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Insomnia

All the obvious stuff applies, re sleep hygiene etc. So when you are in bed you are there to sleep, not watch TV or play with a computer.

One thing that worked for me when I had a spell of waking at 3am and lying there for 3 hours, then falling asleep and waking up feeling buggered, was to get up at 3 and do something. You do this until you feel sleepy. For me it was ironing a few shirts, listening to a bit of music, tidyig the house. Next day I was in bits, but I slept like a baby thereafter. I think I maybe had to do it twice before the message got through.
 
Gary - If you have any suspicions of sleep apnoea and you have to do a fair bit of driving please get yourself checked out. HGV drivers with sleep apnoea have to declare the problem to the DVLA and commit to using a CPAP machine to keep their HGV licence.

Another symptom of sleep apnoea is feeling tired during the day (which is why the driving aspect is so important).
 
Martin J said:
Too much caffeine was a problem for me. It would not stop me going to sleep but I would wake up soon after. I try not to drink it after lunch time now.

I think some people get into a cycle: crap night -> tired -> lots of coffee -> crap night.
Click to expand...

The rule used to be no coffee after 4pm. But I read recently about a study that suggested that coffee after 2pm had a measureable effect on sleep.
 
This book cured my long term, chronic insomnia and is the only method with any sort of actual evidence to suggest it actually works. Basically all the usual education and sleep hygiene stuff plus a re-training of your bodies sleep mechanism through sleep restriction. I was lucky in that my PCT was part of a trial of this so i got to do the mental health worker led full course.

Although, before embarking on something like this it's important to distinguish between the normal periods of poor sleep we all experience and a real, chronic problem with insomnia.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1845290704/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Do you exercise Basil?

There's being tired and being tired IME.
 
I set my router to turn off wifi at 10pm every night and also stopped eating anything after 10pm.. Sleeping much better.

Also, exercise is key and a **** work after 6pm attitude helps..
 
Mostly been said above but what helped me is:
Make sure the bedroom is as dark and quiet as possible
Aim for a routine and ...
No tech after 10pm
No Caffeine after 4pm
Read a book from 30 minutes before the time I want to be going to sleep in subdued lighting

Not sure what of this worked but I try to do it all.
Jason
 
Forgot to add ... one trick that also seems to work for me is to count backwards in 3's from 1000, whenever you lose your place start again. 1000, 997, 994, 991, 988, did I email that guy? ... 1000, 997, 994, 991 zzzzzzz **

Seems to help me.

Jason


** actually I usually get below 900, but it does seem to help as it is just taxing enough to keep the mind off worries, but easy enough not to be stimulating.
 
I also find a relaxing routine during the last 30 minutes of the night really helps. And try turning down some of the lights around the house the last two hours of the night to signal to your brain that it is almost time to sleep.
 
(Apart from the usual things already mentioned, screens, coffee, etc.)
If all else fails, reading the Economist usually does the trick for me...
 
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