Not sleeping well and irritable

[Californiablonde]

So I finally got difficult child's insomnia under control, and now I have it big time. I have been falling asleep at 9:00 in the evening, and waking up around midnight and I can NOT get back to sleep for nothing! Oddly enough, I do not have this problem at all on the weekends. I usually sleep for a good nine or ten hours on Friday and Saturday nights. On Thanksgiving break I had no sleeping issues, either. Just knowing I have to set the alarm and get up for work the next morning seems to drastically affect my sleeping patterns.

It's amazing I'm functioning as good as I am considering. I guess it's all the practice I've gotten from when my kids were newborns and waking up every few hours during the night. I seemed to handle it pretty well, so I guess I'm sorta used to it. But I still hate it. I am super irritable and being awake is almost painful. Not because I feel tired, because honestly I don't, but because I am super touchy and get annoyed so easily. Mornings aren't usually as bad, but when afternoon hits after lunch time, my irritability spikes. The later in the week it gets, the worse my moods get. Today is Wednesday and I'm starting to feel it. I am impatiently waiting till Friday when I can finally catch up on some sleep.

My next psychiatrist appointment isn't until next Thursday. I don't know what he can do for me, if anything. I have tried all the prescription sleep medications and they don't affect me at all whatsoever. I have tried herbs, melatonin, and tea, and they don't help either. My Saphris does put me to sleep like it's supposed to, but I wake in the middle of the night and can't stay asleep for anything. I also have an appointment with my therapist next week and I am going to ask for his advice as well. He does hypnotherapy, which he hasn't tried on me yet, but maybe that will help. Hopefully I get some relief soon. Working in this frame of mind is hard, and being around my kids is even harder. Wish me luck.

 

[Malika]

I sympathise, Californiablonde. I don't sleep well either and haven't really, for years. I seem to sleep in fits and starts through the night.

Are you going to bed too early? What would happen if you waited up until, say, 11 pm (not having watched TV or used the computer, of course, as they're supposed to act like stimulants!)? Do you take medication other than to get to sleep too - could this be having an effect?

I find exercise makes a difference, too, as does diet. Saunas... swimming.

I'm out of ideas! Hope you find something that helps.

 

[InsaneCdn]

What is going on in your brain when you wake up in the night?
I used to have to get up and journal for half an hour to get that stuff out of my head so I could go back to sleep.

 

[Californiablonde]

I have tried going to bed later and it backfires. I wake up around midnight regardless of when I fall asleep, so if I go to bed at eleven I'm basically getting only an hour of sleep instead of three or four. I have no idea what is going on in my brain, but it's clearly psychological. Otherwise, why am I sleeping just fine on holidays and weekends? When I do wake up I am not thinking about anything in particular. I try my hardest to lay there and think of absolutely nothing, but of course being awake that many hours, my mind does tend to wander. Maybe I will try your technique, InsaneCdn, and journal. Perhaps writing will make my mind tired enough to go back to sleep. OH, and when I said earlier that I'm only irritable in the afternoons but not tired? Well forget that. Today I actually am feeling tired, and it's only 11:30 in the morning. Maybe it's a good sign. Maybe I'm so tired I will actually sleep through the night later on. I hope and pray. At least tomorrow is Friday and for that I am eternally grateful.

 

[Liahona]

I hope your therapist or psychiatrist can help.

 

[Malika]

As I was driving somewhere this morning, there happened to be a programme on the radio about insomnia with some doctor who's a sleep expert. He said... best meal to eat in the evening to encourage was rice pudding. So there you go! Also avoid high protein meals and chocolate. Obesity is apparently a big factor in insomnia also - the more excess weight, the worse the quality of sleep. Hypnotherapy can help, he said.

Sounds like you are stressing/anxious about work?

 

[Californiablonde]

Well last night I got more sleep than I've been getting all week. Five hours to be exact. I fell asleep around 10:00 and woke up at 3:00. I will gladly take it! I feel much less irritable today than I have been feeling, but still feel like I need to catch up on some hours. I should be able to do that easily tonight. The kids will be at their dad's so I won't be kept awake by them. My mom bought tickets to a church Christmas breakfast for us for tomorrow morning, and I forgot all about it until she reminded me last night. I won't be able to sleep in as late as I had hoped, but at least I can stay in bed till 9:00 and that should make a difference.

I should be feeling better by tomorrow, but I'm worried I am going to start this vicious cycle again next week. I don't really think I'm stressing about work. Mondays are the days where I have to make all my dreaded phone calls, and I really stress out about it on Sunday, but the rest of the week is smooth sailing. Tuesday through Friday my work is fairly easy and I always have plenty of time to go online when things are slow. My job is pretty easy except for the dreaded Mondays.

I used to have a fear of sleeping through my alarm clock and being late to work, so maybe I'm still worried about it subconciously. I don't really care for rice pudding, Malika, but at this point I am willing to try anything! Sleepy time tea and melatonin isn't helping. And I am actively losing weight so maybe that will help, too. At this point I weigh about 155 pounds, which certainly qualifies me as obese by medical standards. Whatever my issues are, I hope they get resolved quickly. Holidays are fast approaching and I really want to be able to enjoy them to the fullest.

 

[InsaneCdn]

You could be stressing about difficult child and whether she is going to make it to school...

Alternative to rice pudding: warm milk with a little honey.