Lately I've been having a terrible time trying to get to sleep at night. Last night, for instance, it was 3 am and it's not unusual to have a couple of nights in a row like that. The night before it was 2.30. I'm tired, I'm definitely ready for bed, but I toss and turn for hours. I can hear this buzzing in my head, like my ears are too sensitive or something. It's brain activity that just won't shut down.
I lay there thinking that I'd love to be hooked up to some kind of brain scan so I could see just what's going on in there. I think about all sorts of things and maybe that's the problem. The last couple of nights I've got up and sat out the front and smoked a cigarette around 2.30. I do a series of deep breathing then to get to sleep and it must work, the brain seems to settle down.
I have a low spot around 4pm each day when I could easily catch a few winks, but I'm usually at work so it's not possible. I don't do daytime sleeps very good anyway. I wake up feeling terrible. Tonight I'm tired and I hope I can go straight to sleep. I brought the grandsons home with me tonight and it's been hectic. Alex is a great help with the kids, he loves having them here. We got Riley asleep before I had to go to Wagga and pick Carly up from work, and when we got back he had Zeke asleep too. He set up Riley's cot in his room, and Zeke is asleep in Alex's bed, so he'll have both of them in the morning. No doubt he'll be in to wake me up but it was thoughtful of him.
I looked up a few sites tonight to see what tips people have for insomnia and they seem to be the usual suggestions:
- Take a warm bath
- Get a massage
- Listen to music
- Drink warm milk or herb tea
- Eat a bedtime snack
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco
- Sleep in a well-ventilated room
- Sleep on a good firm bed
- Sleep on your back
- Get some physical exercise during the day
- Keep regular bedtime hours
- If you can't sleep, get up
- Don't sleep in
- Get up earlier in the morning
- Keep your bed a place for sleep
- Avoid naps
- Avoid illuminated bedroom clocks
Maybe there's a few things I could change, like avoid tobacco and caffeine, turn off all the LED lights, but most of it I already do. I'm thinking a glass of red wine before bed, that might do the trick. Sleeping tablets are not even on my agenda.
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