Lived Experience Forum

[MedicinalGypsy]

@Pink flamingo 🙏❤️ my sleep changed after I lost my teeth and exactly same time menopause happened and bang the longest I'll sleep is couple of hours I get woken burning hot whole body out of breathe and sweating full body, I sleep with towels and fans and I usually have to dump pee when I get woken and then I am freezing 🥶
I am becoming overwhelmed by everything because I can't even seem to manage or reduce symptoms to get a break I dream about reducing my symptoms

[SmilingGecko]

WAKING UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT - A BREATHWORK SOLUTION FROM A SLEEP DOCTOR

@PinkFlamingo @Jynx @Meowmy @Bow @MedicinalGypsy @D1ng0 

I came across this awhile back as I kept waking up in the middle of the night. I got it checked by my GP - it wasn't a UTI/Bladder/Kidney infection. It might be a good idea to rule those out first if you keep waking up for unexplained reasons

Anyway here is a video by a sleep doctor on how to use breathwork to lull your body back to sleep. The principle behind it makes sense. I thought I'd share for folks who are experiencing this annoying habit and want an easy approach that is proven to solve the problem effectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpdRKmLePaQ

[MedicinalGypsy]

Awwww thank you I'll definitely look into this @SmilingGecko

[Shaz51]

Hello @PinkFlamingo 😁

With my kidney disease stage 4 I get up 4 times a night to go to the bathroom 

I wake up feeling very tired 

And my husband says I stop breathing for up to 10 seconds at a time 

[Shaz51]

@Jynx , @PinkFlamingo 

I find it easy to fall asleep 

As my husband takes ages and hours to go to sleep 

[MedicinalGypsy]

@Pink flamingo thanks for video have watched 👀 😀

[MermaidHair]

Thank you so much @Jynx what a fabulous post idea and helpful information! 

I have had such a turbulent relationship with sleep over the years. In my younger years (late teens to early 20s), I was really good at it! and then I had children. Having 3 kids in 3.5 years sleep become a thing of the past, but then even as the kids started sleeping through the night, I didn't. I think I went a solid 3-4 years where I didn't get more than 2-3 hours of very broken sleep per night, it became my new normal. I had no idea how abnormal it actually was until I become really unwell from lack of sleep.

What you refer to @Jynx as powering down is something that was a gamechanger for me too! If i can't sleep I will just lay there and imitate sleep, I think it was my doctor who told me about it. It definitely relieved a lot of the anxiety about not sleeping, knowing I was still getting rest because previously I'd spend my time awake up doing stuff 😅

I'm a much better sleeper now but I still have my rough patches. Having better routines and sleep hygiene has gone a long way. Another thing that helps me is listening to a meditation or podcast in the dark, something light-hearted or relaxing and I'll eventually get tired or even fall asleep to it.  

[Jynx]

@SmilingGecko oooh definitely one I want to watch - I don't so much wake up randomly, but if something wakes me up I really, really struggle to return to sleep, which leaves me feeling very cranky and dysregulated. Thanks for sharing!

Aww @Shaz51 big hugs, that would be very challenging. And yeah for Mr Shaz, I think it's pretty common with ADHD to struggle to nod off - the speedy stream of consciousness is never ending! Since I cannot seem to shut it off, like ever, something that I do is to try to focus on a story thread. So like, I have a fun little story I write in my mind whenever I am idle, so when I'm trying to sleep, if I notice myself thinking about day-to-day/life stuff or stuff I'm anxious (or even excited) about, I know it will keep me awake! So I try to refocus my thoughts onto story time, like my own little inner bedtime story, hehe. 

Only issue with this method (though it does work 9/10 times) is if I get writer's block, OR if the story gets too exciting! That also keeps me up 😂

[Jynx]

Aww you're welcome @MermaidHair glad it is helpful!! 

And I think you've raised a very important part of this topic, which is how kidlets can impact our sleep! I don't have kids, just cats, so I can only partially relate (having a furball leap onto your head in the middle of the night is a pretty rude awakening, but I imagine it would be doubly so if it were a toddler! 🤣), but I have heard many stories of the massive changes to sleep that occur when tiny humans are brought into our lives! 

I'm glad you realised that the lack of sleep was abnormal - sounds like you've been able to make some changes that have helped you get your slumbering patterns back on track! Big kudos 😁

Anyone else here struggled with sleep when little ones were added to the mix? 

[Shaz51]

Mr shaz sounds like you @Jynx 

I am going to share this with my husband what you wrote 

We usually get up amd have a cuppa and then go back to bed