Please reply with your helpful hints and suggestions for 1. Difficulty falling asleep and 2. Difficulty falling back asleep after getting up to pee or drink or from a nightmare.
It's OK to re-post replies you previously made. I want this to be comprehensive. I think it will be great to have a full community response to this...I'll pin the post as a resource for us all. Thanks!
I've never had much problem with falling to sleep or going back to sleep if awakened, but due to research over the years indicating the negative effects of sleep cycle disruption, I started taking small dosage of melatonin some years back. With more recent research indicating positive results from large dosage melatonin for PCa, I've been taking 20mg at/near bedtime for 6 months or so. I tried this about year ago, and it seemed to make be tired/sleepy during the day, but this time around I have not noticed any effects of the larger dose. I have also been drinking a cup of camomile tea most evenings an hour or so before bedtime. Not sure it helps me sleep, but the apigenin in it is beneficial in many other ways, so I consider it a win-win nighttime beverage.
Fully Darkened Room:
Most research indicates that a fully darkened room is needed for restful healthy sleep and night lights, bedside clocks, etc., are disruptive to circadian sleep cycle. Since I am unable to fully control the amount of external light where I normally sleep, I use a sleep mask most of the time.
Turning on lights during the night:
Disruptive nature of turning on exposure to lights during sleep interruptions, like getting up to use the bathroom, etc. (Negotiating the toilet in the dark requires a bit of practice, but as I live on a boat, my physical environment is small and easily mastered.) When I travel, I just try do do it with as little light as possible.
Reducing late night beverage consumption:
Eating early (see link below) and reducing late night beverage consumption & before-bed snacking, should reduce the need to get up during the night to use the bathroom. (And allow the digestive track to sleep as well.)
Disruptive effects of evening exposure to blue spectrum lights:
Most sources recommend reducing exposure to such light sources for several hours before going to bed. Think LED TVs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, new LED light sources and replacement bulbs.
Here is a good description of Circadian Rhythm & common disruptions & Q&A from FredHutch:
6 Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders that May Be Disrupting Your Sleep
alaskasleep.com/blog/circad...
Fred Hutch Q & A: Supper, sleep, circadian rhythms and cancer risk
fredhutch.org/en/news/cente...
Here is a good overview of the relationship between sleep cycle disruption and cancer.
Circadian Rhythm Disruption in Cancer Biology
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Many of these seem like common sense, but I/\'m willing to bet that most of us regularly exhibit at least one of these habits that can cause sleep problems.
May not be exactly what you are looking for, Darryl, but it should help start the conversation. Be Well - cujoe
You live on a boat? You are my new favorite person. Rocking of the boat. Soft sound of the waves. Nearest porthole to do your business. You are to be envied Sir.
Well, while it sounds a lot more glamorous than it is, I do like to comment that it IS the ultimate waterfront property since: "If you do not like your neighbor, you can move to a different slip, and if you don't like your neighborhood, you can move to a different marina." I've been a liveaboard for most of the last 20 years, and occassionally have to remind myself how fortunate I am to have been able to maintain the lifestyle for this long. 20 knot winds today, so I'm doing a bit of rockin' and rollin'. Funny thing, once you spend enough time on and off a boat at dock, day in and day out (and in normal weather), you keep your sea legs 24/7.
Anything is possible. You just have to get up one day and do it. As Joseph Campbell always said, "Follow you bliss". Be Well, Monte - "Captain" cujoe
jcf.org/about-joseph-campbe...
I had a boat once, I named it Passing Wind.
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Friday 03/13/2019 4:57 PM EDT
y aahay ah ay aha
I HAD A SMALL SAILBOAT 19 FEET
"LIGHTENING" CLASS
I KEPT IT ON ONE OF CANADIAN LAKES
WHERE A NEIGHBOR, SAILOR, WAS TEACHING ME HOW TO.
THERE WERE HAPPY TIMES.
THE PICTURE STILL HANGS ON MY WALL
AND SHOULD I GET UNDER "STRESS"
EG THINKING ABOUT PC
I CLOSE MY EYES AND MEDITATE
ABOUT SAILING SOMEWHERE.
USUALLY, IT HELPS.
GOOD LUCK TO US ALL,
MAY BE IN FEW YEARS
SOMEBODY "GENIUS"
WILL SOLVE THE CANCER ISSUE.
Great way to escape reality... I do that all the time....
Hopefully from your fingers to God's ears... and remember "to the victor goes the spoils"..... Good/Happy sailing to you....
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n Friday 12/06/2019 7:32 PM EDT
Great advice. Thanks.
I use marijuna to help me fall asleep (it is legal in WA). It eases anxiety. I never sleep thru the night. I usually get up at least twice. And I try not to turn on bright lights. We have few small lights left on so I can navigate. This started long before I was diagnosed with PC. If I can't fall back asleep in half an hour I get up. Best thing to help me fall asleep is eating starch like 3 or 4 pieces of toast or a left over burrito ( I don't have a weight problem, in fact I have lost 10 pounds in the last year). Another trick is to get on the computer and read. It diverts my attention instead of worrying about something. My third trick is to go to a different bed (I rationalize that the second bed will somehow be better. It's not me! Must be the beds fault)