Insomnia Support Group
Insomnia is a symptom, rather than a disease, and is characterized by inadequate quantity or quality of sleep. People with insomnia complain of difficulty falling or staying asleep, which results in significant impairment of daytime functioning. Insomnia is categorized as transient (shorter than one week), short-term (one to three weeks) or chronic (longer than three...
I have been suffering from the most awful insomnia for the past couple of weeks. The problem is that I just can't fall asleep...it doesnt seem to come naturally to me all of a sudden. My problems seem to have started with my 2 year old not sleeping when we went away to stay with family for weekends. She wouldnt settle and I stayed up with her for most of the night. Up until recently, I had been able to sleep ok when we returned to our own environment. However, now I can't seem to actually fall asleep. I'm not sure if the situation I describe above is linked to my sleep problem now. My two year old sleeps fine...but I dont! I am also experiencing alot of stress during the day with my two year going through the terrible twos phase, along with quite bad financial troubles. The thing is that I dont actually lie awake thinking of my problems, so Im not sure stress is what is causing it? When I lie awake, I have my eyes closed but my mind just wont turn off, I sometimes have the line of a song going round and round my head, or I am despairing about not being able to sleep. The thing I do worry about is how can I survive on such little sleep...and I am amazed that during the day I dont actually feel sleepy?? I also suffer from hayfever allergy and at the moment it is pretty bad. For the past 6 days I have had between 2 and 4 hours of broken sleep each night! Can anyone suggest what might be causing this...is it stress related (even though I do not churn over my problems in my head at night?) Any help greatly appreciated!
Oh yes I'm sure many of us can relate. Especially me to the song playing in your head. I do it too, but have learned the mental song keeps me up. So when that happens, make it a point to turn it off! Count sheep, breathe deeply, distract yourself.
Now the fact you don't feel sleepy during the day is very, very good. It suggests you probably need less sleep than you think you do. In other words, if you only need 7 hours (in the normal range) but allow 9 in bed, then yes you can expect a couple of hours of tossing and turning. And for many of us all we remember are the two awful hours awake!
For allergies, do you take medication? I have 'em too and they can disrupt sleep. But for me a simple generic loratidine (brand name claritin) does the trick with minimal side effects.
And regarding stress, yes absolutely that is a potent cause of insomnia. Stress experienced during the day can cause a rise in stress hormones like cortisol that remain in the body through the night, which can disrupt sleep. Then of course the tossing and turning is another form of stress, not to mention the worry about sleep.
You probably will benefit from some simple stress management practiced during the day, especially some good sweaty exercise most every day if you can do it. That is one of the very best methods for stress management. Not getting stressed about the terrible twos but reconfiguring that to enjoyment of parenting will also go along way. I know easier said than done but I have 3 kids and even with the challenges being a parent this is the best experience of my life.
Finally, you should be reassured that if this has only been going on a couple of weeks what you have is acute rather than chronic insomnia. This tends to resolve on it's own for most of us. So my suggestion is don't worry about it, keep a consistent sleep schedule best you can, avoid caffeine later in the day, get some good exercise, also maybe try a good hour or so before bed just let yourself unwind with maybe a nice relaxing bath or similar. That will help you transition to sleep.
Keep us posted but I think you'll be fine in short order.