Saturday, December 10, 2016

why can't I sleep?

I used to sleep like a baby.
A few years ago I realized that this was changing.  I fell into a pattern of sleeping for about 4 hours, then waking up, wandering around the house, and trying to go back to sleep.

One of my older friends said, "welcome to old age."

Now it is a pretty common occurrence. Four hours of good sleep in the bed, followed by an hour or two of wandering the house, cleaning up or working on the computer, finishing with an hour of sleep on the couch.

I would much prefer to sleep all night for 8 hours.  It does not seem to have anything to do with what is going on in my life.

Any suggestions?

It's a beautiful night in God's world, be sure to see the good.

3 comments:

Nancy B said...

Melatonin!

Anonymous said...

Can feel for you on this issue. A couple of suggestions, realizing that the same things don't work for everyone. Most adult seniors need 7-9 hours sleep.

Don't drink any caffeine after 12:00 noon. It can take 12 hours to get caffeine out of your body, and caffeine can keep you awake

Don't take more than a fifteen minute nap in the daytime.

Melatonin in your brain is what induces sleep. This solution will nearly always work, unless you are 1)unduly worried about a stressful issue and
2)unless you are on several medications that might interfere with sleep. Avoid Melatonin supplements if at all possible.

Don't go to bed unless you're real sleepy, no matter what time it is.

Before you go to bed drink a glass of milk (does not have to be warm milk) with any non-sweet carb' that you like (crackers or toast most often works). And the milk will not work without the carb'.

Sleep in a very cool, dark room, even if you have to put extra cover on.

If you awaken in the night repeat the milk/carb' thing. Barring worries, and multiple med's you should fall asleep in about twenty minutes.

Before going to sleep try to give all your worrisome thoughts to God. Repeat scriptures that assure us that He really can handle our problems.

Lastly, all good doctors recommend that, in as much as possible try to set a regular sleep pattern, going to bed at the same time and then setting an alarm to wake up at the same time, even if you set the snooze button and and drift back off a bit.

One part of becoming a senior is that trips to the bathroom in the night can decrease quality sleep. Try not drinking anything for a couple of hours before bedtime.

Prayers that some of this helps. And prayers if it doesn't help completely.



Anonymous said...

Along w/no caffeine ..... Exercise. In the morning. 1 hour. Everyday. Shower. Enjoy the day. Sleep well.