Ask The Expert
Sleep Easy
Insomnia is something that affects many of us, and can have a massive effect on our daily lives. Our expert helps one user get to the bottom of her sleepless nights.
Hi there,
I've just read that Debbie Rix answers one of our questions each week so I'm adding mine. I have had sleepless nights every night for at least five years. I'm constantly being told I look tired. Is it middle age I wonder? Does anyone else have the same problem?
Thanks!
Blyton
UKTV Style's Agony Aunt replies:
Hi Blyton,
Poor you - I do sympathise. I too am often plagued by this problem and it can be very debilitating. The first thing to establish is whether you are unable to sleep for any proper medical reason, such as depression. Wakefulness is a common sign of the illness and you should first of all establish that that is not the cause. So, firstly, if you're unsure, go to your GP and check.
Next you need to ensure that you are not plagued by any serious worries or anxieties - relationship problems, issues with your children, work worries, or maybe financial difficulties. Any or all of these would be enough to give most people sleepless nights.
But if your life is fairly stable and your inability to sleep is a mystery, then you might simply be suffering from what many women of a certain age suffer from. Unfortunately it is a common symptom of falling oestrogen levels in women as they head towards the menopause and is something that you might have to learn to cope with.
I don't mean, just live with it; instead, stop seeing it as a problem and it may begin to lessen in severity. As I have said, I too have this sleep pattern. I fall asleep easily (rather too easily according to my husband!) and then wake at around 3.00am. I used to toss and turn and worry about not getting back to sleep. Now I simply turn on a 'dimmed' light (my husband is a pretty heavy sleeper fortunately), and read a little. I also have a notebook by my bed and write down all the thoughts that start to crowd into my head - work problems, worries about the children, even what I might cook for supper the next day. I thus unload all my worries onto the notepad until I have 'nothing left to worry about'. If I don't feel tired, I might get up and put on a load of washing or tidy up and then I go back to bed, usually with a milky drink, turn off the light and am usually fast asleep within minutes. In total I reckon I am awake for anything between one and two hours. I am a little tired when I get up at around 7am, but it's really not too bad.
I've just read that Debbie Rix answers one of our questions each week so I'm adding mine. I have had sleepless nights every night for at least five years. I'm constantly being told I look tired. Is it middle age I wonder? Does anyone else have the same problem?
Thanks!
Blyton
UKTV Style's Agony Aunt replies:
Hi Blyton,
Poor you - I do sympathise. I too am often plagued by this problem and it can be very debilitating. The first thing to establish is whether you are unable to sleep for any proper medical reason, such as depression. Wakefulness is a common sign of the illness and you should first of all establish that that is not the cause. So, firstly, if you're unsure, go to your GP and check.
Next you need to ensure that you are not plagued by any serious worries or anxieties - relationship problems, issues with your children, work worries, or maybe financial difficulties. Any or all of these would be enough to give most people sleepless nights.
But if your life is fairly stable and your inability to sleep is a mystery, then you might simply be suffering from what many women of a certain age suffer from. Unfortunately it is a common symptom of falling oestrogen levels in women as they head towards the menopause and is something that you might have to learn to cope with.
I don't mean, just live with it; instead, stop seeing it as a problem and it may begin to lessen in severity. As I have said, I too have this sleep pattern. I fall asleep easily (rather too easily according to my husband!) and then wake at around 3.00am. I used to toss and turn and worry about not getting back to sleep. Now I simply turn on a 'dimmed' light (my husband is a pretty heavy sleeper fortunately), and read a little. I also have a notebook by my bed and write down all the thoughts that start to crowd into my head - work problems, worries about the children, even what I might cook for supper the next day. I thus unload all my worries onto the notepad until I have 'nothing left to worry about'. If I don't feel tired, I might get up and put on a load of washing or tidy up and then I go back to bed, usually with a milky drink, turn off the light and am usually fast asleep within minutes. In total I reckon I am awake for anything between one and two hours. I am a little tired when I get up at around 7am, but it's really not too bad.
