I've had terrible insomnia lately. This morning, I woke up at 4am. When I got up to go to the bathroom, Steve woke up. "Are you up again? Don't you look at your iPad. Just go back to sleep," he lectured me. So, I sat in bed for an hour trying to fall back asleep.
Instead of sleeping, all of things that make me neurotic during the day ran through my brain. I thought of very witty responses that I should make to certain people. I'm sure that they will feel very small indeed, when they hear my wise commentary on their faults. Too bad that I'll never say any of those things in real life.
So at 5am, I gave up and put some clothes in the dryer, piled up the unread newspapers, put away the CSA vegetables that were left on the counter over night, and watched the morning news.
Yesterday, I researched pillows and mattress covers. Maybe I would sleep better if we had better pillows. I dragged the kids to Macy's with me and bought a couple of new ones. Didn't help. All that research actually made me more neurotic, because I found out that I am supposed to be washing the pillows every three months. Dust Mites! Arg!
I'm resisting the urge to google "insomnia," because I suspect that my sleep problems are related to aging. And that will just add fuel to my early morning neuroses.
My best friend during those wee hours is my twitterfeed. There's always somebody else awake. They pass on links to articles that distract me from dust mites and witty responses.
Maybe I need less sleep than when I was younger. Maybe I can use that time to get more writing done and accomplish more. When I was charging around the house at 5am, I had enough energy for a two mile jog. Three hours later, I'm thinking about a nap.
Apt. 11d 
Drinking only fixes the “can’t fall to sleep” insomnia. It doesn’t help the waking-up absurdly early kind. However, I did read somewhere that reading on a screen will keep you awake while reading in a book is fine. Something about radiation. I have no idea if it is true or not.
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melatonin has helped me. also not more than one drink of wine with dinner.
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It can be hormonal and is really common for women at midlife to have sleep issues. Things that help me are: no caffeine after noon, keep the wine/alcohol to a minimum especially by not drinking on consecutive evenings, a regular bedtime with at least an hour with no screens before (books are fine), and regular exercise. I have heard great things about melatonin too.
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It’s being THAT age – hate to break it to you. Like JennG said, limiting caffeine, limiting alcohol, no screen time close to bedtime or when you wake up early, exercise. Recently started working out with a trainer 2x a week and spinning 2x a week and that has helped a LOT.
I also use melatonin – I find that it helps minimise that part of the sleep cycle where I wake up at around 3am or 4am.
My ideal sleep pattern nowadays would be to be in bed from 10pm-3am, up for two hours and then sleep from 5am-8am. Life does not cooperate with that, however!
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Yup, it’s a menopause thing. I recommend hot yoga. It will help you sleep like a baby.
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there’s recent research showing the 8-hour sleep is an historical aberration..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16964783
That said I didn’t have any problems sleeping through the night until we had kids, since when I scarcely ever sleep through the night. First it was them waking me up, now I can do it all on my own.. I sleep like a baby: that is, wake up wailing in terror every two or three hours 😉
Yoga breathing/meditation helps. Tryptophan has worked for me, also this.
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I find it to be age related…started when I was in my mid to late 30’s and now, in my early 40’s, at least twice a week I’m wide awake in the middle of the night. Like you mentioned, doing nothing only results in me awake for an hour or two doing nothing. Now I typically just read until I’m tired again.
I suspect this is going to be the pattern for the next 40 to 50 years. Now I know why my grandparents always took a nap.
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You can dry the pillows in the clothes dryer to kill mites.
You don’t need to worry about mites unless you’re allergic to them.
I recommend the podcast from Stanford, “Sleep: Where Biology and Psychology Meet,” by Dr. Rachel Manber. Almost the worst thing you can do in a case of insomnia is to lie in bed worrying about not sleeping. It’s much better to go off and do something else for a while, rather than worrying about insomnia. The podcast gives a great deal of practical advice. Please listen to the podcast before trying anything drastic.
I’ve found I can’t read anything intellectually challenging before bed.
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You can dry the pillows in the clothes dryer to kill mites.
Then you have dead mites on all of your clean clothes.
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“I did read somewhere that reading on a screen will keep you awake while reading in a book is fine.”
About the screens–my husband tells me that it’s specifically the blue light that is bad.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-08/news/ct-met-night-light-sleep-20120708_1_blue-light-bright-light-steven-lockley
He has managed to set his phone to red for nighttime use (also good for astronomy). Sepia is another option.
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MH, if you can see their little bodies, you obviously did better on your latest eye exam than I did.
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You can’t seem them when they are alive either, so why bother to kill them?
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You kill them to stop excretion. As the Mayo Clinic states, Dust also contains the feces and decaying bodies of dust mites, and it’s the proteins present in this dust mite “debris” that’s the culprit in dust mite allergy. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dust-mites/DS00842/DSECTION=causes
Washing all bedding weekly is very time consuming. The sheets, etc., can be done, but I find washing pillows a bothersome task. When my symptoms are acting up, drying my pillow for 20 minutes or so can help keep the allergy at bay for the night. Washing and drying the pillow takes much more time. Perhaps the air and motion of the hot dryer dislodges some of the mites.
Some of the advice found on the internet is over the top. One site recommended replacing everything yearly–mattress, pillow, sheets, blankets. Yike$
Encase pillows and mattresses. Wash linens in hot water. Get rid of carpeting. If it’s severe, visit an allergist to arrange for immunotherapy.
However, I don’t think our hostess is allergic to mites. If she’s having allergic symptoms at night this month, an allergy to trees or ragweed would be just as likely. Closing the bedroom windows at night could help. Allergy testing could determine which triggers she should combat.
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but I find washing pillows a bothersome task
I don’t think we’ve ever done that unless somebody vomits on a pillow or something.
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My son has a dust mite allergy. We’ve done well by
1. encasing the pillow in a mite-proof case,
2. encasing the mattress in a mite-proof case,
3. no carpets,
4. no curtains (we have shades in his room),
5. trying to keep any stuffed animals in storage containers that can be shut.
There’s plenty of dust in the room, but it’s just not as bad if it’s not coming from dust-mite-friendly items.
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I’ve had good luck with another of her techniques — maybe this would help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38kGUBznXh0&list=UUphaJ75smvWi1eCG4jeJQJg&index=33&feature=plpp_video
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I gave up caffeine many years ago, don’t do screen time before bed, have a regular bedtime, and run three miles a day. And this has started happening to me, too, just in the last year. I’m 44.
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