Month 2 yay! but need help with sleep plz

[nsd_user663_6426]

Hiya Guys...what an achievement for me to be in month 2 going cold turkey! woo hoo well pleased. My last decent quit only lasted two months and a few days so I've got a long way to go yet til I surpass that....that dreaded month 3 nobbles me but not this time oh no!

Just asking for advice regarding insomnia...I am not telling porkies here. I did not sleep at all last night and in total I've probably had 4 hours sleep in the last 48 hours . I've had patchy sleep since quitting really (usually I finally get to bed at 3am and have to wake up about 7am). I'm exhausted at the weekends and playing catchup with sleep. My question is can anybody help with this? Would it be a good idea to go to the docs about it? I'm just asking as this has been a real contribution to why I have failed in all my previous quits. I get to month 3 and after having awful sleep I usually give in and smoke as I just need to sleep. Any help appreciated. This was not mean't as a moany post. I just want to try and nip this insomnia in the bud before it really, really gets to me. Like everyone I cannot function without sleep after a while.

Cheers Lisa. XXX

[nsd_user663_18145]

Ahhh bless insomnia can go hand in hand with stopping smoking but being a long term insomnica i do have some advise first of try and i mean try not to let it stress you out too much and dont keep checking the time that will make you more parnoid

i know trying to relax is also hard but try some relaxation technics start with lying down breathing long and and taking slow deep breathes and as your doing this try and empty your mind of all but the thoughts of how your body is reacting to your breathing then try tensing and relaxing your muscles starting in your feet and working your way up as you breathe

if you have any cds with calming music on then play that in the background and just zone into it as you breathe by now you willl have noticed that breathing is a big part of the process another techinque ive used is the tapping solution and self reflexology on the feet and hands you could do that before doing the lying down and breathing exercises its something you learn to do it will come with time just remember not to stress out about time and how long you actually slept for and no looking at the time either as that will make it worse

if your still not feeling sleepy get up and try having a hot milky drink or herbal tea camilomile is quite soothing

or to start you could get your OH to give you a masage or even have a warm bath to relax in

btw the tapping and reflexology vides are on youtube for free

hope this helps

or at least makes you yawn while reading it as im boring you sensless with the breathing and relaxing bit

[nsd_user663_18145]

forgot to add

:DYAY WELL DONE FOR GETTING TO MONTH 2

i got too carried away with the breathing side myself then

hugs xx

[nsd_user663_6426]

heh heh thanks Carol...will try the relaxing techniques tonight...I hop I can sleep tonight that would just be a killer if I don't

I've done relaxation techniques before when I tried hypnosis many years ago to quit...I must admit they do relax you (well enough for me to go under anyway). I'd forgotten all about it so thanks.

X

[nsd_user663_18145]

i hope it works its weird how breathing is just part of us that we forget

that if you do it right it does help your body to relax and calm down and being smoke free means there is more room in the lungs for cleaner air

[nsd_user663_34921]

Hi Lisa

Lack of sleep and tiredness, is one of my major triggers, so would suggest you put a serious effort into resolving the problem. Therefore a couple of sleeping pills would probably be in order simply to re-establish a routine.

The pills are not a long term solution and I can only tell you what works for me:-

1. Physical exercise ( I'm not suggesting your lazy ) but something like a 30/45 min. brisk walk or swim or whatever takes your fancy !!! everyday. Build it into your routine.... This needs to be your time not part of work or housework etc.

2. Regular bedtime routine and regular bedtime ....Whether you feel ready or not.

3.Importainly, get up in the morning. You will not sleep at night if you do not get up in de mornings.

Oooops, all of this depends on you having a regular work routine. Don't know how shift workers manage.......I def could not handle that... :eek:

[nsd_user663_6426]

Cheers as well grumpie. My dad suggested that too...that few sleeping pills may help as it seems like I'm all out of synch as to when I want to go to sleep i.e. I fall asleep at 3am and if left in bed (as in I don't have to get up for work/Harrison etc) I will sleep until about 11.00/11.30am the next day, a full 8 - 8.5 hours. Thanks grumpie I will try all those things especially the exercise as I'm starting to realise it will soon start getting to me. Cheers guys. X

[nsd_user663_34921]

OOOOOOh

You gotta get up in de mornings..............................................

Then you will sleep at night..........................................

[nsd_user663_35439]

I've been taking Nytol Herbal (one of my 5 a day - list of ingredients include lettuce!!!!)...used to take 'proper' Nytol when I smoked but always felt like a zombie the following day. I didn't want to risk another addiction so am trying the herbal option.

Also I play some chill out music on mp3 when I'm struggling.

If all else fails...vodka usually does the trick!!!!

[nsd_user663_37295]

Tell you what... come to my house and live my life for a week....

Up at 5.30 straight to stables to muck out and ride the horse

Home by 8am to get ready for work

9-6.15 - work, usually mentally busy with emergencies, sometimes don't get out till 6.45/7pm

Home to do battle with kids/dogs/cats/husband

Crawl into bed at 10pm, catch as much sleep as possible to do it all over again the next day.

That should sort your body clock nicely!

Seriously though, try some Sleep Therapy balm and spray from Avon - I use it all the time and have done for a couple of years. Spray on pillow and top of duvet, balm on temples and wrists. Read a book for a while in bed.

[nsd_user663_6426]

Thanks for all the advice...as you can see it's getting late and I'm still a rocking and a rolling. My eyes are like piss holes in snow. I'm going to try and go to sleep now although my brain doesn't feel tired. I should be feckin exhausted, having only 4 hours in 48 and working 8-6pm too. Argh hope this gets better. Will try all your stuff out tomoz, will go to Boots in my dinner break. Cheers everyone and hopefully goodnight.

P.s. already been in bed an hour and couldn't sleep. WIll try again now. Nite x

[nsd_user663_36292]

I find a "medicine" called Shiraz helps:confused:

[nsd_user663_37042]

I have suffered with Insomnia for years also. Certainly since moving from cumbria to Manchester and definitely since giving up mid-week booze. My doctor at the time was rubbish so I have mainly come up with my own solutions. It's also remarkable that some of the conclusions are also mentioned in this thread.

Although I'm an incredibly light sleeper, when I look back at the times when I was getting literally hardly any sleep (e.g 9 or 10 hours in five days) I can see now it was caused by anxiety, worrying or even probably mild depression. I also struggled to sleep when I lived next to an alcoholic but that was definitely due to excessive noise. However, it helped me immensely just realising that it was my mind worrying rather than something physically wrong with me. As such I tend to avoid a lot of the medications, although have recently tried Kalms and herbal nytol.

As said earlier I can only speak for myself but found the following helps

Breathing is essential in my case. If I have been lying awake for a while, it quite often hits me that I'm not breathing slowly and regularly. I'll be breathing quikly and shallow or holding my breath and breathing deeply not very often until I have to breathe. Immediately I try to regulate my breathing, so that it is slow and steady.

I have also developed a 'sleep diet'. I know I stole the phrase from someone else, but I try to go to bed fairly late and get up really early. I'm on flexi-time and don't have kids so can do this easily. In most cases probably this isn't possible though. My girlfriend thinks I'm crackers but I would rather get say 6 hours, more or less guaranteed every night than try to get 7 or 8 and struggle to sleep a lot of the time. I try to make sure that when I go to bed I'm tired.

Thinking abstractly also helps me drift off. No idea why. If I'm sat in bed just thinking about every day stuff, work or my studies I'm too conscious. I try to think about what cool dreams i have had recently or something outlandish and usually slip off.

This will sound bizarre but sleeping with my arms folded can also help sometimes. I usually sleep on my side with hand under pillow but if I cross my arms I can only guess it may slow the blood flow and maybe lower the heart rate. It does kills the old arms though.

This also sounds crazy but I reason with myself. It's very easy to get into a spiral of worrying about not sleeping, not sleeping, worrying more and it escalates. If I find myself thinking like that I just try to calm myself down and think 'well if i don't sleep i don't sleep, I'm lying in a comfortable warm bed, it could be a lot worse'.

I have heard people say that if you can't genuinely sleep for a while get up. For one reason or another I've never done this though.

I realise most of these sound ridiculous and possibly you now think I'm a mental but, as with smoking, how much is placebo and how much is actually doing anything is debateable. If it works then it's ok in my book.