[leetee64]

I have had insomnia off and on during my adult life and it has usually been when I have been anxious or worrying about things in my life. I retired from my job the end of July and I absolutely love being retired except for the fact that I cannot fall asleep! LOL! I can be extremely tired and I still can’t get there until 2 or 3 in the morning. In the past, it would be due to the fact that my mind would be racing and I couldn’t shut down, but that’s not the case now and it’s driving me crazy. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Leanne

[Chee2308]

Hello Lee!
Occasional sleep disruption is very common and everyone gets them once in a while. But sleep usually gets back on track once the event or stressor causing the sleep disruption has passed or is removed. If you continue to experience insomnia after that, it is usually because you have started thinking about sleep and are taking steps to “fix” it by making modifications to your sleep routine (sleeping in or going to bed earlier) and adjusting your daily life to focus on getting more sleep. Do you now have a consistent go to bed and get out of bed time? Are you also taking naps during the day and sleep medications to help you sleep? From now on, stop ALL sleep efforts and have consistent sleep timetable. If you are currently taking medications, consult with your doctor on a tapering off plan. Set a get out of bed time based on your lifestyle and from that, by allowing a 6 hour sleep window, you get your go to bed time. That will be your earliest time to go to bed and try not to nap during the day. Always get out of bed at that fixed time no matter how much you slept. Then when you start sleeping better, try increasing your time in bed by going to bed earlier in 15 minutes intervals until you arrive at a magic number that works for you because everyone is a bit different. Most people generate 6-8 hours of sleep after being awake for 16-18 hours. You’ll have to experiment to find your magic number. Understand that sleep is just a core biological process your body goes through after being awake long enough. Nothing including sleeping pills can generate sleepiness EXCEPT staying awake long enough. Sleep drive works a lot like hunger and both accumulate from not sleeping/eating long enough. You may also find after sleeping well or longer, you may start having difficult nights again and this is normal! It is a sign you are sleeping well and your sleep drive is getting less. Your body will slowly adjust to the new sleep schedule as long as you are patient and give it time to respond. Good luck, we all here will be wishing you the best and we hope to hear your success story in a few short weeks!

[leetee64]

Chee,
Thank you for your very informative reply. I do realize after reading what you wrote that I am focusing too much on my sleep. I said I wasn’t worrying about anything, but that’s not true! I’m worrying about getting to sleep. I will definitely try what you have said. I do not take sleeping pills because I tend to have bad reactions to drugs and I don’t like how groggy they make you feel the next day. And I don’t allow myself to take naps. I think my problem may stem from the fact that I am no longer working, so I’m finally not a slave to a schedule. Before I retired, I was getting up at 3:30 AM to go to work and would go to bed at 8:30 PM. I need to find a sleep schedule for my new retired life. Thank you again. Your tips and suggestions have given me a starting point.

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