Published on 12, July, 2020
I average about 3 hours sleep a night. The main blockage appears to be my inability to switch off. Tried: listening to music, watching telly, doing nothing for a couple of hours before bed, tried doing loads of exercise, I have been prescribed amitriptrline by the GP 2 years ago, nothing it has helped me at all.
Does anybody else struggle this way and does anybody have any ideas to help.
Hi AAArunner,
I've struggled with sleep for about the last month due to work stresses. The main things keeping me awake have been my heartbeat (pounding), and my inability to stop my thoughts.
You've tried some of the things I would have suggested. Here are some other things that usually work for me:
1) Mindfulness. It takes practice, but it's the most effective thing. I imagine I'm sitting beside a slow-moving river. My thoughts are leaves floating on the surface. Slowly, the current carries the leaves away. When there are no longer any leaves, there's just that slow-moving water. It sounds very simple... but it actually works very well for me, even if I've got a huge amount on my mind and am hyper-anxious. To help it along, before I go to bed I'll write down a short list of the main things I have to deal with the next day, or the main things on my mind. Once I've got them on paper, it's like I've 'transferred' them out of my head. The important thing is practice. Don't give up if it doesn't work straight away. Persevere.
2) Another trick I found that can work is to switch the lights out, then push the button on my phone so that the screen lights up. It usually stays alight for about 20 seconds. I place it beside the pillow, out of sight, and just look at the glow. Then, when it goes off and I'm back to darkness, I close my eyes. Providing there's not much in my head (it usually only works on such nights), I can then drift straight off to sleep.
The worst thing, for me, is if I wake around the start of core sleep time - between say 3 and 7 am. That's when I find it hardest to get back off. Again, I use the above methods to help me. They don't always work. But, for me, they're the best things.
PS I've also found that the use of alcohol to help me to sleep is a bad idea. It isn't proper sleep. Then, if I wake up (which I probably will - dehydrated and needing the loo), my head starts racing twice as fast to catch up on the stuff that's been numbed by the booze!
PPS Also, you might try some of the herbal teas containing 'knockout' herbs and plants like valerian and skullcap. Just a small cup, though, otherwise you'll have to get up in the night...