Sleeping

[Krnasmommy]

anyone else have problems sleeping with anxiety? Even if I take my medication I still have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep. I've tried melatonin supplements and sleep inducing natural oils. Nothing at all seems to work.

 

[morgoodie]

Sometimes, I have trouble sleeping when I am feeling anxious. I will lay there and keep going over different scenarios in my mind and it will cause me to not get to sleep. I will get up if it is taking too long to get to sleep and try to do something like read so that I can try to stop the thoughts from playing havoc with my sleep. I have not tried melatonin or anything like that. Maybe you should talk about to your doctor about it. There might be something that they can do for you to help.

 

[joshposh]

If you mind is running at a 100 miles an hours then of course it will lead to insomnia. I think most of us here in the forum will agree on some level that they have tossed and turned in their beds because of overthinking, worrying, stress, and anxiety. It goes hand in hand as I don't see any way a person can go to sleep with an extraordinary amount of brain activity going on just before bedtime.


The best to take care of this little problem is to exhaust yourself during the day to the point where all you can think about is closing you eyes and sleeping. Not about the bills or what you are going to do tomorrow. All that exist in that moment in time is closing your eyes, because you are dead tired.

 

[RichE8475]

I suffer from insomnia, too, due to my anxiety. The constant racing thoughts seem to be endless. I have been prescribed medicines such as Ambien, and I still have no luck falling asleep. Morgoodie and Joshposh both have some good ideas that I have tried in the past, and sometimes they work sometimes they don't. I know I read somewhere that if you are trying to go to sleep, and you are not asleep within ten minutes, you should get out of bed and go do something. I have also learned that you should not look at your phone or be on a computer an hour before you go to bed. There is something about the light that causes your brain to not want to shut down. However, you are not alone, because I have times that I am up for two or three days. The only way that I fall asleep is due from pure exhaustion. If you find any good remedies that work please share, and I will do the same. I hope that you find some peace of mind, and get some sleep.

 

[Alex]

I think many people suffer from sleep deprivation from anxiety and each person deals with it differently. I have never taken medication for sleeping as I am afraid I won't be able to wake up if there was a fire or an emergency. It does also depend on your lifestyle and external factors. I prefer to be alone and wind down, and when people are around I am less relaxed, but if my body is exhausted it will sleep eventually.


I've had many sleepless nights, and it varies depending on what's on my mind, but I do try to watch some comedy YouTube clips as that relaxes me (gag reels) and then I feel less anxious. It helps me so maybe is worth a try?

 

[janemariesayed]

anyone else have problems sleeping with anxiety? Even if I take my medication I still have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep. I've tried melatonin supplements and sleep inducing natural oils. Nothing at all seems to work.

Getting to sleep isn't such a problem for me. But what I do find difficult is staying asleep. I wake up three or four times throughout the night. It isn't to go to the WC either. I just wake up and keep waking up. I don't think I have had a proper full nights sleep for years.

I dream a lot too and used to keep a dream diary beside my bed where I would scribble down what the dream was about.

I have found that using lavender oil sprinkled on my pillow helps me to get to sleep, but I still wake up throughout the night.

 

[Danes]

The one thing that worked for me when all else had failed was meditation. I downloaded a free 10 minute sleep meditation track from Youtube and I would play it when I got into bed and listen to it over and over until I fell asleep. At first it took me over half an hour to fall asleep, but after about two weeks I was falling asleep in less than 10 minutes.