Struggling

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Confession time, friends.
I have been struggling or am struggling and I need help.
It's all about the crazy mama and the insomnia.
{And you know when I refer to myself as "crazy" I don't truly think I am crazy but humor is just my way of dealing, right? I also don't think anyone else struggling with anxiety or any kind of anything is crazy}.
Anyway, the insomnia comes and goes but won't just GO for good, like I need it to.
Have you dealt with this? Anyone?
This is so frustrating. Last night I made sure to be in bed by about 10:20 even though I really wasn't tired.
I watched tv for a few and then turned it off to let my brain rest and quiet down before I went to sleep.
Well, here comes 11:30....12:10...12:45...1:15...1:44....yep, still awake.
Still awake and getting really pissed I might add.





Here's the thing; I know that for my anxiety and my health and my need to really lose weight
I need to be able to get some sleep so I can get up early in the morning and exercise.
I don't just want to, I need to.
I know it would help with everything and if I could just get out of this messed up cycle and into a new
cycle I would be feeling much better in all areas.
BUT, in order to exercise before Eric leaves for work I need to be up by 6:00 at the latest but it's just not happening.
I set my phone alarm, all of my clothes and tennis shoes are set out before I go to bed, all I need to do
is GET UP. And I can't.
Since I am having so much trouble sleeping, by that time of the morning I am dead to the world, it's like that is when I am getting my best sleep.






So, I need help...any ideas, advice....anything?
Books, theories, thoughts, beliefs, diet, spiritual advice, religious advice (you won't offend me), vitamins, potions, herbs, exercises, tea...anything?
I am open to/ would consider nearly anything...except maybe Dr. Conrad Murray.....
not quite that desperate.
Yet.
Thanks in advance.

Signed,
Sleepless in Illinois ; ) 
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18 comments:

  1. LaurinAugust 11, 2011 at 8:34 AM

    I take 3g melatonin on my sleepless nights. Your body makes it naturally anyway - so it's relatively safe. Sometimes I wake a little groggy, but it's nothing that a cup of coffee can't fix!

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  2. UnknownAugust 11, 2011 at 8:45 AM

    oh girl...i feel your pain! sun, mon, AND tuesday night were just. like. that! don't really know what to say about that, except for once in a great while i take a tylenol PM to help me sleep. not too bad on groggy feeling, but i don't really like taking stuff...so i don't do it often. about the exercise...it makes you feel so much better and sleep better too, but you already know that. this week i ran with a friend and that really helped with accoutablility...do you have anyone you could go out with? i does make it easier to get up early. if not, if you do get up and go...it's easier the next day...most of the time.

    i'm sorry you're struggling, we all go through that. a few weeks ago i had NO motivation to do anything! i kind of snapped out of it. ebb and flow, i guess. feel better, sweetie :)

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  3. pakostaAugust 11, 2011 at 9:17 AM

    I also recommend Melatonin because it seems to work for my girls when they can't sleep I give them half of one and your body produces it anyway, so it's a natural substance unlike sleeping pills. It did not work for me though, it relaxed me, but I still could NOT fall asleep!
    I am exactly the same way right down to the need to get up at 6am so I can exercise. it's a horrible cycle!
    I sleep best from around 4-9 the rest of the time I am wide awake. ugh! hate it so much. I think it's just worry , anxiety and too much on my mind.
    take some melatonin and see if that helps. you can get it at Walmart....good luck!
    signed, also sleepless in IL~ LOL!
    tara

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  4. SZMAugust 11, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    Wish I could help. I struggle with this too. I find the days I exercise help A LOT!

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  5. Corinne CunninghamAugust 11, 2011 at 9:47 AM

    Another vote for melatonin :) you can get it right at the grocery store, or drug store.

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  6. Jade @ Tasting GraceAugust 11, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    Are you naturally a night owl? Maybe that's just your natural sleep cycle and trying to force a different one isn't working. Would it be possible to do evening exercise instead of morning?

    Staying up with anxieties is the WORST - I so feel you on that. I once heard someone say that if they focus on "I need to sleep" they stay awake, but if they TRY to stay awake, they fall right asleep. I've tried it a couple of times and it seemed to work for me. So maybe that's worth a shot?

    I've also been known to resort to a glass of milk before bed and reading old boring textbooks in bed. Those strategies were a little more hit-or-miss.

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  7. Katie @ minivan divaAugust 11, 2011 at 10:17 AM

    I have had insomnia through all my pregnancies and for the last 8 years since I'm on prednisone for lupus. It makes me wired. I recommend exercise, no caffeine, and no TV before bed. We also used melatonin for son with Asperger's Syndrome since a lot of kids on the spectrum have sleep issues. It really helped. Good luck, girlie!

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  8. GemAugust 11, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    Could you not exersize of an evening when Eric gets home, hopefully this may tire you out and then help you get a better nights sleep ? It doesn't sound good though, I hate not being able to get to sleep and the more you know you need to the harder it seems to be for it to happen. hope the problem resolves soon xxx

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  9. LisaAugust 11, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    I am with Gem, exercise when he gets home. say that that is going to be mommy time. I also recommend taking a hot bath or shower with some lavender oil, that is calming. I have had this problem before, and I only got better with theraphy and medication because there is almost always something that causes these kinds of problems. I advise you to talk to someone professional and take their advise. taking sleeping pills can help for now, but in the long run i don´t believe in them :(
    maybe some yoga or pilates could help also!

    I am here rooting for you!

    Was sleepless in Sweden ♥

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  10. ChristineAugust 11, 2011 at 1:32 PM

    Have you tried magnesium? With the push for women to up their calcium intake magnesium is needed to balance it. Calcium tenses muscles and magnesium relaxes them. I once saw on Dr Oz that if you lie quietly with your eyes closed, this is almost as restful for the body as actual sleep. With this idea it makes the insomnia a little easier to handle when it happens to me.
    A more expensive solution - how old is your mattress? Sometimes a worn out mattress can cause sleepless nights.
    Oh yeah, and tv is a bad idea right before bed. Its too stimulating on the brain. The tv was banished from my bedroom a few years ago.....

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  11. Leslie @ top of the pageAugust 11, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    when i or my husband deal with sleeplessness more than it seems is "normal", i start to think outside the box. i start to listen. i ask God if perhaps he's trying to get my attention, because the busyness of the day drowns Him out. sometimes he has something to say, i get an answer, and start sleeping again. try it. the next time you are lying awake in the silence (which i've experienced a lot), ask God if He wants to talk to you. or open your Bible...i know He wants to trade your anxiety for peace. it just takes a bit of faith to believe He is willing and able.

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  12. Farmgirl PaintsAugust 11, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    i take sleepy time or midnight when i can't sleep. supposedly it's all natural and non-habit forming. it really does help and i'm not hung over the next day. i'm sorry...it's awful to lay there and just watch time pass away. so been there.

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  13. MoomserAugust 11, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    My initial thought was to suggest evening exercise, but that doesn't work for everyone. Melatonin's also works really well but you may not want to take a pill... What worked for me was setting multiple alarms and having my husband yell at me to shut off the stupid alarms and get the hell up already for the first three days. Three days of very little sleep, but I was suprisingly alert, possibly amped up on all the endorphins from exercising. After that my body was probably just too tired and I started gradually falling asleep earlier. Whatever solution I'm sure you'll find a way out of it!!

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  14. Sandy WAugust 11, 2011 at 6:20 PM

    Have you tried acupuncture?

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  15. Nuts about foodAugust 12, 2011 at 5:09 AM

    I think the more you stress about it the worse it gets. Forget the exercising for a few days and just let your mind know you can sleep in. And it might be easier to fall asleep. Also, I have always been told that if you can't sleep it is worse to lie in the dark and try to. Get up, go downstairs and do something for a while, even just 20 minutes. Watch some TV, read a book. Hey, exercise! Or do some cleaning. I have tried it and it works. When you go back to bed you can usually sleep.

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  16. { T G L }August 12, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Oh dear, I have no real advice but I just want to let you know I am thinking of you. Sounds like a rough situation to be in!

    Good luck!

    Blessings,
    This Good Life

    P.S. As for advice... forgive me, but - how can I put this politely on the internet? - would 'marital intimacy' be an option? I've read doctors suggest this as a (serious and effective) treatment for insomnia.

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  17. DaniAugust 12, 2011 at 8:51 PM

    I deal with this on a regular basis. It's been going on since high school which was 20 years ago.

    There are things I had to accept: 1) I am not a morning person and never will be. 2) I have tried working out in the morning and it's not as effective as in the evening.

    So...when I'm having a stretch of insomnia I take a couple Tylenol PM. I don't do it every night, but if I've had three nights straight of less then 5 hours of sleep, I pop the pills. I've also accepted the fact that I am never going to get a full night's sleep while school is in session. I catch a cat nap in the afternoon when I get home. I try to "catch up" on the weekend. I'm a wreck by May but then over the summer get back to normal. But I sleep A LOT over the summer.

    Anxiety. I think my anxiety is made worse by lack of sleep. It's a vicious cycle. I need to exercise to be less anxious. I need more sleep to have the time/energy to exercise. Blerg.

    I'm sorry. I have no cure. I have no solution. But you are not alone in this shitty battle.

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  18. Shannan MartinAugust 13, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    I've struggled with insomnia over the years, too. No good advice from me, unfortunately.

    But - you DO take stunning photos when you're whipped-tired! So there's that. ;)

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