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keep waking up 2-3 times during the night. any advice for getting better sleep?
I am not stressed; I'm not worrying about anything; but the only thing it could be is, I've had an erratic sleep pattern. One night I'll go bed at around 11pm, then the next night I might go to bed a bit later, say, 12am or 1am.
I go gym 4/5 times a week and I'll feel tired when I get home, but I will still get limited sleep. I am just wondering if there's any home remedies I can use to improve my sleep.
Any ideas, guys?
I go gym 4/5 times a week and I'll feel tired when I get home, but I will still get limited sleep. I am just wondering if there's any home remedies I can use to improve my sleep.
Any ideas, guys?
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Yes, eating late (before bedtime) can interfere with the first half of your night's sleep, and late alcohol can interfere with the second half of it.
However, it's normal to wake up for a while after 3 or 4 hours and then eventually drift off again.
I agree and more at times. Are there many adults who sleep solidly?
I wonder this. I wake up most nights, sometimes staying awake for up to an hour before drifting off again, yet my friends think this is insane and wonder how I cope in life?? I assumed this was pretty normal!
* Keep to a strict timetable. Always go to bed at the same time.
* Don't drink caffeine within three hours of bedtime.
* Don't read or watch TV in bed.
It is fairly normal to wake up after three or four hours especially as you get older. If you go to the loo you should be able to fall back asleep pretty quickly.
I've heard of Night Nurse being recommended as a cure-all for almost everything, although I haven't actually tried it
I've only ever had Night Nurse when I've had a chest infection, but it's worth every penny.
Yes Nytol is an antihistamine, and Night Nurse also contains an anthistamine.
Piriton is chlorphenamine not cetirizine as someone said before. Cetirizine won't help you sleep.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783
People waking up in the middle of the night really shouldn't worry so much - not least because that will make it worse, but it's actually 'natural' to have a break in your sleep.
After reading that article I decided to try it out and make a conscious effort to get up for 30 minutes during the night (day for me, as I'm a night-worker).
I've never felt more rested!
I usually wake up a couple of times during the night but usually drift of quickly again. I find I have a better sleep overall if I wake up now and then. If I have a really deep, uninterrupted sleep I often wake up very groggy.
I have used sedating antihistamines with great effects in the past. Promethazine (Phenergan) is one - used to work on me very, very well as a kid (used to beg mum for it in medicine form as a kid - have had sleep issues my entire life) but I can take 3 or 4 tablets of it now and it does nothing. Similarly, diphenhydramine was another favourite of mine, I used to take 100mg a night (the max dose is 50mg but, as insomniacs will agree on, sometimes you're desperate for some shut eye) every night for a few months, I had heard the body grows tolerant after only 3 or 4 days, but amazingly, it took months for me to get fully tolerant. I don't use it much now at all, but when I do it is unpredictable. Sometimes I take 100mg and I'm out like a light and other times I can take 50mg or 100mg and it doesn't do a thing. I'm not sure how the tolerance works but it doesn't seem to be a blanket thing of once you're tolerant, there's no going back - similarly, I can go for months without taking it, and you'd assume the tolerance would wear off after all that time... but I can take it after abstaining for months and it still not work. 3 days later and it might. It is very unpredictable how the tolerance etc. works.
I am about to start trying doxylamine instead and see if that helps. I am not too optimistic. Maybe diphenhydramine will work if I couple it with some doxylamine.
I should also say, before people think I am obsessed with anti-histamines for sleep, that I have actually tried prescription drugs -- and they didn't work for me! Anti-histamines WHEN they work, work 100% better than prescription drugs (that didn't work at all for me) - unfortunately they're just not useful long term 'cos of the tolerance aspect.
Also in that paragraph I mean prescription drugs I was personally prescribed - which were the Z drugs. Useless on me. I've bought some nitrazepam before and seroquel and that seems to work pretty well, but I am not comfortable taking either of them long term. I think this is the problem with insomnia (OP, you don't have insomnia by the sounds of it, I am just ranting because it's what I do, and sleep issues get me riled! :@), none of the drugs etc. are great long term - most are a week or two of use at most. Stuff like seroquel you can use for longer but then that opens up the possibility of other problems. There is no long term solution yet for insomnia which sucks.
Maybe try diphenhydramine and just use it once a week or so if you get really tired and NEED some proper sleep without waking up all night? Just don't build tolerance by using it all the time like me.
I should also say that it goes to show how personal stuff like this is. Lavender oil on my pillow would do the opposite of make me sleep, just give me a massive migraine! I can't even sleep very well in a clean bed that has just had the bedding washed - the stench of washing powder and fabric softener overpowers me. I much prefer it after 4 or 5 days of being slept in!
All the crap that's on TV is enough to send anyone to sleep.
1. Try these tips here http://www.sleepcouncil.org.uk/how-to-sleep/sleep-tips/ first of all and I'd suggest trying to regularise your bed time so that you set up a routine.
2. The next stage is to go to the chemist and ask for a gentle, but effective, sleep inducer such as Sominex.
3. If none of the above then I'd suggest going to the GP and getting a short term course of sleeping tablets so you can get into a regular and undisturbed sleeping pattern.
PS for ChickenWings - I have found doxylamine succinate (Kirkland Sleep Aid) to be a most effective sleep inducer for occasional use and I find that just one quarter of a 25mg tablet works for me.