I would like some advice about a problem I have had for quite a while. I have trouble falling asleep when I go to bed at night. I toss and turn for hours until eventually I do sleep. I find myself dropping off while watching T.V. during the evening but, when I do go to bed, I cannot fall asleep. I have tried having lavender oil next me to relax me which occasionally works but not every time. I used to work full time and had no problem falling asleep then but, now when I don’t have to get up early or go to bed at a ‘decent’ time, I can neither fall asleep when I need to or, waken early. I am exhausted a lot of the time, so trying to keep up with any housework that’s necessary is a struggle, as I cannot walk far or stand up unaided for very long since I my MS has gotten worse. Does anyone reading this have any ideas about how I could solve this problem. Thank you.
Insomnia’s a massive pain in the bum, and has such a huge effect on our lives. Thankfully there are things we can do, and by the sounds of it you have very bad sleep hygiene.
Probably the worst thing we can do is toss & turn. Don’t do it! If you’re not asleep after quarter of an hour or so, get up & do something relaxing like reading or doing puzzles. Then only go to bed when you start to feel sleepy (not just tired, but sleepy). But again, if you still don’t fall asleep, get up again. You want your brain to associate being in bed with falling asleep, not with tossing & turning.
What you do in the evening (or if you get up) is important too. Preferably, don’t watch TV or go on the computer, as the light that screens give out can disrupt our sleep. At the very least though, turn the brightness down to its lowest level. And turn the rest of the lights down to, as lower light levels help send your brain the message that it’s time t start winding down - bright lights stimulate the brain.
Don’t eat late (having a full stomach doesn’t help), and definitely don’t have caffeine in the evening.
When you’re in bed, it’s good to give your brain things to concentrate on that aren’t thinking/worrying about sleep. Something I do is an equivalent of counting sheep - count backwards from 1,000 in multiples of 3 (997, 994, 991 etc). Or I sometimes listen to audio books my MP3 player (children’s books are great, as they can be narrated in a very soothing way - I’ve the Lion, the With & the Wardrobe on mine ).
Hope that all helps, and you get some decent kip soon.
he_funk’s advice is excellent. A lot of people with MS have trouble sleeping ( drowsy all day, awake all night) All I have to add to the mix is:
Try a nice warm shower or bath just before you retire, if its possible.
I find temperature is very important ( like most people, I’d guess!) - too hot , or too cold, causes restless legs and painful spasms - are you on any meds for those problems, if you have them?
No caffine after 5pm( this is the best advice ever!!) Try substituting a warm drink like milk and honey ( if you can take it!!)
Thank you for replying to my post and yes, I agree with you - I do have very bad sleep hygiene and, I will try some of the things you suggested they certainly make a lot of sense, and the only way to prove that they make sense is to carry them out for myself!
Thank you for replying to my post. I do drink a lot of water during the day anyway but might try to increase it.
I currently don’t take any devices to bed and don’t intend to.
It isn’t long since I bought and started using new pillows and the same applies to our duvet.
I have never tried chamomile tea and may now try it after your suggestion. I do TRY to fall asleep, which is why I tried the lavender in the hope that it would relax me enough to help to stop TRYING to fall asleep and for me to fall asleep naturally. I realised that I put pressure on myself by trying. If I like Chamomile tea that might enable me to be relaxed and just rest and sleep will follow.
Thank you for replying to my post We don’t have a bath as our bathroom’s too small (just a shower with a seat in it). My hubby decided we’d be better with that although now and again, I think a bath would be great. I agree with you about temperature I much prefer to be cool and being too hot it not good for me all.
I’d rather be cold than hot too - do you have a fan in your bedroom that can help if you’re too warm? I have a floor standing fan and its great! ( I even use it in winter, sometimes!) I find its hum very relaxing and I drop off to sleep when its going ( I have it connected to a timer so that it switches it self off, just in case it blows me down the street!!)
I get problems dropping off when my legs are acting up, or feeling cold etc, and take amitriptyline an hour before I’m due to go z land. It works well, and can be used as and when needed.
Slight improvement, I suppose time will tell if it’s working for me.
What doesn’t help is that my Partner (fiance/) works shifts so he comes to bed, and gets up, at times that are very different to mine! Our bedroom was build as an extension to down-stairs as I struggle to get up steps (so, in effect it was built because I cannot climb upstairs to bed) and our daughter now uses our ‘old’ room for her bedroom. If we had another room he could use to sleep in, it would help but, we don’t.
If I put the tv on and try to watch something when I’m in bed I’m asleep in no time. So I put the tv on timer and get comfortable and watch whatever it is and I’m off…it has to be interesting and I have to really want to watch it. For some reason any old thing doesn’t work, it irritates instead.
