[Bobbie]

I noticed in the anxiety and stress thread, Martin mentioned possible triggers that cause many of our sleepless nights.

I have noticed over time that based on what goes on during the day, I can accurately predict the nights I will get the least amount of sleep.

I mentioned in another thread that whenever my husband is gone, I tend to be on high alert, listening for noises, patrolling around the house and that sort of thing.

I am also normally very active and do some kind of cardio and weight lifting for about an hour each day and have done that pretty much my entire adult life. When I create problems for myself is when I do a lot more than that. This time of year I'm snowshoing, tobaggonning, ice skating and whatnot with the kids. Those nights after I've been asleep for a while, I'll wake up with terrible leg cramps. My doctor has me on calcium with vitamin D and magnesium but they really don't help. I just end up marching around the house until I'm wide awake trying to get rid of them. I've also noticed if I drink less water during the day than normal, I'll get leg cramps that will wake me up from a sound sleep.

Also, someone mentioned needing to sleep in a cold room. If I sleep in a cold room, I might as well just spend the night in the bathroom. 😉 😛

[mspeekay]

My main trigger is stress/anxiety. I currently have psychotherapy sessions on a Friday (only 2 more though!!) and Thursdays are usually my worst night for sleep. As others have said, the problem isn't usually falling asleep, it's staying asleep. If I'm going through a bad patch then I will sleep for 3 hours and then wake for hours and not sleep again until it's a normal getting up time. On occasions like that I have no problem sleeping during the day, which then makes the night situation worse!

I always wake up in the early hours if I set my alarm for, say, 7 or 8 am. I guess that's anxiety related too.

[Bobbie]

'mspeekay' wrote on '02:

My main trigger is stress/anxiety. I currently have psychotherapy sessions on a Friday (only 2 more though!!) and Thursdays are usually my worst night for sleep. As others have said, the problem isn't usually falling asleep, it's staying asleep. If I'm going through a bad patch then I will sleep for 3 hours and then wake for hours and not sleep again until it's a normal getting up time. On occasions like that I have no problem sleeping during the day, which then makes the night situation worse!

I always wake up in the early hours if I set my alarm for, say, 7 or 8 am. I guess that's anxiety related too.

That's exactly it for me – when I can't go back to sleep I realize I'm in for an awful day. I drag my behind around worrying that if I take a nap, it will be that much worse that night. Such a slippery slope. 😮

[littlespy]

Stress is a huge trigger for me. If I'm anxious I have no hope of sleeping without medication. I also get 'overstimulated' for want of a better word. I'm not stressed but my mind is rushing with thoughts and ideas. I'm wondering if this is a facet of my bipolar though.

[LindsayK]

I've noticed in times of major stress, I hardly sleep at all. When it's just me here, it's difficult as well, simply because I'm so used to having another person with me. Also, if I know I have a busy day ahead I'll lay there for hours on end waiting for the damn alarm clock. It's like why even set one? lol

[mspeekay]

I'm having a bad day today – depression triggers all around me and getting exhausted fighting them. I know I will have no problem at all falling asleep but I don't expect to stay asleep more than 3 hours tonight. Maybe the expectation of that happening is one thing preventing me from staying asleep, who knows?!

[Bobbie]

'mspeekay' wrote on '03:

I'm having a bad day today – depression triggers all around me and getting exhausted fighting them. I know I will have no problem at all falling asleep but I don't expect to stay asleep more than 3 hours tonight. Maybe the expectation of that happening is one thing preventing me from staying asleep, who knows?!

Yep. I thinks it's called a self-fulfilling prophecy. We expect something to happen and it does.

I used to be a long distance runner before I schmucked up my knee. When I was training for marathons, my coach would harp on one training tool in particular. He would have me close my eyes and go over every detail of the race all the way until I saw myself sprinting across the finish line. I honestly don't know if it improved my time or performance but I know it never hurt. 😛 So, maybe as an experiment, you could go through each tiny detail of your bedtime ritual slowly in your head all the way to you sleeping soundly through the night and see what happens. 😉

[mspeekay]

Thanks Bobbie, that's good advice. I got to sleep fairly quickly but woke on the hour every hour. Felt like I hadn't slept at all when I got up this morning, and semi disturbing dreams didn't help. Oh well, tonight is another night 🙂

[MarinaFournier]

'Bobbie' wrote on '02:

Those nights after I've been asleep for a while, I'll wake up with terrible leg cramps. My doctor has me on calcium with vitamin D and magnesium but they really don't help. I just end up marching around the house until I'm wide awake trying to get rid of them. I've also noticed if I drink less water during the day than normal, I'll get leg cramps that will wake me up from a sound sleep.

Ask your doctor for an anti-spasmotic med. If he won't, then ask him why, because there's no excuse for a doctor not pursuing treatment, other than hideboundedness or laziness.

[MarinaFournier]

'littlespy' wrote on '02:

I'm not stressed but my mind is rushing with thoughts and ideas. I'm wondering if this is a facet of my bipolar though.

It is indeed. More common during a (hypo)mania, but happens at other times, too. Talk to your pdoc!

[MarinaFournier]

'LindsayK' wrote on '03:

Also, if I know I have a busy day ahead I'll lay there for hours on end waiting for the damn alarm clock. It's like why even set one? lol

Exactly! Drives me bats when that happens!

[Author]

Posts