Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Insomnia


I have a very hard time getting to sleep. I have been taking Ambien for 2 years but recently quit taking it. It wasn't working very well anymore and if I took it and couldn't sleep I couldn't do anything else either, since it made my brain slow down. (I've done a few very strange sewing things after taking it-enough to know not to do anything.) It took about 2 weeks to teach myself how to go to sleep again.
So I have a routine that I have to go through to maximize my sleep.
  • the normal; brush teeth, wash face then read scriptures and
  • wait for my husband to be ready for bed (it is impossible to sleep when he is wandering around or brushing his teeth etc.)
  • take 2 calcium pills-read this somewhere and since I need to take calcium anyway...
  • take a melatonin
  • take a hot bath
  • keep the lights low, this is new, something Jeffrey read about sleeping that I am trying to incorporate.
  • I think it is strange but I have to be toasty warm to sleep but in the middle of the night I need to be cooler, so I kick off anything but a sheet. My husband has to be toasty warm all night. For example he was freezing last night so got our winter feather comforter, doubled it and slept under it all night with our light summer quilt, I was under a sheet most of the time. He would so love to put the thermostat up to 80 every night!
  • lay on my right side with a pillow between my knees (Recommended by physical therapist years ago when I had bursitis in both legs.)
  • switch to laying on my back with a pillow under my knees.(same therapist).
  • check the time (after laying in bed 45 minutes I'll get up and do something else for awhile)
  • start counting slowly 1001,1002,1003 etc  Doing it slowly and picturing the number in my head or I'll imagine myself threading needles with black thread and then quilting straight black lines on a black quilt....
  • finally go to sleep
If it doesn't work, after 45 minutes I'll get up and go do something for an hour or 2 and then try again. If my feet have gotten cold then I have to take another hot bath......but most of the time it works and when it doesn't I usually get something else accomplished so it's not so bad to be awake.I'm so thankful to be able to sleep!

1 comment:

Liz Johnston said...

I have 'sound sleep's app that I use one song on repeat for 45 minutes if I can't sleep.