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[Pauline]

hi all.
Having a really bad time with insomnia at present. Andrew, My husband, has had some bad news on his health recently which I think has stressed us both. Can't switch off in bed. Mind keeps on churning. Don't want to turn to the magic pills. Any tips?
Why does the night pass so slowly when you are sleepless? If you do get a good night's kip it just whizzes by.

[Mini2005]

Hi Pauline,
Sorry to hear you're having a bad time at the moment.  I had a terrible time with insomnia earlier this year and virtually begged my doctor for some sleeping tablets.  He gave me 7 tablets and said try taking half if I could.  They got me to sleep but not restful sleep.  I tried everything from accupuncture to sleep inducing music on headphones.  In desperation I came across a book on Amazon called The Effortless Sleep Method by Sasha Stephens.  The Kindle version on Amazon was only about 3.50 so I thought it worth a go.  I started reading it and couldn't put it down.  It made so much sense and really helped me straight away.  I would recommend it to anyone having sleep problems.  Give it a go and let me know if it helps.

[honeybun]

I use a wave sound app on my kindle. It does not make me go to sleep but what it does do is distracts me away from my racing mind. When I start stressing and my mind is obsessively go I g over the same things I have something to focus on. That combined with deep breathing normally does the trick.

Hope your hubby is on the mend soon.


Honeyb
X

[Pauline]

Thanks girls. I will try to get the book and hope it helps me. Off to bed in a minute and will try deep breathing and a relaxation method suggested to me years ago by a friend.
Andrew faces dialysis soon so that's a bit of a downer.

[lesley998]

Hiya

Sleep was a big problem for me also for a while.  I went from being able to nod off really easily to lying awake half the night, feeling completely alert.

I listen to 'rain on a tent ' which you can find here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH-kj6rkQWc&list=TLs47a-tNbuRc0erH8zKgsL5jnyNXTKN1i

The same guy also has a few other 'white noise' sounds which really work for me.....vacuum cleaner, droning airplane..... 

When my son was a baby,  white noise sounds (like the radio on static, the hairdryer or the hoover)  made him go instantly quiet, so I tape recorded the hoover, lol, and played it back to him every night.   It worked like magic and was hilarious....from open mouthed 'waaaaah' to zonked out 'zzzzz' in seconds.   It worked for me too, which is why I remembered and looked for sleep sounds on youtube.   You need to listen to them all and find the one that suits, then you can download to your ipod using you tube downloader

I also tried melatonin which is a natural hormone, and it worked well also.

You are not alone!  Insomnia is a big problem in meno

[lynda]

Hi. I used rescue remedy - they do a night version too which is good. Was brilliant when my son was on tour in afghan last year. Stops those racing thoughts and. " idiot brain cant turn off at half past blasted three in the morning" times. Saved my sanity i think....... 

[Hurdity]

Hi there

Have you tried Bette's 3-2-1 anti-anxiety exercise. Lots of women have found it useful. I adapted it to  help me sleep and still use it when I have problem with my mind racing. Somewhere I have posted this (Dec 2011 on the thread). It usually relaxes sends me off eventually and definitely concentrates the mind!
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,8454.0.html
The actual exercise is at the beginning so you will have to go back 6 pages.

Hurdity x

[Londongirl]

It may sound silly but a hot milky drink does seem to help me......... hot chocolate in fact!

Good luck...............

I also try not to do anything stressful at all at nighttime............... a few hours before going to bed, I try and mentally switch off from anything, if I can. 

All the best.