[Cristi]

As a proponent of health and natural remedies, I have tried many herbal and lifestyle strategies to help me sleep. Sometimes they seem to work, and often they do not, so perhaps it is a mere coincidence when they do. I do not often struggle to fall asleep, but more often I will wake between 12 and 3 with adrenaline, a racing mind, and sometimes hunger. My racing mind usually provides the barrier to a return to sleep. Although this happens throughout the month, it is often cyclical, occurring 1-2 weeks before my menstrual cycle. During a bad month, therefore, I sleep poorly for about half of it, “catch up” during the other half and then start all over again. All of these dynamics obviously affect all aspects of life, but it is most troublesome from September through June when I have to wake at 4 a.m. in order to commute to my job as a high school teacher. I am able to drive in the morning, but in the afternoon, on my way home, I have to pull over several times since I am falling asleep driving. In addition, waking at 4 a.m. leaves very little flexibility if I have just fallen back to sleep from a night waking incident.

[Martin Reed]

I think you shared a big insight when you mentioned that since herbal remedies and lifestyle strategies seem to help sometimes, but not often, it might be a coincidence when they do!

A racing mind can definitely make sleep more difficult, especially later in the night when we have already got a few hours of sleep. Have you looked into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) to help with this?

If you are falling asleep when driving, I would suggest talking to your doctor because such intense daytime sleepiness is not a typical symptom of chronic insomnia — another issue (such as sleep apnea) might be responsible for that.

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[Cristi]

Thanks for your response! I’m trying some of the strategies in the two week course now but still having trouble. When I get out of bed at night if I can’t sleep, it seems to wake me up more, but I’ll keep trying.

[Author]

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