messed up sleeping pattern

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:38 am

I would recommend exercise on a consistent basis to help drain you of some of the nervous energy. Reading for some folks helps them at bedtime. Turning off the tv an hour or so before trying to go to sleep.

There are natural sleep aids like kava kava and valerian root.

I had a messed up sleep pattern for about 7 years, couldn't work because of it. Working the program and exercise worked for me.

Excellent post, sleeplessMom, some really good tips.

epa · Post by **epa** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:51 pm

karin,

will you check back and let us know if those CD's worked? also, what kind of sleep problems do you have? Do the sleep and calm allow you to sleep through the night? I've been waking shortly (with in an hour) of going to bed at night. and then I'll fall asleep of and on through the night. Some nights are better than others.

Amber

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:46 am

Amber: I am so sorry you are having trouble staying asleep. I have lived through this so many times. When I was pregnant for the second time, I would, like clockwork, wake up about 45 minutes after falling dead asleep almost instantly at bedtime. And this went on almost every night for 9 months...even taking Ambien only helped for a ~3 hours or less. And I didn't realize that sleep aids can cause rebound anxiety in some people, making the whole cycle worse. It was a big eye opener for me to realize that it was high anxiety all the time, during the day, that was causing me to come out of sleep at night. As your body is switching between sleep cycles, normally you come to a lighter sleep period, but the anxious mind sees danger and wakes up completely. My best advice is to work hard at this program or another program to bring the anxiety down one notch at a time, and be very patient with yourself in waiting for the sleep to follow. I never tried melatonin or anything, but others on here have reported some benefits to supplements.
formerly SleeplessMom

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:52 am

sleeplessMom: Thank you for your advice about the sleep issues. I'm at a stage now where I wake up after only 45 minutes of sleep. When I do wake up, I'm in the middle of a panic attack and my stomach is so upset that I have to run to the bathroom. GRRR! So, I'm up in the middle of the night, taking a dozen TUMS, and I'm dragging my butt to work every day. I've been here before but you reminded me of how long it does take for the sleep to return. I'm also glad that I'm not the only one waking up after 45 minutes. Sometimes I use Benadryl as a sedative and it helps -- sometimes good for 4 hours of sleep. Does anyone else out there have advice or have these kinds of sleep problems?