Sleep Anxiety

So for over a week now I have been having a difficult time falling asleep. I am exhausted and want to sleep, but it seems like every time I start to fall asleep (as in the second I start to enter the sleep state), I am jolted awake by this burst of anxiety. I have been having to drink alcohol to fall asleep for the last few days, and I don't want to become dependent on that to sleep. Lately I have been feeling like a zombie and have been unable to go to the gym. It makes getting through my work nights difficult as well. I am just wondering if any of you guys have ever experienced anything like this? I did some Googling, and I have found a number of people describing the same thing. It is very disconcerting to say the least. I worry that this will become an ongoing thing.

 

You Have Already Told Us What Is Causing Your Prob And I'm Surprised You Can't See It.

ALCOHOL Will Do This To You If You Don't Have A Break From It.

Your Continuous Beer Reviews Leave Little Time For You To "Dry Out".......

And In Fact Just Reading Them Gives Me Alcohol Related Issues Aswell.......



Cheers Glen.

 

Well, the thing is I work nights, so up until the time the insomnia started, I was only drinking about 2 times per week. Yes, I would have multiple beers those nights I did drink, but nothing overboard. I am a fairly health-conscious person, so I don't really like to drink all the time. I think the beer reviews make it seem like I drink more than I do. I really don't drink that much.

 

I had a short spell of this, it was not just tiring, it was stressful which I'm convinced made things worse.
I had a word with my councillor about it, she gave me some tips, that really sounded mad, but I was so desperate, due to the continued anxiety, which was becoming worse! The panic attacks were awful, I was willing to try anything.
I was told, make sure you don't have an empty stomach, to make sure your tired when you go to bed, if possible, read, or watch a relaxing programme that is not stressful, is no big action! Take a long hot bath first!
If you wake, get up, go to the sink and have a glass of water, then return to your bed! Leave a light outside your room on...and sing a cheerful song in your head, when the song has finished, relax again..I know, it sounds mad.
But by the time I drank the water, the panic was almost over, and by the time I finished the song, ( which became shorter and shorter) I was yawning and ready for sleep.
It sounds mad, but worked for me...I did the alcohol first, and like you, worried I would become addicted, try it..it worked for me.
She explained that by training your brain to do so much, it forgot about the panic attacks and just blocked out the reasons for not sleeping.
Hope it helps, really I do.

 

Thank you so much for that!

 

I Omitted To Say, I Really Love Your Beer Reviews.......They Are Well Presented And Are Of A Professional Standard....



Cheers Glen.

 

Thanks, Glen.

 

Better sleep hygiene.

Don't get into your bed except to sleep. Go to sleep at the same time every day (including weekends). Don't look artificial light (screens) in the hour before bed. I use a program called f.lux to reduce the amount of blue light from my computer screen.

If you need to reset your sleep clock, use Ambien for three or four days.

 

I dont have trouble falling asleep usually but i do jolt awake around 3 or 4 in a blind panic once a week or so.

I find meditating before bed helps to let go of any anxieties. If you have trouble meditating try to find a guided meditation online.

 

if i were alone out in the woods, i would fall asleep no problem.
(not speculation. i've been there and done that. even camping out when i was homeless many years ago now)
what i worry about, is people talking, being able to hear that when i'm asleep,
and how that might affect my subconsious.

i have some instrumental music i plug into my ears when i go to sleep to prevent this,
but there are, less then pleasant people who come by in the middle of the night and park themselves next to my acoustically invisible walls,
flapping their mundane gums about mundane and frequently retarded crap.

pretty much all hours really. seldom more then five or six hours going by without someone doing so.
even without them, my hours are the clock of some other world.
well this is the sort of thing that has always bothered me.

one of the many reasons that i am always happiest when i don't have to hear the sound of the human voice.

to answer the op though, i really believe the way the dominant culture romantacizes and rewards aggressiveness is at the root of this epidemic of otherwise needless anxiety. not directly, but current common attitudes in the u.s., i can't speak for other places where i'm not, have created what i believe to be, and i've experienced both, a far more dangerous situation, then nature ever could if it tried.

sorry i don't have a good or better answer, except to encourage culture to evolve in a calmer, more peaceful and considerate, direction.

 

This happens to me from time to time. I'll be laying in bed, entering that "twilight zone" between sleep and wakefulness, when I am suddenly overwhelmed by anxiety. At the time, the things I am worrying about seem all-consumingly important, but in the morning I realize that they were strange or silly things to be concerned about.

Honestly, the best solution I have found is to just get out of bed, do something else for a little while, and then try to go back to sleep again once I am feeling clear headed and I realize the anxiety was overblown. Morrow's suggestions seemed like they would work. I think the nightly drinking can be effective short term, but might be dis-regulating for sleep in the long term.

 

Agree with Meliai about meditation.

I can describe an acupressure self-massage that might help if you are interested.

 

I have trouble sleeping sometimes too. I find that 25 mg of medicinal marijuana edibles will help me get in the right mode for sleeping! Hope this helps.

 

I dont know if PR is interested but I am

 

Ok.


So this is an acupressure self-massage that you can do right before bed. This is from the book "Curing Depression Naturally with Chinese Medicine". It can help with depression, but also insomnia.

Press and knead the very top and center of the head. This is point GV20, Bai Hui. Do this about 100 times

Next, knead the point at the inner ends of the eyebrows with the fingers. This is point Bl 2, Zhan Zhu. Do this about 30 times.

Next, wipe the upper edge of the eye sockets with the thumbs, then the lower edge with the index fingers. Start from the inner corners, and then moving to the outer corners. Do this about 20-30 times.

Next, rub the palms of the hands together vigorously until they feel warm. Then place the palms over the eyes. Cover the eyes for 30-60 seconds. Then lightly rub the eyes while they are closed about 10 times.

If you place your hands together behind your head, and lace the fingers together without allowing the fingers to overlap the hand, your thumbs, if extended, will be on your neck. If you slide the thumbs upward from this position until they rest at the boundary between the neck and the head, this is about GB20, Feng Chi. Massage these points about 30-50 times. The hands don't necessarily have to be behind the head, I just used the description to help describe the point.

You may want to look up the point names on-line if you are unsure where the points are.

There is actually more to this self-massage, but this may be a good start that may be helpful to you.

 

Than ks newbie!

 

you're welcome! :sunny:

 

Hypnic jerk...


No, I didn't call you a jerk. It's a real thing and relatively common. Google it.

 

I am aware of what a hypnotic jerk is, and I have experienced it several times before. However, this is not quite what I have been experiencing as of lately.

On another note, today I was finally able to get some restful sleep without the aid of alcohol. I came home from work, took some melatonin, then hopped in the shower. When I got out I had a cup of chamomile tea with honey, then when to bed shortly thereafter as I was felling quite sleepy. When I climbed into bed, I was still feeling a bit anxious, but was somehow able to redirect my thoughts while focusing on my breathing. It did take me a while to fall asleep, but I finally did and managed to get at least 5 to 6 hours of restful sleep, though I could probably use a few more.

Also, thanks to all the responses to this thread as well.

 

Yeah, I wish I could smoke some weed, but I have been abstaining for the last month or so to get my system cleaned out as I am currently looking for another job and will likely need to be drug tested.

I have wondered if perhaps this insomnia could be partly do to with having not smoked in a while.