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agree with everything anly suggested. i’ve played evening volleyball for almost 20 years and sometimes our games don’t end until 11 p.m. i used to rush home and try to force myself into bed right away but then i’d be up all night, probably from a mix of adrenaline and being too warm after playing. within the past couple of years, i’ve started letting myself unwind slowly and not worrying about what time i go to bed. if that means i don’t go to bed until midnight or 1 a.m. after those late games, so be it. i come home, shower, have a snack (usually a peanut-butter sandwich), then relax on the couch with a book or some knitting (anything non-electronic would work, though). it’s all about letting yourself chill out, mentally and physically. good luck and keep playing!
thanks for replying. i’ve had the same vacation sleep issues but it was never a big deal for me, either.
it definitely sounds like anxiety and sleep have been wrapped up together for you so maybe we can try to separate the two. you mentioned that the insomnia had resurfaced; was there a period of time between your daughter’s birth and now where you were getting enough sleep? is there anything other than sleep that you’re currently worried about that might be keeping you up at night?
also, your life has changed a lot since you had your daughter so “post-baby” probably looks nothing like “pre-baby,” and your sleep is going to change, too (most likely for the better, i promise!).
xoxo
hey, christina! not sure how much i can help because i don’t have kids, but i went through a mysterious insomnia phase 5 years ago and now i just accept that sometimes i won’t be able to sleep and it’s perfectly okay. i can still do what i need to do the next day and keep living my life. (ironically, some of my best days have been after some of my worst nights :)) there’s a theory that insomnia is more like an anxiety disorder and i found that to be accurate for me. the more i worried about sleeping, the less/worse i would sleep. if i just let it go, then i could have a shorter night (i.e. less sleep) but because i was relaxed about it then that made it easier somehow. now, i just get out of bed and go do something quiet (knitting or crocheting is perfect, but reading works well, too). it really helps if you work on relaxing your brain, so maybe look into meditation if that interests you.
did you start having trouble when your daughter was born because you were worried about something happening to her in the middle of the night? or was it more of a hormonal thing?
hope you are having a nice day otherwise, and keep us posted
you’re definitely not alone – i hate worrying about sleep. when i’ve had a string of tough nights it’s hard to break any negative associations that i might have with my bed but i can usually do so by limiting the time spent lying there and worrying by getting up and doing something else after 15-20 minutes, and then going back to bed only when i feel relaxed again. have you tried that?
i bet it’s just hormonal – i’m also going through perimenopause and i’ll often have 3 tough nights in a row right around my period (i just get too hot – estrogen messes with your body’s internal thermostat). i know you’re tracking your sleep, but do you also track your menstrual cycle?
i know what you mean – my body is programmed to wake up at 5:30 a.m., even on the weekends. do you want to try going to bed later (maybe around 2-2:30) for a few nights? that might help shift your body clock.
i was just thinking about how strong the human body and mind are. i agree about the negative thoughts – i just acknowledge that they are there and then they usually lose their power. they’re just impulses that don’t mean anything unless you give them meaning. but it’s interesting how our brains will latch onto negative thoughts faster than positive ones; i think our minds just like to have something to worry about.
can you work on a project or maybe do some housework if you don’t feel like going anywhere?
yeah, i definitely have sleepless (or “less-sleep”) nights; last night was pretty rough. you’re definitely not alone. i know everyone in the world has bad nights, which helps me keep it in perspective; it’s part of being human. sometimes our brains don’t shut off and sometimes we’re just physically too uncomfortable to get good rest. but i try to make the most of the following day regardless of the night i’ve had.
