Hi, my last few weeks have been particularly unpleasant with waking 1-2 hours at least once per night. I taking all the usual steps for a good nights sleep but will be wide awake for an hour or so then have a light sleep until usual waking time of about 7-8am (having gone to bed 9.30-10ish). I used to take l theanine and 5htp at the start and end of the day and am thinking of starting that again to see if that helps. I've tried taking melatonin but it doesn't seem to work for me.
My usual bedtime routine is no screens after 9pm (apart from writing this lol), maybe a warm bath, then read for a bit on a low light kindle in a cool room with absolute blackout. I have to wear ear-plugs as I get disturbed by the slightest noise.
As an aside, I am still waiting for my GP to approve my T3 as prescribed by an NHS endo, it's over 6 weeks now. I am on 100mcg levo, and will be hopefully moving to reduce the levo and introduce the T3 soon!
Any thoughts welcome,
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I find that guided meditations often help me unwind (eg mindfulness ap ‘Finding Peace in a Frantic World’) and I’m sometimes able to fall asleep half way through! When I’m not able to sleep for a couple of nights in a row, I find Sominex the best over the counter sleep aid (unfortunately herbal options don’t seem to have any effect on me).
I also hugely recommend the book Mindfulness: Finding Peace in a Frantic world, by Danny Penman and Mark Williams. It comes with a CD, and is structured as an 8 week course.
It sounds like your problem is more about waking up later in the night rather than getting to sleep in the first place? That is the more typical thyroid pattern of insomnia. I found doing a meditation earlier in the day helps me a lot more than doing a relaxation exercise at bedtime. I think it's about training the brain and body to be able to stay relaxed.
I've also recently discovered a couple of meditation styles particularly geared towards relaxation. One is Yoga Nidra, a relaxation practice that imitates being asleep, the other is autogenic training, a self hypnosis technique that uses hypnotic suggestions to relax different body parts.
Hi SilverAvocado, I think we like the same mindfulness meditations 😊. Mark Williams set up the ap I recommended. I also have the Williams/ Penman book with CD,which is fantastic. I also love the ap as I can use it anywhere & I can see reminders to encourage me to do more!
Have you tried taking your warm bath earlier? Two to three hours is recommend to cool down after hot bath before bedtime, but in hot weather could this apply to warm baths too, or do lucky you have air conditioning?
I take lavender capsules for my insomnia and they work well for me. I have tried most of the other stuff as well without success, You can buy them on Amazon.
I sleep really badly and am constantly exhausted so l feel for you. One of the few things that have helped is to go to sleep listening to a sleep/hypnotherapy recording, l listen to one by Jaime Mathers on YouTube but there are loads of different ones you could choose. I use headphones so husband not disturbed. I also drink only decaf drinks.
I won’t say l stay deeply asleep all night but it def does help me to fall asleep very quickly (which l never used to) as l’m never awake to hear the end of the session. It might be worth a try. Good luck with finding something works for you
Thanks, this is a case of cobbler's shoes because I work for an online hypnosis company but I don't always go this way as it's my husband who does the fall asleep fast download :o)
Walking near bedtime can actually stop sleep for some people as is raises stress hormones like cortisol, Keeping you awake. What is the reason for your insomnia? Have you got to the bottom of it?
Hormonal imbalance due to menopause can be a trigger for insomnia, but so can adrenals that are out of synch with a struggling thyroid.
I find that a cocktail of zinc citrate (15-30mg), p5p(20-40mg), magnesium citrate(150-200mg) and taurine (500mg) worked like no other combination I have ever tried.... all will stop a racing mind and together improve GABA levels and support adrenals. Once settled into it you can reduce the doses to a more maintenance level. I found a suitable combination one by Terry Naturals and another lower dose one (so low that young children can take it for ADD) by Igennus called Neurobalance which help with a wide spectrum of cognitive issues including concentration. I also take extra Magnesium (topical kinds by Better You are very good, so are Epsom Salt baths).
Another tip is to improve tryptophan levels by eating foods high in this protein... Turkey and oats are high in tryptophan.
Hi, I too have an insomnia 'challenge' and I use insight timer, which a free app and after trialing several meditations I've found the ones which put me back to sleep. It offers a huge mix of meditations from sleep to stress, anger to gratitude and so on. I do hope your sleep improves, it's so hard to cope when sleep deprived.
My functional doctor suggested I needed to spend some time out of doors in daylight in the mornings, but I wasn’t following that very closely until by chance I spent the whole morning outside. That night I had the best night sleep for a long time. Now I try to get outside in the mornings whenever I can but it’s not always convenient so I use my sad lamp whenever I’m indoors during the mornings. This is only three or four nights now but I’ve had the best night sleep for a long time. Hope that helps
I've had similar sleep issues and have to take theanine and 5 HTP most nights, but have also learned that the slightest food intolerances can prevent me sleeping till about 2 am. I now have to be very careful about what I eat and sleep much better 5 out of 7 nights (when I've probably inadvertently eaten something - it can even be some unwashed fruit that may have been recently sprayed)
Magnesium L-Threonate was what really helped me with my sleep problems. It's supposed to be also good for brain fog and won't give you diarrhoea (I'm a bit prone to that). I also like a banana before bed.😀
I have no idea why this happens to me, but when I take melatonin on roughly 3 or 4 consecutive nights I end up terribly, terribly depressed, to the point of feeling seriously suicidal on occasion. Usually one or two days of melatonin doesn't affect my mood to any major degree. My reaction doesn't seem to be all that common, but I have come across others who feel the same - I'm not unique by any means.
And the other thing about melatonin is that my reaction to it occurs on a miniscule dose. I buy 3mg tablets and do my best to cut them into thirds or quarters. The ones I have don't cut well - they tend to break into uneven sized pieces, but I do my best.
So, monitor your mood while taking melatonin. If you find yourself falling into an abyss in mood terms consider stopping the melatonin fairly quickly and see if it makes a difference.
Thanks everyone, this is obviously a common problem and your different insights are much appreciated. I think I'll give melatonin another look as that seems popular (whilst monitoring mood).
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