Hi, I haven’t had a full nights sleep for weeks but the last 10 days have been terrible sometimes only having a couple hours sleep?I feel so awful even if I sleep a few hours in the day, I don’t want to take sleeping tablets, does anyone know of anything natural which would help?
thanks Sue
nytol are ok and you dont wake up feeling drugged.
carole x
Valerian is natural and helps some people, as does rescue remedy night. Not using electronic devices and stopping watching tv and taking a book to bed are good sleep cleansing strategies. A nice warm bath ( if you can get in one) and a milky drink?
but you know what Sue? Sometimes in this shitty illness you have to just accept you’ll have to take the more hard core meds. Insomnia is horrible and makes the rest if your MS symptoms heightened. Instead of a prescription and taking all the time ( they’ll stop working anyway as your body gets a dependency, so then they don’t work as effectively and you have to keep upping the dose. A top over the counter drug is Sominex ( not nytol, it prob won’t work) I take Sominex occasionally and Panadol night is ok too.
you could get a referral to a sleep clinic if it’s been going on some time.
last but not least - try meditation,there are lots to choose from. I do transcendental meditation and it really relaxes me before bed. Deep belly yogic breathing is very useful.
finally, but it is hard to get a certain plant based substance is not only good for spasm, it helps with sleep.
hope some of these suggestions sound worth a try
Susi
I would agree with switching off tv’s or computers or tablets - they have a cold light with a lot of blue in it and that will suppress your melatonin production. Also make sure that if you are going to read that you have a bedside lamp that is a warm colour. Good blackout curtains to eliminate any stray light is a good idea. (I’m a lighting engineer)
Valerian or somnus or nytol are good to try or Kalms sleep tablets can also help. I don’t know if it is true or an old wives tail but I remember something about a lettuce sandwich helping you sleep.
But it may just be that - like so many of us on here - insomnia will strike every now and again and you just have to cope.
Take care
JBK xx
5HTP - Which is seratonin - helps relax - de-stress. Worth googling find out. l have tried Nytol -Valerian Lavender everything - never found any worked for me. l now take 5HTP an hour or two before going to bed. And l do sleep better. l do read or listen to talking books.
l can remember my grandfather telling me off for feeding lettuce to my bunnies. He said the milky stuff in the stalks was bad for them as it
was a sleeping potion. Shall have to google that now and find out what this sleeping potion is! Grandad was always right.
l think the important thing is not to get uptight about not sleeping. Certainly try not to sleep in the daytime - and try to do some exercise - and plenty of fresh air.
The milky substance in lettuce is an opium like substance called Lactucin.
Hi
I’ve had problems sleeping in the past but generally have a good routine now.There’s lot of things I do that help. The main thing is to not toss & turn - if you’re not asleep after ten or fifteen minutes, get up & do something relaxing like meditate or read or do a puzzle. Don’t go back to bed until you’re drifting off. Then if you still don’t get to sleep after a bit, get up again & repeat the process.
The next best things that help me are to count backwards from 1,000 in multiples of 3 (1,000, 997, 994, 991 etc). It gives my brain something to focus on rather than worrying about sleep, and I rarely get below the nine hundreds. I also listen to audio books on my mp3, but with the volume really low so I have to concentrate to hear it (kids books can be great for this, as they can be read in a very soothing way - I’ve currently got a Narnia book on mine, and it’s very relaxing)
Other things I do are to never look at the clock - knowing the time never helps me relax. Lower the lights in the evening, which helps your brain start to wind down. Obviously don’t have caffeine in the evening, and I don’t eat late, as going to bed on a full stomach doesn’t help. And don’t ever watch telly in bed - you want your brain to only associate being in bed with sleep.
There’s also a book that might by Colin Espie - if you search his name on Amazon you’ll find it.
Hope that helps & you get some good kip soon.
Dan
i seen a hypnotherapist lasy year and its made my life pain free and after a bit of practice i now sleep in no time its amasing
Melatonin (sleep hormone) spray for me. 