can someone please help me sleep?! page

[primalmrs]

Hey PB 'ers,
I couldn't find an appropriate already written thread that could help me out.
Right.. . . before I was PB I ate ALOT of sugar, went to bed late etc.... never had any problems at all sleeping.
I started PB earlier this year, and I changed my job to a 'regular sitting down job' about 4 months ago.
Its been a month now since my sleeping problems arose. First problem - I started waking up around 4 o clock for the first week, just waking up, wierd.
Next (I always manage to get off to sleep fine btw) I started waking up a few times a night, esp early in the morning. At first I thought it was the noise outside, so we closed the windows and turned the fan on, nope, keep waking up. My worst night was Sunday just gone, I was awake every hour, got no sleep at all and couldn't go into work on the Monday. Since then I have been getting regular headaches.
I went to the doctors today.......a barrel of laughs that was...... he went through the depression, anxiety and stress routes. Told him, lack of sleep is eventually gonna get me dep. and I am getting anxious about waking up at night, and my job is a 'good' stress level. He put it down to . . . . do you exercise? (this was his answer to my chest problems a couple of months ago - which went away when I changed my awful job) I told him my job is 8.45 - 5.15, normally leave around the 5.45 mark every night, get home eat dinner have a shower. By that time its around 7.30, me and the boyfriend usually go for a walk of an evening lasting 30 - 40 mins.
So . . . why now has it started? The doctor suggested a relaxing exercise, swimming.
I like swimming, and I know my health is important, but I fail to believe that his excuse was my problem.
Sorry for going on, if anyone can help me, I would be over the moon.
Let me know if you need any more details.
Thanx !! x

[yodiewan]

Waking during the night is actually normal: What is Biphasic Sleep? | Mark's Daily Apple

I used to never wake in the night, but now I do at least once every single night. I go back to sleep within 5-10 minutes though. Coincidentally, I also started doing this when I started working a job with regular hours. Before, my sleep schedule was shifted later. Don't stress about it; that will just make things worse.

Also, for improved sleep quality, consider dimming the lights around the house and using f.lux: F.lux: software to make your life better for your PC is you use it after sundown.

I also wear an eyemask and earplugs to bed every night and I think that helps.

[primalrob]

exercise could be a big help. walking is good and all, but some body weight exercises while dinner is cooking, or sprinting in place of that walk might make you a little more tired.
do you have trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep? and, if you wake up, how easily can you fall back asleep?
going primal really helped me sleep better, but it wasn't just the food. i also cut down the amount of tv i would watch at night, time on the computer, etc. which all helped me get to sleep better (along with exercise). staying asleep is still something i will struggle with. i wake up a lot, but i can get back to sleep rather easily. i think taking magnesium has really helped me with that (so has moving my dog off my legs).

i also notice that i sleep way better on friday and saturday nights, and i'm pretty sure it's a mental thing. when i know i have to get up for work, i don't sleep as well because i'm a little bit afraid of missing the alarm. any chance that this could be part of your problem?
sleep is tricky...there really isn't an easy or obvious cause for a lot of individual's sleep issues. you may need a little more trial and error with different ideas from people.

[carlh]

Prior to turning 20 or so I used to sleep through all night, every night, and wake up quickly in the morning.

That's around when I started drinking alcohol and started getting stressed about reality. Neither of those are particularly good for sleep.

That was a decade ago. We could probably all use less alcohol and stress.

[Lewis]

Sorry for going on, if anyone can help me, I would be over the moon.
Let me know if you need any more details.
Thanx !! x

I'll try.

First of all, the bedroom should be as dark as possible—pitch black, even tape over lights on clocks, etc.

Secondly, start winding down as it gets dark or before. A short walk as the sun is going down helps, because the light you're getting on your skin is of the right wavelength to trigger the relevant hormones. (Similarly, getting up just before dawn and walking for ten minutes with the early sun on your skin is said to help.) As you're winding down, avoid putting lights on, except for low-wattage table-lamps, and don't look at TV screens or computers. Lights Out seriously suggests wearing red-tinted glasses. Try to get to bed within a couple of hours of sundown.

Having a small snack just before bed can help—not a carbohydrate-heavy one.

Supplementation. Magnesium is the one to try first. If that doesn't help, try some 5-HTP. Finally, you can get melatonin over the counter—that's the hormone that you should be releasing in sleep—and taking a little can help to send you off.