DD has been having sleep issues for a couple of months now. Started with an occasional restless night. Then it got more frequent. Now she is only sleeping about 4 hours a night before she starts waking every hour. This is a woman who loves her sleep and believes in a minimum of 9 hours!
She's been to the Dr and they gave her time release Ambien. Did nothing. Switched her to Restoral. Did nothing last night. Crossing our fingers tonight is better.
She's been drinking chamomile tea, limiting screen time before bed, hot shower, no caffeine.
I also tried eating toast with tart cherry jelly. Supposedly there is something in the cherries that is a sleep aid. Cherry juice is supposed to work too.
Is her vitamin D level within normal range? Mine was not and I had horrible bouts of insomnia.
I have researched this quite a bit for my own sleep issues, and while I haven’t noticed anything being particularly helpful for myself, I will toss out some additional ideas for you.
Lavender (scents, tea)
Warm bath (again, with the lavender could help)
Melatonin
Warm milk
Magnesium
Decrease stress (yeah, I know, easier said...)
Make sure she is limiting screen time for a few hours at least, not just the 30-60 minutes before bed. Also, no exercise those last few hours before bed either.
Good luck to her! It stinks not being able to sleep properly.
Go to bed about the same time every night, even on the weekend. Get up at the same time as well. Our bodies like a routine.
Start journaling before she goes to bed. Write down all worries and goals for the next day, week.... Tell her she is laying her troubles down for the evening before she gets in bed.
Try listening to white noise or even peaceful music to see if that might help.
Maybe some lavender scent on her pillowcase might help her relax. Do this only if she has no allergy problems with plants.
I've always had issues sleeping but I had a year with terrible insomnia...I would get maybe an hour's worth of sleep a night. Never got any diagnosis, but I am sure it was related to anxiety & stress. Could that be it? It sounds weird, but once I realized a lot of my issues were caused by anxiety it helped me relax & feel better overall.
Some things that help me relax and fall asleep nowadays are using a sound machine, making sure I am not too warm, having an essential oil diffuser.
There were good suggestions from others. I like doing some stretches before bed for only a few minutes. Just another thought...did the doctor check her hormone levels too?
Thanks for all your replies. She is 29, in school getting her PhD. Bi asked if she thought it was stress and see said no. I don't think that's it either. I know when she's stressed & she doesn't appear to be. She sees a counselor regularly to help with stress/anxiety issues and seems pretty even right now.
Benadryl had the opposite effect on her! She's tried it several times. I, on the other hand fall asleep just knowing there's benadryl in the room
The 8ssue appears to be staying asleep. She falls asleep easily, but is awake several times starting around 3am. Dr says her insomnia is stubborn. . New med starting tonight...Lunesta.
Some are things we have tried, others I will put in a list and share with her.
Maybe if it comes from others she will listen better. One thing I think is her new electric blanket may be on too high. She was having some sleep issues periodically before she got the blanket, but it's way worse since she went home & out that blanket on her bed. She won't listen to her mom though
Maybe if it comes from others she will listen better. One thing I think is her new electric blanket may be on too high.
From what I learned with my sleep issues, a cooler environment is better. The ideal temperature should be between 60-67ºF. The room should also be very dark, or she should use a sleep mask.
I listen to boring You tube videos, or a sleep app with a story. I find men's voices work better for me. This takes a little time, but line up some videos so they'll play all night and then get them started when you are going to sleep. Don't watch them, just listen. I've learned so much, in snippets, about world history and listened to different biographies. Try to find long videos, too. You can save them under "Watch Later" and even put them in the order you want. There are apps with stories, too. I've done all the other things previous posters have suggested, but honestly, this is almost foolproof, for me. I think listening takes my mind off trying to go to sleep. I'm thinking of getting a headband with earphones built in, but my DH doesn't mind the stories. Good luck.
I sleep walk, sleep talk, and wake with nightmares when my environment is too warm (and then can't go back to sleep). I think lowering the temp might be better. I usually use my electric blanket to warm the bed and then shut it off. I can't fall asleep if I am cold but all of those other things happen if I am too warm.
Lunesta worked beautifully for my family member who was an insomniac.
Best of luck to her! Not getting enough sleep is terrible--it impacts everything!
She could try ASMR videos on YouTube. I know she doesn't want to watch a screen, but when I watch them, I'm knocked out within five minutes. Or she could just listen to them without watching. There is a huge variety of ASMR, and they are so relaxing.
In the past I would use an electric blanket, but then wake up sweating in the middle of the night.
I tried plugging it into a timer in the wall. The electric blanket would turn off at midnight, after I was asleep. I was cozy warm while I was falling asleep and then stay asleep without burning up. I always preheated my bed too.
Now I have a down comforter. No need for electric blanket.
She cracks me up...one if the side effects of ambien is you could wake you and cook a while meal without knowing it. She was mad she didn't have this side effect.
Finally listened to her mommy!!! Stuck with 2nd med, Restoril, and set electric blanket to turn off after 3 hours.
I read once that digestion could possibly cause an inability to sleep. I don't really know specifics, but what I got out of it was not too eat too late or I might have trouble staying asleep.
If nothing is working, and a sleep study hasn't been done, I would suggest that. People often don't realize just what is interfering with their sleep.
Try the Olly brand sleep gummies they have in target. Those things are a life saver.
I also have a subscription to the headspace app and use it to fall asleep. My issue is not so much the initial falling to sleep, but if I wake up I can’t go back to sleep and I am a light sleeper. With nothing much else to do in the middle of the night my brain takes over and reviews everything I have done in my life to screw up not only my life, but the life of everyone I have ever come into contact with (in the light of day I know this is crazy thinking, but at those sleep deprived times, it just makes sense)- so I use headspace to help knock me out of my negative thinking and help me fall back to sleep.
Adding:
I tried ASMR and I swear it physically made me feel sick!
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01-26-2021, 08:18 PM
. New med starting tonight...Lunesta.
