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I can't sleep!

Its annoying when you can't sleep, and it can make you feel irritable. I have problems with sleep myself, so follow my tips so you can get at least one good nights sleep

By Carol TownendPublished 4 years ago 8 min read
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Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

"I can't sleep!" It's the story of my life. I always complained about this when I saw a therapist to talk about my mental health, and sleep medication doesn't help me either. My sleep pattern lands me in a bad mood, not great when you have to study, write and clean the house the next day. Many of you will understand when I say this problem can make you feel agitated when you are a parent having to do the school run the next day. Luckily I don't have that issue at the moment, but when the clock is ticking, come morning you lay there, confused because its daylight before you know it! I have another problem with lack of sleep and going to sleep, it causes issues with restless legs. You know the one! The one where your legs want to move all night for no reason, and whether your tired or not, you just can't control it.

My pattern is actually very awkward. I have nights which go on for weeks where I can sleep following a routine, however that can change, and I end up with nights where I am wide awake and my brain is ticking all night. I am writing this the morning after a bad night when I got no sleep at all. I wore very little in bed, because I over-heat if I wear too much, but I was disturbed by itching skin problems so I got up, and I had to treat it by cooling my skin with a cooling body lotion, usually a lotion with mint or lemon in it. I then found myself wide awake with a brain that just wanted to think all night, and eyes wider than a cats eyes at night! No rest for the wicked at my end.

I did think I might have insomnia at one point, because this problem has gone on for years, however it gets complicated, because when I do sleep, I over-sleep and even the alarm doesn't wake me in the morning. This causes problems with my studies and my work mostly as a writer, because when it happens, I have to work later. The other problem is it screws up my body clock, because when it happens, I find the later I go to bed, the harder it is to sleep.

Now, I have written the following advice for those like me whose conditions are undiagnosed. However, if your under a professional for a known sleep-disorder it is important to keep working with them, and also if you have sleep problems that have not been diagnosed, it is still important to discuss this with your doctor. The following ideas are suggestions, they are not a replacement for medical treatment, they are complimentary only. Some days they work, but others they don't, however if it helps you get at least one or two good nights of sleep, that is better than nothing. Keep trying them every night, and even if your not sleeping soundly every night, you should be able to get some. My advice for helping yourself is as below:

DON'T DRINK CAFFIENE BEFORE BED AND IF YOU WAKE EARLY: We have all done it! In fact, I too am a gluten for punishment for this one. However Caffiene is a stimulant and it tends to make your brain more active. However, when we can't sleep, many of us automatically reach for tea or coffee. I try not to do this every night, but sometimes I find I'm more agitated without it and I get impatient, which is why I keep caffiene free herbal tea bags in my cupboard, because it lessens the tempation. Chamomile tea helps me to at least rest better, even if I don't sleep. When you are resting, your body has a chance to refresh itself, however when it is stimulated by Caffiene, it becomes overly active which can make you more alert and this makes you feel more tired when it comes to bedtime. So switch it to Caffiene free, and even if your resting without sleeping, it will make a difference.

EXERCISE HELPS: It doesn't matter what you do. Yoga, weights, aerobics, walking, running, dancing, even exercising with the old Wii and yes that swear word, housework! Anything that gets your body moving for just 20 to 3o minutes a day can help sleep. It enables you to use up stored excess energy during the day, and when you do that, your creating the right environment inside you in order for your body to wind down. If you tend to be a 'couch potatoe' get up and get moving! Sitting on the sofa all day watching television is not very stimulating for your body, and you need stimulation in order to feel tired in the first place.

DITCH THE LAPTOP AND VIDEO GAMES: Now, here is another vampire disturbance to my awful sleep patterns, especially as a writer! Most of my ideas come to me at night when I'm supposed to be asleep, and sometimes my brain won't stop ticking until I have written one more article or one more paragraph for my book. It doesn't happen every night, most nights I try to avoid it, however the more you do avoid it, the better you will sleep, because the screen even in night mode can still disturb your sleep, and social media is the big zombie nightmare of our sleep patterns, because it is noisy and disturbing, the same goes for video games.

INSTEAD OF WATCHING THAT FILM, WATCH SOMETHING BORING! If you really must grab a screen because your bored of getting zero sleep, then the best thing that works for me is heading to Utube where I can watch boring snow falling or planets in space. Even a clip with the sound of rain or waves can help, the noise really does make you sleepy as does watching snow or rain fall, and the waves crashing to the shore. When your watching the latest thriller or soap drama late at night or extremely early in the morning, it overstimulates your brain, and causes you to stay wide awake, because when you finally get to bed, you'll be thinking about it, and visualising those images in your head, also aswell as overthinking, you'll have all the noises from whatever you watched playing around in your head. These combined with the images can keep you up all night, and things like thrillers and horrors give me nightmares. Best to be safe and watch them in the day!

MAKE SURE YOUR ROOM IS DARK: When your room is too light, your brain will think its still the daytime. I used to have light curtains in my room, with a door slightly ajar and the landing light on, thinking it would comfort me and help me sleep. I used to be scared of the dark because of the trauma I had gone through. However, it made my inability to sleep much worse, so now I try to sleep in a dark room. If you really cannot sleep in a dark room, use a lamp with very dim light bulbs, I find lavender bulbs work for me, or flower lamps with small lights, because they let of a glimmer but do not entirely light up my room. Black out curtains are a god too!

SLEEP HYGEINE IS IMPORTANT! The first time I heard of this was in therapy. Sleep hygeine is as simple as your abc. It involves as mentioned above keeping the room dark and also, making sure your room is cool, clean and using fresh bedding and pillow cases. Get into the habit of vaccuuming and cleaning your carpets, and tidying your room. When my room is messy it causes chaos in my head, and when my carpets are dusty it makes me cough. Keep those surfaces such as the tops of drawers, wardrobes and dressing tables clean, as these collect dust in no time. Fill your room with a light scent but nothing to heavy, a lavender spray for linen and bedding is good as is burning a little light incense through the day. I find incense cleans the air in my room, and the smell helps me sleep at night. My favourite is Patchouli because it smells fresh and it really is useful as a sleep aid.

WAKING IN THE MORNING: This has never been easy for me, but I wake up to coffee before I do anything, and I sometimes try breakfast, although I don't do this every day, because breakfast can be my worst stomach enemy in the morning. However, always try something light, even one slice of toast, because this helps to give you energy and will help you to wake up. Try the fresh morning air, even sitting on your door step with a drink for just ten minutes can help.

A FINAL NOTE ON TIREDNESS: Sleep problems can make you feel tired during the day, so if you need to nap then do so. However limit naps to an hour because if you sleep too long, the problem can start again. Waking can be difficult, so if you really need to nap during the day, then this is the time to keep your room shaded but light. Some people find alarm clocks with sunlights useful for this. The light reflects natural daylight, and it will wake you up naturally. Also, don't set the alarm too late, as this will cause you to over sleep.

I hope my article is useful to you. If you wish to tip me, you'll find you can do that at the bottom of my article. Every tip enables me to buy resources that enable me to improve my writing and make a good career out of it. Writing is something I love, so every tip is appreciated, and thankyou for reading my article.

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About the Creator

Carol Townend

Fiction, Horror, Sex, Love, Mental Health, Children's fiction and more. You'll find many stories in my profile. I don't believe in sticking with one Niche! I write, but I also read a lot too.

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