I have had anxiety since a young age but It has never caused such a severe sleeping problem. Usually if there was something worrying me maybe the night before would be uneasy.
I have recently started my last 6 months of placement as part of my university course. It has been 2 weeks and ever since starting I’ve not slept more than 1/2 hours everyday. Even on the weekends! I have no clue why and it’s getting really tiring.
I have tried everything, I usually put all electronics away and aim to sleep by 10/10:30 however, I sleep 1/2 hours uninterrupted and then I’m awake pretty much all night. Sometimes through the waking up, it feels as though I never even slept. Or as if I slept with my eyes open and don’t remember closing my eyes at all.
On the first week I was really depressed. I’ve never had to work before and adjusting was so difficult. I cried 24/7. Right now thankfully, the crying has reduced so it’s a start. But despite all that, I just want a good nights sleep 🥲 I have made a drs app for next week and hopefully with a little persuasion he can give me something for temporary relief of exhaustion to even sleep a little.
Has anyone got any tips or experience in this?
P.s This happened last year on my 6mths placement and as soon as it was over the sleep kicked in 😂 But this is not realistic as of course from now on my whole life will be about work….so I can’t be a zombie forever.
Thank you.
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sparkle557
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My sleep 😴 dilemma was cured by getting some Melatonin, coincidence or not, suggested by my pharmacist.
I also read 📚 books on sleep hygeine.
Besides the Melatonin, I journelled just before bed. The theory is that your mind has done its thinking reflecting on the day and will rest after closing the book. This takes a bit practice to feel comfortable with the idea.
I can't guarantee it will work for you but you have nothing to lose, a lot of sleep and better health to gain.
If you have only been able to sleep 7 hours total in the last 14 days that sounds very serious. Are you sure that you are only sleeping so little? It could be helpful to track your sleep with a simple wearable. I have found the Amazfit 5 which is under $40 and a small bracelet to be more helpful and less intrusive than a lot of the more expensive monitors I have used. Your doctor will not need any persuasion to help treat you but having some data will be helpful. I actually did a 20-hour in lab sleep study and one of the things that they test is whether or not you are aware whether you have fallen asleep by making you try to take multiple naps during the day. A lot of people - including me - don't know always know whether or not they are sleeping.
The first thought I had was that you should try non-sleep deep rest. "Non-sleep deep rest, or NSDR, is an umbrella term for a variety of practices that guide your brain and body into a state of deep relaxation without falling asleep completely." Effectively nsdr gives you some of the benefits of sleeping without actually sleeping. huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/...
Second, excercise, especially aerobic excercise in the morning has been very helpful for me in terms of better sleep at night. I also use various hypnosis tracks to help my sleep.
Also sleep environment. Have you tried a weighted blanket? Is your room dark and cool without around disturbances?
Yes, I actually have an Apple Watch which can track the sleep but it’s not very accurate but it is somewhat similar to my sleeping pattern. I mostly know I’m not asleep because I’m continuously checking the time.
I also assumed the dr would help me as when I had this problem last year I waited 3 months before making an app but he was so useless. He prescribed some high strength vitamin d and called it a day. So I’m hoping now he’ll take it more seriously when I tell him I literally am not sleeping and feel unwell due to it.
I don’t really have time for exercise between work and revision for exams but I work in a hospital so I am constantly walking around and try to get my steps in by taking stairs and walking the longer routes. That does sound interesting. I’d be terrible in that study because I can’t nap at all 😂
Thank you for the link, I shall have a read. In terms of environment yes it’s not very loud in my room and I do wear an eye mask to ensure it’s completely dark. I haven’t tried a waited blanket but I do use 2 blankets and a duvet so maybe it’s worth trying one.
Just not sure what it is because physically I am exhausted and just would like my brain to rest for a few hours.
It’s basically a training year which for me was split into 2x 6 moths (6 months last year and 6 months this year). Where you basically go to work/internship full time whilst having to study and sit an exam at the end.
I work in a hospital and my hours are 8:30am to 5pm I usually set off from home around 7:30.
I really feel for you having so much to contend with at such a young age .
Maybe arthritis pain / discomfort is also contributory factor to your not being able to sleep. Like you, I have arthritis in both knees and at the moment it's disturbing my sleep big time.
I notice in your post on the pain concern site that you say you tested positive for Sjogrens Syndrome. And that you were referred to a rheumatologist because you tested positive for an auto immune condition but they didn't seem interested. Maybe it might be worth you asking to be referred again?
An autoimmune condition can contribute to poor sleep and low mood .
Yes, I kept pestering the dr and finally we were able to conduct some tests and it’s actually osteoarthritis in both knees unfortunately. Sometimes when my legs pain I do take medication and apply pain gel and hot water bottle to relieve the pain. Recently, because of the lack of sleep my legs seem to ache more (probably restless leg syndrome).
Thank you. I just wondered if the autoimmune needed to be investigated further as you mentioned Sjogrens. It seemed most unusual for a rheumatologist not to investigate further or offer you some help with it.
Hi I'm sorry to read this and I can sympathise having suffered insomnia in the way you describe since year dot.
I hope you can eliminate pain or discomfort as Madbunny suggests, then there's feeling safe which I have to be. Most new situations result in sleepless nights for a while until I'm so tired that I do sleep - a new bed, new place, new job.....until I get used to it. Even on holiday!
The best book I read was Paul McKenna who is into self hypnosis and NLP and he has a few assumptions which are that even resting is good and that you may be sleeping more than you think you are. I found this reassuring so actually I do not worry now that I don't have enough sleep which I think is the key.
An excellent practise is boring yourself - one exercise is good - repeating very slowly in sleepy mode "I'm falling asleep" continuously blocking out any extraneous thoughts. It does take some practice and is extremely boring but better that then tossing around which has got to be the pits. I notice he has Youtubes on this.
There is also 7/11 breathing which is 7 in and 11 out whilst slowly counting all the time. I notice that I can really slow my heart rate down with this.
Anyhow just a few suggestions but mainly I accept this is how I am at times............
Oh and don't look at your watch and clock during the night Best of luck!
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