Sleeping - How To Fall Asleep

[Anrish]

Sleep is one of the most important things in a human's life but on the other side it is something where suffer most people who have PTSD.

I always had problems to fall asleep and to sleep through the night. I'm interested what you do to make it easier to fall asleep or to sleep through the night.

I always drink a hot tea before I go to bed. Then I need my toy animals. There are four of them. My big tiger is always in my arms - I usually lie on my left side, curled up. Then I have two smaller toy animals. I take one of them in each hand and the last one is on my neck.

One blanket is always crumpled between the wall and me. Then I have at least three blankets ( all 2 m x 2 m) on top of me - otherwise I feel like falling apart. If I have a bad night, I might also need more blankets. I have about eight in my flat and sometimes I need them all.

With these little tricks, I'm capable to fall asleep in most nights.

When I have to stay overnight somewhere else, I always take the place farthest away from the door.

Do you also have tricks or tipps what makes it easier to fall asleep?

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

When I was suffering from severe flashbacks, I would sleep like this -a makeshift bed in front of my computer desk, a distracting movie or documentary on, earplugs and on top of it headphones connecting to the computer...

That was back when I needed to do anything just to distract me from the flashbacks. Nowadays I sleep like a rock.
If I have to sleep elsewhere however, I don't ever bat an eye.

I don't really know why I sleep like a rock now. I do seem to need a lot of sleep -I can sleep twelve hours in a row.
Depends on the situation, but a combination of exercise (like running) and relaxation (like yoga) might help.

 

[user27357]

I do a relaxation technique that involves taking stock of the sensations I am physically aware of.General at first, warm, cold, breeze on my face, smell of my wifes perfume or her hair, sound of my XM radio, breathing of my lab buddy on the floor next to the bed. If I am still awake I try to pick a random body part, say the third toe on my left foot and really analyze what is going on there, maybe a tooth, maybe all the things my left forearm is doing and interacting with.

You can get lost in the objective awareness of these physical sensations and it is very relaxing. And sometimes I lose concentration and just listen to the radio. The late baseball game is a deal closer many times, a good DJ can set a nice tone too. The radio stays on and is a great tool for distraction from whatever nightmare or emotional consciousness I wake up from later on.

hope this helps.

 

[franciemarnie]

Lately, what works for me if I am hyper vigilant before bedtime and I am physically exhausted, I do controlled breathing.

My chiropractor taught me that the survival brain perceives no greater emergency than if I stop breathing. It will bring my body/brain back into the present. So I lay on the floor on my back pushing my body into the floor, including the small of my back where there is often a natural arch. I take a big breath and hold for a while. Then exhale. Then regular breathing for an inhale for the count of five, hold five, exhale five, hold five, repeat as many times as I like. It brings my blood pressure and pulse down in a jiffy.

I sleep best with my back against something solid. It grounds me and feels safe.

Grounding exercises are best for me.

But if I am full out hyper, ready to fight for my life in energy, I will do weights or work out or walk before sleep. Then I can calm down.

 

[passerine]

Nighttime is so hard for me. I have a whole bed time ritual that I need to stick to every night if I want to get any sleep. First, I make a nice warm cup of chamomile and lavender tea or have a glass of cherry juice (chamomile, lavender, and cherries are all said to induce sleepiness). I will try to focus on my five senses and do soothing things, like snuggle with my big dog who has her own bed next to mine, and my cat. I listen to calming music and do some very gentle yoga before I get into bed, then once I'm there I surround myself with fluff (pillows, lots of blankets, my cat at my side), which makes me feel protected. One of the things that has helped me the most is actually a weighted blanket, which I use 365 days of the year, and just put on top of my other blankets during the colder months. It makes me feel safe and grounded and secure, and I have noticed since I started using it that my nightmares have lessoned (this tool combined with medication). And that's the final thing - I take sleep meds, which have allowed me to finally sleep through the night. If I do wake up from a nightmare or something, I sit up and use something I keep handy at my bedside to help ground me, like a squishy ball to hold and squeeze, or some peppermint oil to rub on my temples and breathe in the scent of. This helps me a lot, and if I need to get up and move around or do a safety check before going back to sleep I will.

 

[Friday]

I hate sleep. I hate that it's necessary. I hate having to stop my life in order to do it. I hate that nothing but drugs makes sleep an attainable goal for me.

Not entirely a PTSD, thing. My body has never been on a 24 clock. Sleep hygiene wakes me up. I have to be both physically and mentally exhausted in order to sleep, ever. The recommendations for good sleep are all about calming down, which unfortunately, is about as much rest as I need to no longer be sleepy. Gah. Frustrating.

PTSD has just added all sorts of fun and excitement to the actual act. What do we get to dream about tonight? Ugh. In what mood am I going to wake up in? (spin the wheel!). Will I sleep for 20 minutes, 2 hours, or 20 hours? Will I hurt myself or someone else tonight/today while I sleep? What will I miss that's important as I sleep through it? Who is going to wake me up when I'm finally having a blissful bit of sleep? FFS. I hate this. What's worse than sleeping, though, is sleep dep. I'm already not that clever, sleep dep makes me terminally stupid. Fun hallucinations, but the rest is unsupportable. So I must sleep. It's the better of 2 evils. But it's still an evil.

Crankiness aside... I buried my actual tricks up there. Physical and mental exhaustion. That means 5-10 hours of physical activity depending on how fit I am, and reading way above my pay grade.

 

[Leigh925]

Even with medication sleep is an issue with me. I drink a cup of hot tea. I also have toy animals that I have to have in bed with me. My therapist bought a children's bedtime book for me before he left on his last vacation. It actually works pretty well. It seems to redirect my brain and helps me feel peaceful.

I think because of the nightmares. I dread bedtime in general. So I have a lot of anxiety as it gets later in the day....which I think creates some of the nightmares....which leads to the bedtime anxiety. It is a vicious cycle.

So stupidly enough for me....I actually have anxiety about the possible anxiety I might have when I go to bed.

But the animals and books and meds all together have helped.

 

[Recovery4Me]

I don't sleep but it could be due to being hyperactive as well as early onset of childhood PTSD. I love the wee hour mornings and quiet. I love naps. I try to maintain 4-5 hours at least in a block to insure REM. I get really happy with my success if I do 6-7 hours sleep at once, but then the flip-side is that I can run on it for two days or more. So I keep it short enough not to melt my cognitive progress too much and enough not to trigger an up-fest.

Exercise and/or meditation does zip for me insofar as sleeping. However it is getting near US Thanksgiving day and all the turkeys are going to come out soon for purchase. Tryptophan in the turkey assist with sleeping as well as loading carbohydrates (stuffing or yams -about 30grams worth) so I am looking forward to the season of natural sleep aids. :sleep:

 

[TonyG]

I tryed drugs and alcohol and it worked but it's not my recommendation as I was lucky to wake up, I am getting 4 hours sleep a night at best

 

[tired of the fight]

I need to try something to help me sleep naturally, I take medication for anxiety but it's not working very well and neither is good sleep. I've read these post's and thinking about moving to the couch where there is something against my back. In bed I have a body pillow to my back. I know its odd, but I still don't feel comfortable and not safe at times, though I know I am now, it just happens. So I'll keep reading your posts and try what I can and hopefully something will work. :(

 

[Lolly]

I have to have my dog in my room (if i'm really struggling, like tonight, she'll lie right next to me so I can wrap my arms around her), the door shut and my tv on (well... my laptop), as well as my anti-depressant. Most of the time I don't fall asleep until after 1 or 2 am. I wake up every two hours or so from nightmares/terrors but lately I've woken up to having panic attacks and flashbacks. So sleep isn't all that appealing to me anymore. I do find, though, that writing in my journal before I go to sleep really helps in getting thoughts out of my head so I can sleep :)

 

[Island girl]

Sleeping with the lights on, a comfort object, herbal tea, a hot shower to relax the muscles and classical music can help sometimes.
Some days a boxing/weight session is required, until I physically exhaust myself.