Bad Sleep Pattern - Help Please

[Alstare1974]

Anyone got any advice on how I can get my sleep pattern right again, maybe someone who's worked nights.

At the moment im awake all night and asleep most of the day.

[Zaf]

I'm struggling with mine atm Alstare, if I find a solution I'll let you know...

[Alstare1974]

Aww Zaf it's crap isn't it. I won't sleep until at least 9am.

[Zaf]

I'm starting to sleep in the afternoons,  I just dont seem to be able to stay awake, then again early evening but cant sleep much after 1pm so every morning I come to work and feel ghastly

I'm going to ask a friend who is into natural type remedies if acupuncture or shiatsu might help,  the essential oil works for me for a few hours then I wake up again,  I suppose I could try keeping it by my bed and topping up when I wake in the early hours but the smell is horrible even though I did have some success with it!

[doublep]

At the moment, I don't sleep more than 2 or 3 hours in a night time, and if I do.. I wake up more, and feel drained when I wake up no matter what.

I don't sleep during the day, and feel constantly tired.

If anyone has any tips, I'll be following this thread!

[dlg78]

Anyone got any advice on how I can get my sleep pattern right again, maybe someone who's worked nights.

At the moment im awake all night and asleep most of the day.

I work nights, well I work nights and days, for example tonight I start the first of 5 12hr nights, then its 5 days off, then 5 12hr days, so my sleep pattern is constantly all over the place.

I find that my issue is I tend to sleep too much, I can get up at 5am no problem on my dayshifts, but on my days off if I haven't got a reason to get up I can sleep for hours and hours and end up feeling bad about it.

The best advice is to force yourself to go to bed earlier in the evening, around 9ish, and IF you can sleep regularly then you should start to rise earlier in the morning, that's allegedly the healthiest way to sleep, but I don't think it works for everyone.

[Laura]

I sleep 5 hours a night for one week and 17 hours a night the next week.
I'm not working so that's not the problem.

I find if I do force myself to go to bed I lie there for hours thinking it is a complete waste of time, I could be up and doing something while I am awake. (Of course when I am up I don't do much, just watch TV and wish I was asleep.)

I do find that a hot milky or oat based drink helps a bit. And sometimes if you tell yourself you have to stay awake in order to count sheep or name all the capital cities of the world alphabetically you might drop off.

The other thing is to be as comfortable as possible, the right temperature, not lying on a lumpy spring in the mattress, being wrapped up or not. Maybe sleep on top of a duvet as well as have one over you.


Lots of luck to everyone.

[Glen53]

I never usually have a problem, but recently its been a problem. I would try to tire myself out by walking (plenty of nice walks around here) but due to my mood, I dont feel up to leaving the house for long. For a short term only I have a small supply of zopiclone so that if I dont sleep for a few nights I can take one. Only resorted to it once so far though.

Relaxing music and a cup of chocolate can help a bit.

[Got]

I used to work nights and also, Ive had the same problem with your recently.

Your body clock is set by the time you awake and see light, which initiates a biochemical response in the brain and endocrine system. So, you actually need to do the painful thing of dragging yourself out of bed one morning, as hard as that will be. And then you need to keep on doing it. If you start lying in, the body clock will get messed up again.

It is actually the only way Alstare. In the longer term, it may actually make you feel better...you will get more sunlight, live a more natural cycle, and feel more human also.

Take care mate.
 

[lou]

yep i agree with stevie. i either cant get to sleep for what seems like hours or i get off to sleep and wake up, anything up to 3-5 times a night, i also toss and turn all night. it's got to the point that my partner and i now have separate rooms during the week as we both work. i still drag myself out of bed at 7am everyday regardless i try and keep awake with energy drinks or i would be asleep in the day! i know i shouldn't drink them, i only have 2 in the morning.
try a hot bath, milky drink and lavender oil on your pillow. you could also try and listen to some relaxing music or i have listened to self help relaxation tapes, which kinda have a hypnotic effect which sends me to sleep.
good luck with whatever you try. :)

[SleepyCat]

I have a LOT of problems with my sleep pattern getting really out of control. I did work nights for a few years because my sleep patterns were so messed up that I thought at least I could be earning some extra money for staying awake!

For me, staying in a routine is really helpful. I'm not very good at this and will stay up later and later throughout the week because I can't be bothered to get into bed, and then I find it harder and harder to get up in the mornings. I really need to be more disciplined with going to bed because I think this would be a big part of solving the problem.

As well as having a set bedtime, a relaxing routine before bed helps a lot. That might include a warm bath, reading a book, relaxation exercises, anything that helps you wind down and be ready for sleep.

Sleeping pills can help in the short term by helping you get back into a routine. Taking sleeping pills to make yourself sleep for a few days can help your body adjust to naturally sleeping at that time. I'm so undisciplined that this doesn't help me much because I get out of the routine so quickly anyway. But I have found that taking a sleeping pill once per week helps prevent it getting really out of control. When it's starting to get bad I take a pill and have an early night and it re-sets me into the right pattern for a few days. My GP is happy for me to use the sleeping pills long-term for this purpose.

Light and dark is another thing that helps me a lot. I often open the curtains when I get into bed so that the sunlight will wake me in the morning. If you are still working nights, you might find it helps to fit blackout blinds so you can sleep during the day, and a daylight lamp on a timer switch to wake you up in the evening.

[Zaf]

My sleep patterns have got worse recently, fell asleep around 7ish on the settee ast night and been wide awake since about 2am after some very restless sleep

[Zaf]

Despite doing virtually nothing today I'm really sleepy and despite the time I'm going to bed, I dont want to fall asleep on the settee again tonight and I'm sure I'll get off to sleep but my trouble is waking in the early hours, my panfor tonight is to keep the essential oil beside the bed and use it when I wake up in the hope it will send me off again, fingers crossed....

[Glen53]

I could always get a few car geek friends of mine to explain the differences between the different models of VW Scirocco?. That would get you off to sleep in no time...probably keep you there for days too 

I hope you can get a good nights sleep tonight Zaf.

(I managed a funny!)

[Alstare1974]

I assume that's the latest model rather than the 1980s model.