Looking for sleep stories

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:15 am

I generally fall asleep quite easily but always wake in the night. When I climb back into bed my mind starts thinking (of course) so I do multiplication tables starting with the nines - the highest nine to the lowest. I also tap my fingers on the mattress and keep my attention on the tapping. Sometimes I will count backwards from 100 very slowly. These cortical shifts help me to get back to sleep until the alarm goes off. Sometimes I doze which is ok, too. Also, like LisaLisa, if I do not sleep well for some reason I remind myself that I'll sleep even better the next night.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:14 am

Dear Carolyn,
It is so nice to see your picture on here...I feel like I have known you for years...

I also turn keep my fan going all year long to help me sleep...I am so adjusted now, that when our electricity goes off, I awaken, immediately.

Carolyn, I often use humor to help me fall asleep.. I will think of something totally off the wall, which I did that day, or a few days before..I will actually laugh at my own self.

I also count my blessings before I retire for the night. I practice gratefulness...I meditate on the Word of God...I specifically love this scripture..."Be Still and Know That I am God!"

At times, I just focus on the soft comfort of my pillow-top mattress. It just feels so great(like lying on a puffy cloud).
I also focus on the fresh fragrance of my sheets and bed covers...

I have learned the hard way, not to worry about going to sleep, and just allow myself to sleep. If one is constantly worrying about sleep, then, more than likely, just this negative thought alone will keep them awake....

I think it is very helpful to watch something very soothing on the internet...There are many sites which offer slide-shows with positive affirmations and relaxing music...

There are many ways to relax oneself before getting into bed...Look for them, and you will find the one or ones which work for you...
God Bless...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:49 am

Although I've had anxiety issues all my life since the age of around 23, my worse had to do with not being able to sleep! I honestly can laugh about it now (not at other people's problems with it, only my experience) but it was the most anticipatory frightening weird feeling.....

When my youngest was around 9 months old (she's five now, wow!) I started having problems sleeping. Instead of relaxing and thinking "big deal, my body doesn't want sleep right now", I right away thought something was seriously wrong with me. Losing an hour or two one night led to three and four hours the next. Just like the woman on the tapes, all day, instead of taking it easy and taking care of myself, I anticipated no sleep. And that's exactly what I got...I then couldn't eat, being nervous all day and the snowball got bigger and bigger until I ended up in the emergency room with servere exhaustion.

I am proud to say that really because of this program and website, I laugh if I have a bad night occasionally and I usually have a great night's sleep the following night. Yep, it is what you tell yourself. Soo glad I got over that one!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:50 pm

I have a hard time sleeping & sometimes I take Ambion or Excedrin PM to fall asleep. I also have a sound machine that makes the sound of rain or the sound of ocean waves.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:43 pm

I have been dealing with sleep issues almost all of my life. I have used just about every coping tool possible to help me sleep; exhaustion, exercise, prescription meds, homeopathic remedies, sound distraction, meditation, self hypnosis, and reading. Initially, they all had a positive effect on helping me to fall asleep. But they could not help me stay asleep. After about four to five hours of sleep, I would wake up and stay awake, unable to shut down my racy thoughts.

So as a last resort, I sought out the help of a local psychiatrist who specializes in helping people like myself learn how to sleep. After a lot of conversation he indicated that my inability to sleep centered on a "trigger" based on an abuse event that happened to me as a child while I was sleeping. It was painful to deal with this issue once again, especially as an adult. However, the experience was worth reliving because I leaned how to retrain my mind by using self talk. Eventually, after six months of practice, I was able to convince myself that it was safe to go to sleep and stay asleep, without the use of any medication.

So the technique that is working for me is "self help", one of the foundations of this program. I occasionally have nights of "ups and downs", but for the most part I can get six to seven hours of sleep. I spend about ten minutes lying in bed praying my prayer of forgiveness. This gentle self talk reminds me that the key to "letting go and letting god" begins with the act of forgiveness.

My new goal is learn more coping techniques taught in this program. I want to learn how to sleep for eight continous hours, something I haven't accomplished in over thirty-five years.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:01 pm

that sounds like some good sound advice john tank thanks

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:11 am

WhyteHorse, Your story illustrates more than solving a sleep problem...it also shows us that the best way through a problem is to figure out what the core issue is and then Confront it. Bravo to you!

Sometimes the path to peace is a bit painful but well worth the walk. Best wishes, Carolyn

baby_g · Post by **baby_g** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:06 am

I've hard a hard time sleeping most of my life but over the past few years and with the help of the program I have learned some methods that help me sleep through the night. It helps me to follow a routine in the hour or two leading up to the time I go to bed. I usually watch TV shows that make me laugh and play a few games on my Nintendo DS. Having the TV on really helps me fall asleep. I usually tune into Nick at Nite, mute the volume, and put the sleep timer on for half an hour.

One big problem I used to have is that when I'd wake up in the middle of the night I'd reach for my cell phone to see what time it was. This usually made me stress out: "Oh it's only 2 a.m., I've only been asleep for so many hours and I still have so many hours to go before the morning." So now when I wake up I just ignore the urge to grab my phone, turn over, and fall back asleep.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:01 am

Carolyn; first thanks so much for all the work you and the rest of the staff put into this website. It has been very helpful. As for sleep stories I have been able to sleep pretyty well all my life even with anxiety. But when I am excited about something happening the next day I wil find it hard to sleep. When I have a recreational paintball game happening the next day I find myself in the wee hours still running senarios through my mind. I am quite competative and find myself ready to go and like a chess game anticipating the other teams reactions to any of our actions in hopes of having the upper hand tha next day. One way I find very helpful to get sleepy is to read an informational article. Since I'm a mechanic I keep a couple of trade magazines beside the bed. When I begin to try to concetrate on the info I start to get very sleepy. Also if you read an article in a magazine even if you stay at all the way through it is much shorter than a book. I usually wake up the next morning with the magazine still open on the bed next to me. Maybe its just me but when it feels more like work it becomes harder to concentrate on with a lack of sleep. Also after going through this course the first time, waking in the morning is much easier (I've never been a morning person) and carries less dread.I find more to look forward to and be thankful for. I'm changing my thouhgts and in turn changing my life! Once again thanks for your efforts. Wishing you all peaceful sleep and Gods blessings ;Bradley.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:32 am

Thanks for all the GREAT contributions-- Anyone have some encouraging points as to how more restful sleep has positively affected your life, your relationships, your job...?