What sleep pattern?


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So my sleeping is all over the place.

 

Awake until 3am, sleep until 12pm. Awake for an hour, afternoon nana nap until 5.30pm.

 

And so it goes.

 

Because of fatigue, I can function on 3 or 4 hours sleep and struggle through until bedtime.

 

Has anyone got any ideas on how to get back to somewhat normal?

 

My get up time should be 9.30am and bedtime 10.30pm

 

💚👑

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Establishing a sleep pattern has been difficult for me for many years. My pattern for many years was that I dropped off to sleep instantly but woke again about 2 am and could not drop off. Eventually I gave in to this tossing and turning and donning dressing gown would make a cup of tea, take a couple of disprin, move into computer room and use the internet for an hour. I would make up the sleep with an hours nap after lunch. Being self employed I could do this. Over the next few years I wrote 3 books during this time.

 

This all ceased when we became grey nomads in our campervan and days were so tiring that I slept exhaustedly every night.

 

My stroke eight years ago stuffed up sleep patterns again and I have great periods getting back into a comfortable regime. At this moment all is well, but the afternoon nap is a permanent thing. I wrote once in this forum explaining how I undertook painting the Great wall of China mentally to stop my brain working on problems! I'll see if I can find the article and get it re-printed, you might like to take over painting where I left off because I failed to finish the job.

Deigh

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Thanks Deigh, challenge accepted!

 

I think I have to get used to this strange sleep pattern, but it can be difficult when I want to do things that have set times, like church and volunteering at soup kitchen.

 

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I do struggle with sleeping. I now have to take a prescription for sleep 

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One small trick I took on recently is to avoid TV for the last hour before bed. The blue light emitted is not good for for you. Dunno why, you'll have to ask an expert. The full plan should be to avoid being near electronic things like radios and even phones at sleep time. No way is that possible for me, I rely on my bedside radio for the time and also to entertain me when not sleeping.

Deigh

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I believe the theory is blue light is the spectrum that triggers/sets your circadian rhythms and sleep/wake cycle so blue or white lights after dark inhibit the production of melatonin and disrupt the bodies ability to recognise that you should be asleep. If you must use a screen after dark set it to the night mode with the orange/yellow cast and that should limit the effect.

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Here in NZ we have a radio station called 'Concert'. It is non commercial and plays mostly Classical music with the odd slide into serious jazz. Between midnight and 6am the music is pre-recorded so there is no chat from operators, no new flashes and no weather forecasts. It is an ideal station to listen to if I cant sleep so I have my beside set tuned to it 24/7. I have plugged in a set of 'pillow speakers' which go under my pillow and I can only hear if my ear is directly over them. My partner alongside me can hear nothing.

 

To mute the sound I can either switch off the radio, or better still just slide the speaker a short distance away.  This is an ideal way to fill my sleepless hours and most times I drop off with it still operating. I have to tolerate the odd screeching soprano and some pondering Nordic folk music but that is a part of the mystery of life. Alternatively I can switch over to a USB with 1000  carefully selected jazz tunes but that is not good for inducing sleep!

Deigh

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My sleep was all over the place, but I managed to tame it to a fair extent.  I'm lucky because my legs work well most of the time, so I can run, which helps with both sleep and sanity.  I can't run very far or fast any more, but even a slow-ish jog around the block helps enormously.  It also helps mood, which is vital for me; as I would have walked under a bus long ago without it.

 

In winter I use our (very second-hand) dreadmill, or do pullups or almost anything that will get my heart-rate up.

 

Even just walking our dog around the block helps me get a bit of perspective on life, and helps my sleep.

 

As with all these things, your mileage may vary.

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Paul, exercise of any kind is a great idea. Gardening helps me sleep as does inside exercise which I can do using the Wii. I read before settling down to sleep but admit to starting that process much later when it is a book with plenty of intrigue. Oops, midnight again.

 

 

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