Sleep

Thanks for previous comments about my post disappearing. Yes, I usually copy my text before posting just in case, forgot this time.

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What I was going to say earlier is that having a routine before going to bed can me useful for most people, but remember you might not be most people. The routine I used to try as advised; and many of you will have tried went along the lines of wind down before bed, no tv or blue light an hour or two before bed, especially don't look at tv/smartphone in the bedroom, don't read in bed, bedroom cool but not too cold, sit relax before bed for 20 mins, do some light stretches, keep the bedroom a calm clutter free sleeping space, write down any worries before bed and what you need to do tomorrow to postpone thinking about this until tomorrow, take a shower or a quick hot bath before bed …but don't get overwarm, put your favourite mellow music on and so on.

What I found, or what I believe occurred, when I was sleeping extremely poorly (getting to sleep and staying asleep) was that the routine itself became a trigger to become anxious even before getting into bed. Doing the same routine and then continually experiencing poor sleep and being really anxious (heart beat increasing, feeling uneasy almost scared of the prospect of going to bed - even a couple of hours before bed), the routine was not helping. As an analogy, I think it became a bit like a soldier getting ready, doing his/her routine to get ready for a battle, all the prepare work and the anxiety that is inevitably coming and for good reason. My routine sort of became the same, it eventually was saying to my brain something bad is going to happen (and minimal or almost no sleep for hours on end night after night for months is pretty bad), you need to be ready, you need to be alert to this bad thing that's going to happen, you need to be anxious …..it's bedtime.

So, consider cutting out the bits that you think are not working is my advice. A routine might over time start to help some, but don't blindly think a routine in itself is some sort of saviour for everyone who has poor sleep. Maybe give it a chance, if not take the bits that you think are working/helpful and drop the rest.

I put an audio book on to play quietly while I sleep so I can use it to fasten my thoughts on to prevent me thinking about all the upsetting things that have happened in my life. And when I wake in the night, which I always do I can catch my thoughts on it again to prevent them wandering off in bad directions and keeping me awake. I can usually manage at least 6 hours this way before I am properly awake and it no longer works. Then I need to distract myself more actively. My whole life is an exercise in distraction 😔