Why am I up all night?
For over a year now, I haven't been sleeping very well. It has reminded me of when my sons were first born. Only they aren't getting up all night. I am. I'll be forty in December and the doctor thinks that I could be experiencing symptoms of perimenopause. Thanks to fluctuating hormones, my sleep patterns seem to be off and you can read more about it here at Meno Pause Time. So what are some things you can do to try and break the night waking habit?
1. Like a child, you may need to establish a bed time routine and stick to it. Winding down before bed and then going to bed at the same time every night lets your body know what is expected of it. It's time to sleep now.
2. A warm bath before bed, a hot cup of caffeine free tea, or other stress reducing activity can help to relax you.
3. Speaking of caffeine, it's best to reduce your caffeine intake and stop all caffeine by early afternoon.
4. No big meals right before bed time.
5. Turn the TV off. Do not fall asleep with the TV on. The lights and noise can disturb your sleep. (This is one that I need to follow).
6. Keeping the bedroom strictly for sleeping or "other bedroom activities" gives the room a purpose for your subconscious. Reading, TV watching, or if you are like me, paying bills should all be done in another room.
7. Try some relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation or silent prayer right before bed.
8. While going to bed at the same is important, getting up at the same time every morning can be equally as important. This helps to keep your routine steady.
9. If you have hot flashes, keep a cool wash cloth by your bedside.
10. And there are herbal remedies or pharmaceutical remedies that may be helpful also. These options should be discussed with your physician.
I wish you good sleep and sweet dreams!
1. Like a child, you may need to establish a bed time routine and stick to it. Winding down before bed and then going to bed at the same time every night lets your body know what is expected of it. It's time to sleep now.
2. A warm bath before bed, a hot cup of caffeine free tea, or other stress reducing activity can help to relax you.
3. Speaking of caffeine, it's best to reduce your caffeine intake and stop all caffeine by early afternoon.
4. No big meals right before bed time.
5. Turn the TV off. Do not fall asleep with the TV on. The lights and noise can disturb your sleep. (This is one that I need to follow).
6. Keeping the bedroom strictly for sleeping or "other bedroom activities" gives the room a purpose for your subconscious. Reading, TV watching, or if you are like me, paying bills should all be done in another room.
7. Try some relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation or silent prayer right before bed.
8. While going to bed at the same is important, getting up at the same time every morning can be equally as important. This helps to keep your routine steady.
9. If you have hot flashes, keep a cool wash cloth by your bedside.
10. And there are herbal remedies or pharmaceutical remedies that may be helpful also. These options should be discussed with your physician.
I wish you good sleep and sweet dreams!
Tags: perimenopause, sleep
Add a Comment
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Comment by Sarah on June 13, 2009 at 5:49pm -
Great tips, Janeen! Like Amanda said, the tips are SO simple but putting them into practice is SO hard sometimes. My latest issue has been my BlackBerry. I've always used my cell phone as my alarm clock and so when I got my BlackBerry, it was like putting a computer in my bed with me. I text, use Twitter, Facebook and anything else I want while in bed now. It's totally dangerous and has totally changed my nighttime habits. I can't NOT take the BB into the bedroom (until I actually get a real alarm clock) but it's so tempting when it's RIGHT THERE next to me! I've tried the whole "across the room" thing but that doesn't work. The thing that REALLY gets me with the BlackBerry is that if I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I am compelled to look at the phone ... to see who has emailed me since I was asleep. I know that's not a good thing, and I'm trying to be better about ignoring it, but it's hard!
I think maybe I need to get a night stand that has a drawer so I can put the phone in the drawer so that it's *there,* but not right next to me. Hrm, that might be something to look into.
Ellen mentioned the pain thing - and I know that's an issue with me sometimes, too. If I'm in too much pain I toss and turn all night long and know I'm not getting good sleeps. I really like her idea about praying over and over and over for the same exact thing. I often pray myself to sleep but haven't tried that. I guess I'll be experimenting tonight!
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Comment by amanda on June 9, 2009 at 10:30am - Great tips Janeen! These are great ideas for anyone with sleep troubles, in fact. It's almost funny to me how simple these tips are in theory but how difficult they are for us all to actually practice! I don't think I've been on a routine waking-up schedule since high school (I can't even remember how I woke up at 5:30am every day!). But I think I'm going to try to stopping eating and staring at my computer right before bed and trying some form of quiet meditation - because, like Hayley, right before bed is when all my thought-monsters come out and bother me. I wish us all luck! -Amanda
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Comment by Ellen S on June 8, 2009 at 4:39pm -
Janeen,
Fabulous reminder of good 'sleep hygiene!' I only average about 10% REM sleep, so need to review these to be sure...
Yup, I'm one that falls asleep to the TV, but it's so good to hear I'm not alone! My busy mind needs just a bit to keep it occupied and I conk out like a light. This is part and parcel for those of us with thyroid trouble and medication fluctuations. A TV with a snooze button (yes, they really come like this!) is a great addition if this is an issue. Remembering our bodies need to be in the dark to produce melatonin - vital to overall health, and my Migraines - is also important for me. Sadly, white noise machines irritate me as do the noisy frogs and crickets outside.
Hot flashes were a real issue too, tho as I smooth out those hormone issues, this is less of a problem, tho admittedly taken over now by some of my lupus symptoms that include fever and night sweats. I'm learning to sleep cold, which helps.
Pain is the biggest issue for many of us. Many choose to learn self-hypnosis. Those who pray will often pray themselves to sleep, and there is a method of praying where you pray for a single thing over and over again, concentrating on the person or thing, much like meditation. A good massage before sleep is always nice too!
As always, it's really important for me to pay attention to my sleep patterns. When they change I know that I need to get into my doctor, my thyroid is usually off kilter again.
Restful sleep - it's one of those things I don't think we appreciate until it's gone!
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Comment by HaleyMae on June 8, 2009 at 4:09pm -
Hey Janeen!
Thanks for these great tips. I would definitely say that cutting out caffeine and trying to follow a regular bedtime/wakeup routine has helped me in the past with sleep challenges. I also just read this NYT article suggesting that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for insomnia can help target patterns of behavior in the daytime that may be disrupting a healthy night's sleep.
During the school year I always have trouble falling asleep for a cornucopia of reasons: I'm stressed out when I go to bed thinking about all the work I still have to get done; I'm usually overtired, which has the horrible effect of making my mind spin while my body feels as though I was hit by a ton of bricks; and I usually start to worry about how little sleep I'm getting, which only leads to further anxiety so I can't fall asleep!
But unlike my mom and brother who have year-round sleep trouble, I know mine has a direct correlation to stress level because the moment I'm home for summer break my troubles disappear with the absence of academic worries. This is why I think that my best bet is to try CBT, because I could work on alleviating my stress level.
Have you ever thought of talking to someone, even just a close friend, about what could be keeping you up at night? Maybe this could help, although perhaps it doesn't apply as much if your sleep problems are attributable to fluctuating hormones.
Anyways, thanks for the tips!
© 2009 Created by Marie
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