1 year later I got better

I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t get a single minute of sleep at night. Stories of four-hour sleeps sound luxurious and you wonder how you are surviving on not a single second.

I tried ‘everything’. From lavender and CBD oil, to acupuncture and CBT. I thought I would be an insomniac for the rest of my life. I stumbled across stories of people who hadn’t slept well for 20 years convinced it was me. It was robbing me of joy from my life because I felt like I was dragging myself through the days and social situations.

Knowing that psychologically I was contributing to the illness didn’t help. I felt powerless.

At the time I thought it was the insomnia causing my anxiety and perpetuating itself, now I know I’d got used to such high stress levels in my life that I didn’t recognise that I was so highly stressed it was interfering with my sleep. I didn’t like my job but as a career-minded person I had suppressed my dislike, determined to think positive. Ultimately I felt trapped. Here are my top tips to curing insomnia and how I got better eventually.

1. First, some reassurance

I know how desperate insomnia can feel so I want to promise you that you will get better. You are not the exception, you don’t have a weird medical condition that is inhibiting your ability to sleep, and it won’t take you 20 years.

2. Change your environment

I had spent so many sleepless nights in the flat that I rented that I grew to feel anxious being there. My insomnia started to get better when I moved in with a friend and had a completely different bedroom to go to. It’s not possible for everyone, but if you have the option of going to stay in a friendly home for a while, I’d recommend it. If not, try moving your furniture around. Start afresh.

3. Of all the alternative and relaxing remedies I tried, the only one that helped me at all was very hard reflexology – it was a very relaxing foot massage and I was completely sceptical that it would help but it did.

5. Rid yourself of the nagging stress in your life. There is probably something you are unhappy with. It could be your relationship, for me it was the job. Try and save some money if you can, consider what it would take to make the change that you need to. I thought my job was bearable but when I quit it I began sleeping again.

6. Get some sunshine

Low seratonin (the happy hotmone) is a cause of bad sleep. Therefore, even if you’re exhausted, try and sit in the warm sunlight for a while. It might not feel like it works on day one, but think of marginal gains.

7. Download a podcast

Find a podcast you genuinely like and listen to it. Listen to it when you’re in bed if you feel like it.

8. Get a hot water bottle or electric blanket

This cosy trick is soothing.

9. Set yourself smaller goals in the day

It’s enough to just get your washing done. It’s enough to do half of the project you’re working on. Don’t overstretch yourself. Even if you have room to do more, cut down your routine for a bit.

20. Get custom-made earplugs

The best £70 I’ve ever spent in specsavers. They take two weeks to order and they fit very snugly inside your ear so they stay in, there’s no discomfort and there’s no noise at all. Whether or not you’re in a noisy environment, these are your secret weapon as they create a complete cocoon. I put them in when I’m reading in bed. I even wore them and turned my podcast up, just so they were a little bit of comfort in my nightly routine.

You will be ok. Your body is getting 20 seconds of sleep in every minute, you just don’t know it.