Restlessness/ insomnia at night?

[Inflikted]

Over the last few weeks, I've been becoming noticeably... restless, I guess, at night. I mean, I get tired and sleepy at about the normal time I always have, but I just don't want to actually go to sleep, yanno? On the other hand, there's nothing for me to really do instead, either, so I end up just kinda sitting around doing nothing, instead of just going to bed.

 

That, and now over the last couple days, I've been having trouble actually getting much sleep when I do go to bed. I end up waking up several times throughout the night, and I try to force myself to go back to sleep, but I only kinda doze off here and there.

 

Any ideas on causes, here? And more importantly, solutions?

[ooglesnboogles]

How's your mattress? I realized my mattress was causing a lot of my sleep troubles. Unfortunately, I can't even afford a cheap IKEA mattress so I settled for flipping and spinning. Helps a little, some nights I still have trouble sleeping.

[KathyM]

Here's a few tips to sleep well:

 

1. Always go to bed around the same time every night.

 

2. Don't exercise in the evening or do other very active things.

 

3. Don't eat spicy foods too close to bedtime.

 

4. Make sure the room is dark.

 

5. Try relaxation techniques while you are in bed, such as muscle relaxation and mind relaxation techniques.

 

6. Don't stress about not sleeping. Don't get up. Just lie there if you wake up, keep your eyes closed and your mind cleared.

 

7. Make sure the room is a comfortable temperature.

 

8. Don't take naps at other times of the day.

 

9. Don't drink caffinated drinks.

[Els]

Check out the sites for sleep hygiene. Plenty of good advice on there, some of which is in Kathy's post.

 

You could try some chamomile/peppermint/valerian tea, that supposedly helps calm the mind. Also take a nice hot bath before bed, because your temperature will drop after you get out of the bath and lie in between the cool sheets, and that signifies to your mind that you are relaxed and comfortable and sleepy (also the bath helps you relax).

[Anela]

I've been having more trouble sleeping lately. I wondered it it's the coconut oil I've been taking, since I'd read that it can increase energy (and I haven't been craving tea as much as I used to), but I've also been stressed. This morning, I finally made some chamomile tea, at around 6am, and I fell asleep at gone 9am, waking up occasionally here and there (probably because I was missing a beautiful, if cold, day).

 

Exercising late afternoon/early evening used to help me. I think one thing that's been making this worse, is the lack of physical work, due to a few things.