Story bad night, can't sleep

[notadaisy]

it's really late for me at this time and i feel so exhausted, but i couldn't get myself to sleep.

i experience insomnia at times cause of a number of reasons. but sometimes it's because of myself not wanting to let my free time go to waste which i can only attain late at night. i can just be lazy and do anything with no pressure/chores/responsibilities. i had a breakdown sometime ago, i feel so drained. im not doing well at all. im still feeling overwhelmed because of everything I'm going through now (which i won't say in this thread because this should be about my issue unable to sleep). i am also feeling uncomfortable. hot flashes or fever like feeling even if i have no fever. my mind is going in spirals. i feel sick so unwell mentally, emotionally, and physically. i feel like to puke from anxiety. im terrible at taking care of myself nowadays. i just want to rest and put myself at ease even just temporarily for tonight. it will be a saturday in the morning but i don't want to end up sleeping that late tonight, I'll end up just feeling more bad. i really need to force myself to rest.


what do you guys do if you're experiencing a bad night and couldn't sleep but want to rest? any advice for me? coping mechanisms? or you can just share your own similar experience too

 

[blackjack711]

Typically when I can't get out of my own head and rest I'll put the kettle on to boil while I take a nice hot shower before making myself a cup of tea to drink. It usually helps calm my nerves at least a little bit, it might help you too

 

[Regen]

During my vacation in summer in the hills I sleep really well, because at day I walk in the fresh air and I never stay at bed during the day. It was a great feeling sleeping all the night...

But at home I always have bad nights. For some month I try a medication for sleep (25 mg quetiapin). I heard that cbd oil can be helpful. Sports were helpful in the past, but at the moment I can't do it. Sometimes I try asmr. Sometimes I try meditation with deep frequencies. Sometimes I only accept my bad nights and don't fight against them. I often eat much chocolate to get tired because of the sugar. I am scrolling through ss at night. But not all my strategies are good for me.

 

[Redacted24]

I do my best to not look at the screens when I'm ruminating and can't rest.
I'll get out of bed - sit in my chair and read a book (usually a book that I want to read but struggle with)... that usually works after an hour, two at most for me.
By then I'm cold and the bed is cold, so once it gets warm again, done!

 

[Electra]

I used to not fall asleep but if I did - I would sleep through the night. Now I fall asleep but can't stay asleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. I'm not sure what to do about it. I guess ventilating your bedroom, keeping it dark and quiet is important. Trying not to eat before bed. Reducing the screen time. Destressing (Idk how, if someone cracked the code pls share). Maybe some light stretching. Writing your thoughts down. Guided meditation. Milk with honey. Breathing exercises. Calming music. Aromatherapy. Gradual muscle relaxation. Idk nothing helps me out of these ones anymore, but you may as well try.

 

[GlassMoon]

I used to not fall asleep but if I did - I would sleep through the night. Now I fall asleep but can't stay asleep. I keep waking up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. I'm not sure what to do about it. I guess ventilating your bedroom, keeping it dark and quiet is important. Trying not to eat before bed. Reducing the screen time. Destressing (Idk how, if someone cracked the code pls share). Maybe some light stretching. Writing your thoughts down. Guided meditation. Milk with honey. Breathing exercises. Calming music. Aromatherapy. Gradual muscle relaxation. Idk nothing helps me out of these ones anymore, but you may as well try.

I've suffered from both of this as well, in spite of medication.

That sounds pretty exhaustive to me, just two more hints I got in therapy:

Don't spend time in bed unless you're sleeping or making love, so the mind learns that the bed is only for sleeping. If you can't sleep, do as @Redacted24 does and read a book elsewhere until you are tired. I did not do that, too cold!!!

The other thing which was recommended and worked for me is sleep time reduction, meaning you restrict your total sleeping time until "it works". It requires a lot of discipline, especially in the first few days, because you also must not sleep during the day to increase the need for sleep at night. Even worse: also on the weekends... :-( But I believe this will only work if the stress level is not overly high...

 

[Fall Leaf]

I'm struggling with sleeping issues since childhood till this day.
I don't think I can offer one method that going to work in 100% since it depends on the person and the situation but here's some stuff I tried and helped me:

If possible, try reducing stress through the day.
Sharing to someone your struggles can be helpful and helps me get out of thoughts loops and it bothers me less afterwards at night. If talking to anyone I know IRL is too much I'm using this forum or chatting with chat GPT.
Taking breaks of "doing nothing" through the day can help if you're feeling overwhelmed by too many tasks. Going on a walk even if you have nothing to do is a good way, if it's hard for me to go out without my headphones I'm trying to listen to instrumental music like classical music. Walking also helps you feeling more tired. If I can't go out of the house (right now it's really cold outside) I'll try doing another kind of sport at home. If you have any disturbing thoughts doing those activities it's totally normal. If you feel like you need more than just let those thoughts let out I suggest talking to someone as I mentioned before.

If all those stuff aren't working for me and I need a quick solution while it turned night already I'm trying at least one of those methods:

1.Turning on an ASMR video I'm comfy with and doing the 4-7-8 breathing technique while making sure my room is in a good temperature.
2. Sitting on a chair and reading a book in a soft lighted environment until I feel tired.
3. If I'm disturbed by thoughts I'm trying to write them down (preferably on paper, but typing it on a phone or a computer works too) until I feel more relieved.

Also something that helped me is medicine. There's some kinds of over the counter medicine that supposed to help with sleeping issues. I'm using a small dose of prescribed antipsychotics that helps me feeling more tired. There are more kinds of sleeping pills that may help.

I apologize for my broken English, it's not my first language. I hope it helped somehow and if you have any more questions my PMs are open, or you can comment on this thread.

 

[Electra]

@GlassMoon I've tried reading in another place - didn't work. Of course I believe it depends more on my anxiety levels. Restricting my sleep time? Oh damn, that is a tough pill to swallow for sure. When you're already sleep deprived - rest is paramount. But I guess it could work. You say it did work for you, so that's great. For how many days/weeks were you practising this when you finally saw results?
@Fall Leaf would you say that taking meds would be the best option if you've tried many things and they didn't bring the intended results? Are you taking your meds to sleep every night or is it reserved for extreme cases?
Thank you all for sharing these tips

 

[Fall Leaf]

@GlassMoon I've tried reading in another place - didn't work. Of course I believe it depends more on my anxiety levels. Restricting my sleep time? Oh damn, that is a tough pill to swallow for sure. When you're already sleep deprived - rest is paramount. But I guess it could work. You say it did work for you, so that's great. For how many days/weeks were you practising this when you finally saw results?
@Fall Leaf would you say that taking meds would be the best option if you've tried many things and they didn't bring the intended results? Are you taking your meds to sleep every night or is it reserved for extreme cases?
Thank you all for sharing these tips

Personally I take my meds every night, but I'm not using sleeping meds. I'm using Quetiapine to help my SSRI be more effective because I'm on the max dose and I can't go up. Some of the side effects of Quetiapine is feeling a bit more sleepy and calm. There are stronger meds that meant for sleeping issues, some people I know took them after a surgery and they said it made them sleepwalking and have nightmares. They are not recommended for a long term use.

Meds can help but it depends on the situation, I'm not a doctor and I don't know your medical record so I can't assume whether or not it's worth trying.
I talked to a psychiatric and also my family doctor and and suggested that and it helps me not waking up at night.

Lots of luck!

 

[Electra]

Personally I take my meds every night, but I'm not using sleeping meds. I'm using Quetiapine to help my SSRI be more effective because I'm on the max dose and I can't go up. Some of the side effects of Quetiapine is feeling a bit more sleepy and calm. There are stronger meds that meant for sleeping issues, some people I know took them after a surgery and they said it made them sleepwalking and have nightmares. They are not recommended for a long term use.

Meds can help but it depends on the situation, I'm not a doctor and I don't know your medical record so I can't assume whether or not it's worth trying.
I talked to a psychiatric and also my family doctor and and suggested that and it helps me not waking up at night.

Lots of luck!

Thank you for sharing your experience. How long have you been taking Quetiapine for sleep?

 

[GlassMoon]

@GlassMoon I've tried reading in another place - didn't work. Of course I believe it depends more on my anxiety levels. Restricting my sleep time? Oh damn, that is a tough pill to swallow for sure. When you're already sleep deprived - rest is paramount. But I guess it could work. You say it did work for you, so that's great. For how many days/weeks were you practising this when you finally saw results?

I think the idea of reading in another place is not only about getting tired again, but also about training not to lie awake in bed for too long - it's more like a long-term investment.
Recently, I was at about 7 hours of sleep per night, and I think it took a few days until I had adjusted to that and did not feel tired during the day any more. It took longer until the early wake-up went to a point where I'd get up, go to the bathroom and fall asleep again, and finally barely wake up too early at all. But it comes and goes, like now I'm at eight hours again because it's vacation time. And when something disturbs the sleep pattern, I have to force myself back into the sleep schedule.

 

[Electra]

I think the idea of reading in another place is not only about getting tired again, but also about training not to lie awake in bed for too long - it's more like a long-term investment.
Recently, I was at about 7 hours of sleep per night, and I think it took a few days until I had adjusted to that and did not feel tired during the day any more. It took longer until the early wake-up went to a point where I'd get up, go to the bathroom and fall asleep again, and finally barely wake up too early at all. But it comes and goes, like now I'm at eight hours again because it's vacation time. And when something disturbs the sleep pattern, I have to force myself back into the sleep schedule.

Wow, you are really determined, props to you for that! Dealing with day time sleepiness is so hard, but I guess when you start making a habit out of it and set yourself into a routine - it all works out in the end. And in the long run it's probably better for your body and health too.