miraculous bolt of lightning). Anyway, these days I get up if I'm just not getting to sleep or if I've awoken part way through the night and feel really awake. I try to do something that doesn't cause anxiety: reading, watching a show, or getting some fun stuff done. Generally once I've spent an hour or so doing something like that I get relaxed and want to go back to sleep.
I tend to use Benadryl before bedtime if I'm due for a shot and I'm feeling achy but not really in pain. If I am in a LOT of pain (which has been quite consistent and unremitting lately) I will take a pain pill which tends to cause drowsiness and help me fall asleep. It doesn't always keep me asleep.
I think it's amazing that we need sleep to restore our minds and bodies but when one or the other (or both) aren't cooperating we lose the ability to get the sleep we so desperately need. Oh, irony. You bitch!
That’s really interesting about the dual sleeping, go figure! and it sort of makes sense
I try not to let bad nights bother me, and think of them as “my time” when I can do what I fancy, snuggle and read or get some things done that don’t require much energy input.
Had another bad night last night, had alot of pain and discomfort in my TMJ on the right side which has been stiff and restricted movement for a few days…had a dentist appointment this afternoon because of a broken tooth, turns out, after an x-ray, have an infection in the joint. The dentist was surprised when I said “Thank God for that!” I was worried it was PsA beginning in my jaw. Wondered why I felt a bit under the weather and had more nausea lol
Wow. No wonder your jaw hurts! I used to be very scared of getting up in the middle of the night--I mean to the point of sweating. I asked an intuitive I see sometimes about it and she told me in a previous life I had been killed in a nighttime raid on my village! I'm not sure what exactly to make of that, but I have tried to make progress with the idea that nothing bad will come to me if I wander around the house in my PJs at 3am. So far, so good! I simply imagine stoking the fire, putting wood in the Aga and checking on the cows int he barn but instead of doing those things I get my laptop, a blanket and a cup of tea. It's been 20 years since I moved from England but I swear, you can't take the England out of the girl!
Oh Louise, sorry you had an infection...but I do understand your relief of it being only that. I was just at the dentist for a cracked tooth as well.. Seems that I have started grinding my teeth. I had no prior history but the dentist showed me the photos. I must have started doing it in response to pain. I have to wear a guard... as if there weren't already enough challenges to getting restful sleep. I like that you have claimed the sleepless hours as YOUR time :)
Janeatiu - the dual sleep is interesting, I will have to read up on that... perfect excuse for a good cup of tea
