Morning:
10°c
I can't remember a time when I wasn't tired. My eyelids always feel unwillingly peeled back. My desk seems to tug gently at my forehead. My name is Jasmine, and I'm an insomniac.
As a girl I remember falling asleep on the couch after school until my parents returned from work.
These days, I droop into slumber on the Tube the moment the train moves and if I lie down mid-afternoon at the weekend, I'm out.
Falling asleep at the wrong time isn't my problem. In fact, nor is falling asleep at night. Sleep-onset insomnia may be the most common sleep disorder in young people but I can get to sleep. I just can't stay asleep.
It goes like this: I go to bed late, rarely before midnight. The prospect of feeling thirsty in the night and not having water to hand makes me quiver with anxiety so I go to bed with a pint glass. I drift off quickly but before I ever feel like I've reached deep sleep, my eyes are open again.
I'm frowning, clenching my teeth and remembering stressful dreams, usually about trying to sleep. Before I can get back to sleep I think I have to get up and go to the loo (even if I don't really). And I have to drink some water. The longer I delay, the longer I will be awake. On a particularly bad night, it will happen six or seven times.
The NHS reports that a third of people in the UK suffer from bouts of insomnia, so I'm hardly alone.
Women are more susceptible than men and it occurs more readily as we get older. Bizarrely, I have plenty of anecdotal evidence of women who share my mania for water by the bedside and nocturnal loo trips.
According to Sammy Margo, physiotherapist and author of The Good Sleep Guide, the common causes include stress, pain and discomfort, anxiety and other medical conditions and the impact is huge.
"Lack of sleep can affect your self-esteem, weight, mood, stress levels, how you age, your memory and your IQ - and we are seeing far more sleep problems than ever," she says. "When you are trying to fall asleep, you can't be distracted from your thoughts, so whatever is troubling you invades your mind at that time."
Often people require individual treatment but according to Margo, helpful adjustments involve breaking the stimulant-sedative cycle of morning coffees and evening booze (instead eat the natural sleeping pill - a banana - at night) and avoiding being mentally over-stimulated and physically under-stimulated by re-addressing bedtime routines and taking exercise during daylight hours.
It's not like I haven't tried to find a cure. I'm frequently offered potential solutions - although, rarely the traditional ones. "Try acupuncture," I was told.
Needles were tapped into the precise places - supposedly - to help relax my body for sleep. One session was never going to fix me but after I woke five times that night, I didn't bother returning. Next came a healer (which didn't work either) then biodynamic massage, a combination of pressure point massage and talking therapy. That made me tense and terrified, never conducive to a good night's sleep.
A book called Say Goodnight to Insomnia by Dr Gregg D Jacobs of Harvard Medical School gave practical advice based on established techniques.
Unfortunately, it addressed sleep-onset insomnia and sleep maintenance insomnia (waking - and staying awake - during the night), but didn't match my own fitful sleep.
Topical magnesium, which works by relaxing the muscles, helped for a while then my body became accustomed to it and the effects wore off.
I have resigned myself to a constant sagging feeling but, I have also become frightened of exhaustion. When extremely tired I become anxious and - guess what - it wakes me up at night. So, I'm out to find a real cure.
Reader views (13)
Jasmine, your article rang many bells for me and I too have had similar frustrations trying to get to the bottom of the problem. As you say, so many people find it hard to get to sleep. Not me. I just wake about 2 or 3 hrs after getting to sleep and then it's fitfull sleep after that. Sometimes once I've woken i start to think about things too much but I know I've not woken up from worrying.
However, I have persisted with my GP and today, exactly a year after first going to my GP, i have been told I have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. It had previously been suggested that I might have depression which I started to consider. Against my GP's wishes I had to insist on going to a sleep consultant. Eventually I had a polysomnograph and this, today, has diagnosed PLMD which is a disorder many people are unaware of.
I too tried sleeping pills, natural remedies, exercise, no wine, no caffeine, no carbs in the evening, osteopathy, acupuncture, a sleep deprivation schedule set out by the sleep consultant and all to no avail.
I really hope that my comments can give hope to people that are finding their GPs unresponsive to their cries for help. I cannot tell you how reluctant mine was to refer me to a consultant. I also had to see 3 different GPs at my practice before I was taken seriously.
Now, I am being put on medication and hope that my sleep will improve. Unfortunately getting the chance to get a polysomnograph done is perhaps the problem.
- Hannah, London, 07/12/2009 17:15
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I recognise your symptoms. It would be worthwhile getting checked for sleep apnoea as I eventually did more than ten years after I first went to the GP complaining of falling asleep too often: with friends, in the pub, at the theatre, watching TV. It's not just fat overweight men who have this condition, it can affect young slim women too! For a diagnosis you would need to have your oxygen levels checked throughout an ordinary night's sleep- the equipment for this is a little clip on your finger tip, attached to a monitor- this can be done at home. Sleep apnoea causes people to stop breathing: when oxygen levels fall the body goes into emergency mode and wakes up fully, or just enough to start breathing again. As you can tell, quality of sleep is very poor. One side effect can having to get up for a pee more times than usual.
- Vivienne, London, 18/11/2009 00:09
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I too had long years always waking up around 2-3am and not being able to go back to sleep. I'd watch the most awful night time tv and gradually slip back to slumber just as the morning alarm went off, making working days very difficult and stressful. Only 2 things ever worked for me- 1. Focus on the muscles in your face and slowly losen them one by one to fully relaxed (they will be tight from the stress. Keep doing it and eventually you will fall back to sleep. The second was having a loving partner and lots of sex - my sleep problems have pretty much gone away now. That has to be the best remedy but not always available!!
- Nicole, Cape Town (ex London), 13/11/2009 13:48
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I too can easily identify with this topic,s although if it helps you feel a little better my problem is perhaps somewhat worse in that I very rarely sleep more than 1-2 hours per night during the week, sometimes going several days without and only resort to the prescribed tablets at weekends since the 'hangover effect'from taking them is far worse, as there is nothing I can do to redress it as opposed to imbibing industrial-strength caffeine and other legal pep ups to help deal with the tiredness resulting from lack of sleep - although I have noticed that my memory is becoming somewhat of a concern - not to mention the 'seeing things' bit - you should have seen me jump whilst walking down the road when I saw a plague of mice that turned out to be only leaves - so some fun can be had from the affliction - although admittedly at my expense. I have read though that people who sleep 4hrs/night tend to live longer! ..and so, whilst I may well be ageing 'cosmetically' faster than most, I can at least take some comfort in being safe in the knowledge that I will therefore probably go on to live til I'm 150y/o - which will be more than compensate for the fact that I won't be looking a day under 200 years old by then. Any cosmetic surgery companies out there looking for a 'before' and 'after' model make yourselves known now, and beat the rush! As for nodding off in the middle of things I too find it a problem at timessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
- Simon, London, 13/11/2009 12:43
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Jasmine: the very best quality beds have a layer of wool under the surface ticking; the reason is that absolutely nothing is better to sleep on. Wool is warm in winter and cool in summer as it naturally regulates your temperature by absorbing moisture from the body.
It is springy and doesn't flatten easily like a down or feather topping. In a mattress the wool tends to be compressed by the tight cover though which reduces comfort - that is why an actual thick fleece is wonderfully comfortable to sleep on, especially for insomniacs and arthritics and people with back pain or any aches at all.
A couple of other suggestions: if you suffer from temperature regulation perhaps the temperature of your room is too high or needs ventilation. And is it dark enough ?
You could also try going without alcohol (or having just a glass) of an evening too, as I'm sure you do anyway!
And then, of course.......few things knock you out for the night better than a big plate of pasta !
- Camilla, London, 13/11/2009 12:18
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Exercise is the best way to destress and make to body so tired you have no choice but to fall into a deep sleep at night. I always have the deepest sleep after going running.
- Emily, London, 13/11/2009 09:41
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Recommend a book, "Restful Sleep" by Deepak Chopra. I got two related messages from this: if you can't sleep, never get up, start reading etc., just lie in bed because the fact of the matter is that you really sleep much more than you think. Yeah, and tempting though that late night water drinking may be, you can never get to sleep while your bladder feels a bit full. However, trips to the loo are again less disruptive than they actually seem to be. Like so much else, it's mostly in the mind.
- Mary, London, UK, 13/11/2009 01:59
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Thanks for your comments, suggestions and sympathy. I'm not sure sheepskin is for me, Camilla, I have enough problems with temperature regulation as it is. I fear I'd get awfully hot lying on sheepskin.
- Jasmine, London, 12/11/2009 16:05
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My sympathies, you have joined the elite band of brothers and sisters that go through a box of matches a day trying to keep their eyes open.
I've had insomnia for years and have tried most things known to man. I now tend to go to bed early as any sleep is a blessing and I usually get to sleep very quickly but then ALWAYS wake up 2-3 am. I wake up tired and try to drift off again but realise that the game is up.
Ten coffees and teas later I'm still knackered but at least the rest of the world is then getting up.
I simply can't stop thinking when I wake up and that's the problem.
Thanks Louise, I'll give it a go tonight.
500, 499, 498 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
- Roger, Devon., 12/11/2009 14:56
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All you need is a sheepskin pelt under your sheet - I got a thick white fluffy one from Ikea (around £35) and have gone from no sleep whatsoever in the hardest bed on earth to sublime comfort and all-night sleep.
- Camilla, London, 12/11/2009 12:52
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I have a similar problem, though not as severe. I went to a Chinese medicine practitioner who prepared herbs for me. I went from waking up to pee five times per night down to twice. I feel much better in the morning. The herbs are a treatment that requires several weeks, and the benefits last several months. Get a recommendation from friends for a practitioner--don't just walk into a storefront herbalist. I have had success with herbal remedy for this sleep disorder before, years ago, from another herbalist, so I'm confident that any good practitioner can help. By the way: one of the first things he told me was to drink less water! That is part of it... Good luck!
- Scott, London, 12/11/2009 08:24
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I too have dreadful problems staying asleep. Once I wake up, I start to think which means I stay awake, then feel tired in the morning which makes me anxious which means I can't sleep at night... and so it goes on. One simple technique is, when you wake in the middle of the night, as soon as you realise you are awake, count from 500 backwards - really concentrate on it. It seems really daft but you really will fall asleep quickly again - you probably won't remember stopping counting because you will have fallen asleep. Good luck!
- Louise, London, 11/11/2009 17:39
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O how I sympathise with Jasmine. I am 48 and just encountering similar sleeping problems. I have cut down on the caffeine, I exercise, I try to eat my evening meal early, cool my bedroom down at night,and go to bed at 10.30.I generally go off to sleep easily, but then wake at 3 am, or 4 am, or 5 am, and I don't sleep again. I have tried Nytol which does work but leaves you a bit zombified in the morning and I am taking supplements in case I am lacking in essential sleep-promoting minerals. I try not to nap in the day, but sometimes have to have 20 minutes just to function.All solutions would be very welcome, as I am driving my poor husband mad with my night time tossing and turning.
- Teresa, London, 11/11/2009 12:35
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