Which Is Better? Good Sleep Hygiene? Or Rest?

[Mari]

Like so many others, it's very hard for me to get good sleep. It's very hard for me to get up on the days I have to work. On my late start days I struggle to be up by 8:30am, and then I have two early days where my alarm goes off at 6:00AM that are just brutal. Of course, I struggle all day because I'm exhausted, but after I get home, then my energy level goes up up up as time approaches for me to go to sleep and I have to take a bunch of medication to put me down.

Then comes my weekend. My first day off is generally a great day for me because I don't have to interact with any people if I don't want to. My second day is less great because I have to go out into the world.

I end up sleeping late those two days (like until 10:00am) because of course I am exhausted.

But that makes it harder again to get up on time and harder still to have to be up by 6:00am. My question: which is more important to heal PTSD? Good sleep hygiene (should I do my best to be up early on the days I'm off)? Or rest (I should sleep whenever I can)? I feel like by sleeping late on my days off I make it even harder than it needs to be to get up on work days, but on the other hand, maybe sleeping in is a good long-term strategy for healing my brain?

 

[bring em all in]

That's a tough question. I wish I had an answer for you. I struggle with the same thing, except I'm on disability retirement. Still, I get up when my wife does to fix her breakfast and feed the cats. I'm sleepy when I head upstairs but wide awake when I get in bed.

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

I have been told both things are beneficial. I am not currently working, but I try to get up at 6:15 to help get my children ready for school, but it is super hard. Part of the struggle for me in the morning is that the sleep meds are still working until at least 8:30 if not longer. I'll be interested to see what other responses you receive.

 

[jaccat]

I practiced good sleep hygeine for years and it did help improve my sleeping pattern, but I had to be militant with it to get any result. At the time I was able to keep fairly regular hours. Unfortunately after I started therapy it stopped working for me. I do still try to practice it, though I'm no longer anything like as strict. I think it does help, but it's not worth altering your life for, unless you see fantastic results.

 

[Cannottakethis]

This is a good question. What about your bedtime. Part of sleep hygiene is going to bed at the same time every night. Can you go to bed earlier, so that you'd get enough sleep that the 6am wake up wouldn't be so brutal?
I need a lot of sleep.
When I was working I went to bed at 10-10:30 to wake up at 6. Now going to bed at 11 I wake up rested at 8.

I think doing the best you can with the hygiene and taking a nap if you have to is what will probably work best. Everybody needs a good nap now and then :sleep:

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I vote for the hygiene aspect, as best you can, but don't turn down a good nap when you can work it in. I found that resting outside of a short power nap (no more than 20-30 minutes) just made me more tired than I was when I laid down, but we're all different.

I worked fluctuating shift work for most of my life and struggled greatly with sleep. I used to have to take xanax and ambien to even think about slowing down and sleeping, and then it still wasn't a sure thing. I eventually had to resign from my f/t job to get my health back and I continued to struggle with staying up until 4 or 5 in the morning, or later, and sleeping until noonish or later.

I found after eliminating the stress of that particular job and drastically switching my diet (thanks to ongoing and an emergency health scare) to eliminate meat, dairy, eggs, caffeine, and alcohol, the sleep (along with several other issues) simply took care of itself and I'm now consistently in bed no later than midnight (except for winter time, I tend to stay up later) and usually up with the sun (especially during gardening season).

I had been convinced I'd be a night owl and struggle with my circadian rhythm being off balanced the rest of my life, but it feels good to be on a "normall" schedule for the second half of my life, so far. I also used to use sleep as one of my favorite coping mechanisms because it was the closest I could get to death without the commitment.

 

[EmmaOwl]

my energy level goes up up up as time approaches for me to go to sleep and I have to take a bunch of medication to put me down.

Me too! Isn't that frustrating? I feel less depressed, I'm in less pain... I don't know exactly what it is. My body clock. does not seem to change, even with a ton of meds, it's difficult for me to settle down.

What were you like before you had PTSD? (If you have a "before".) Did you require a lot of sleep, or not? That's what I would ask first.

I think it depends on what feels best for you. As an uneducated stab based entirely on my own experience, I personally think rest is most important. I have nightmares every night, which make me scared to sleep. But sleep/rest seem to leave me in the best place - even if the extra sleep means worse and more lengthy nightmares. I think the chance to rest my body is part of healing, both physically and mentally.

My two cents'! Sleep is a highly individualized thing...

It's taken me years to figure out sleep cycles and I still struggle. I'm sorry. It's one of the cruddiest parts of PTSD for me. I hope you find something that works a little better.

 

[EmmaOwl]

Everybody needs a good nap now and then :sleep:

I had a sinus infection last week, and I slept through the night... twice in a row! and I felt like that was BAD. Like, it worried me. Until I thought about it and realized my body was trying to heal from that very specific illness. I still felt uneasy, because I am so accustomed to being up all night.

And then, the NAPPING! I slept all night and then took a nap the next afternoon. Freaked me out even more! This is when I have to laugh at myself and my screwed-up perceptions of my life.

 

[EmmaOwl]

I used to have to take xanax and ambien to even think about slowing down and sleeping, and then it still wasn't a sure thing. I eventually had to resign from my f/t job to get my health back and I continued to struggle with staying up until 4 or 5 in the morning, or later, and sleeping until noonish or later.

I had been convinced I'd be a night owl and struggle with my circadian rhythm being off balanced the rest of my life, but it feels good to be on a "normall" schedule

Wow. This is just like me (the first part). It is encouraging to see someone that has worked through it and came up with a positive result. Thanks for posting your story (though I simply cannot imagine getting up early to garden :P That's just me, not the PTSD!)

 

[Sideways]

Lots of good sleep hygiene isn't about time in bed. Healthy lifestyle (collective groan!) makes a big difference. So what can you change during the day?

Doing a bit of exercise every day is #1 for improving sleep quality.
Plenty of water (lots of us don't realise that our "hunger" is actually "thirst".
Good diet,with nix food at least an hour or 2 before bed, and take a look at the way you're getting your energy (complex carbs and protein are best eaten at particular times)
Caffiene, wine, other stimulants...baaaad!
Screen time? Don't be staring at a screen fir at least the hour before bed.
Anxiety. Brain switchin on before bed, try new evening routines.
Meds - review what you're taking and the time of day you're taking it with your doc.
Quit smoking asap!
Guided relaxation, read a book, go for a stroll, do the crosswords, stay away from Facebook.

Lots of stuff. It's annoying, right? People through "healthy lifestyle" at me and I feel likw I'm being lectured by my mother.

Healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be a big deal though. Small changes will make a big difference to the quality of sleep you're getting 2 months from now.

Bear in mind that "feeling exhausted" and being exhausted are 2 different things. The older we get, the less sleep we actually need. I'm the worst when it comes to talking myself into "I'm too tired". It's a subconscious form of avoidance...

Lots of ways to improve sleep without compromising a bit of a sleep in one day a week:)

 

[claroscuro]

For me, a neat little routine is a long term goal. I sleep when I can, which is usually around 3-4 hours in a 48 hour period. I suffer from insomnia and meds just don't work anymore. Routine never brought on any improvement. Been awake for 4+ days straight? After the first few times I realized how important sleep, and more specifically actual rest, is. Maintaining a routine, lying in bed for 6-8 hours while staring at the ceiling, does nothing good for my exhaustion or anxiety levels.

Once I'm less symptomatic again I can start working on reestablishing a routine, as my insomnia is definitely worse when my symptoms spike. But for now, I have an open door policy for the sandman.

I suppose that, under normal circumstances, good sleep hygiene and good rest go hand in hand.

 

[Mari]

This is a good question. What about your bedtime. Part of sleep hygiene is going to bed at the same time...

This is another challenge I face. I work two jobs, one is second shift, so I'm not getting home until almost 10:00pm. Those hours when I get home are the only decent part of my day and so I'm strongly dis-incentized to take my meds at a reasonable hour so I can be asleep at a reasonable hour.

I have a hard time as sleep time approaches. My rumination and anger increase then. I'm pretty wary of sleep because sleep is one of the worst parts of my day. And, of course, the sooner I'm asleep the sooner the alarm is going off to face another day of humiliation and dissociation at work.

I'm thinking maybe I'm coming to the conclusion that the first day of my "weekend" I should just sleep to catch up on sleep and also to give myself a break from the anxiety and stress and thoughts of my inherent suck-itude. And then on my second day off I should get up early and do my best to complete tasks that make me feel normal and skillful (like vacuuming the carpet).

It's pretty hard for me to know how to care for myself or what self-care is. I often fail to recognize that I have a brain injury and perhaps I'm tired because my brain is tired.