get some natural sleep

Five nights without any help from pills and I think I slept pretty good last night. I got in bed at 10:50pm, was too tired to read so I turned off the light and started doing my relaxation technique but I think I immediately fell asleep. Next thing I know I wake up, look at the clock and it’s 6:15am. First morning (in a long time) that I did not wake up at 5am.

Guess what I just read in Self magazine??!!

Bad call
“For better zzz’s, skip long chats on your cell phone before bed. The slight radiation emanating from the gadget may disrupt the body’s production of melatonin, the chemical that helps you drift off, a study from Wayne State University in Detroit finds. Sweet dreams.”

I sleep with my cell phone right by my head all night long. It’s my alarm clock. I’m moving it to the dresser on the other side of the bedroom now. Let’s see if that helps me sleep better.

I took the last sleeping pill last night. I don’t think I need them anymore…they weren’t really doing that much for me anyway. I’m averaging about 6 hours a night now. It would be nice if it was a solid 6 hours though.

Maybe my body doesn’t need as much as it use to. I go to bed earlier and about the same time every night. I’m not tired during the day. I’m not going to worry about it anymore.

I’ve been averaging about 7 hours of sleep each night…on the sleeping pills. I’m still waking up a few times but I’m wondering if that will be solved when I get my new windows and I won’t be able to hear the outside noises as much.

Yesterday evening my man and I went for a walk. It was very nice outside. Then I took my pill at 9:30pm, we were watching Supernatural and at 10pm when it was over and we stood up off the couch, I almost fell over. The pill hit me hard. I was half in lalaland. I was all nice and relaxed and ready to go to bed. I think I fell asleep around 10:30pm. I woke up around 4:30am (again), had to pee but didn’t want to get out of bed. Monti was hacking (I was thinking “please don’t puke up a hairball on the bed.”) and I could hear the birds and the expressway noise. I was trying to go back to sleep but decided I should get up and pee, when I looked at the clock and it was 4:50am. I put earplugs in and it took me alittle while to fall back to sleep. The alarms woke me up at 6:50am, even though it’s set for 6:30am…guess I didn’t hear them with the earplugs in. So I think I got just over 7 hours of sleep. Woohoo! I did feel much better today. :)

Monday night was hell! I did not take a pill because I was feeling toxic from them so I didn’t want to take them anymore. I tossed and turned all night, if I got even 30 minutes of sleep, I was lucky. I freaked myself out and I think I had a panic attack, my heart was beating so fast, I was ready to drive myself to the hospital. I managed to hang on and called my mom at 6:00am and she made me feel better. I emailed my boss at 5am letting him know I wouldn’t be in. The day dragged on forever. I tried taking a few naps but it didn’t work. I was so nauseous too. I called the doctors office and they gave me a new prescription. So now I’m taking Restoril instead of Ambien.

Tuesday night I slept about 5 1/2 hours. I got to sleep at around 10:30pm and woke up at 4:00am and couldn’t get back to sleep.

Last night I slept between 6 1/2 to 7 hours. Monti woke me up one time coughing (damn hairballs) and it took me alittle while to get back to sleep. I didn’t look at the clock then. Then I woke up again and heard the expressway noise and wondered what time it was, so I looked at the clock and it was 5:30am. I think it took me alittle while to get back to sleep because the next thing I knew my alarm was going off at 6:50am and I had just had a weird dream.

Last night I was all wound up from working on my condo all day until 8pm, didn’t eat dinner until 8:30pm. I took my pill at 9:30 went to bed a little after 10:00, had a hard time getting my mind and body to relax, don’t know how long that took. Woke up at 12:45am and 4:20am, took awhile to get back to sleep then woke up again just before 6am and tossed and turned until the alarm went off at 6:30am. I don’t remember any dreams. I’m exhausted!

I guess those pills aren’t doing what they are suppose to be doing for me. Tuesday I will be faxing my doctor the details of each night and she’ll call me and let me know what the next step will be.

Last night, I took my pill at 9:30 went to bed a little after 10:00 and almost immediately fell asleep. Got woken up at 2:00am by some slamming doors. I didn’t have my fan on for white noise, so I got up and turned it on. I think I fell back to sleep and woke up around 5:00am, didn’t remember any dreams. Then slept on and off…more off…then Monti woke me up at 9:30am. I feel like I barely got any sleep.

I do remember one dream I had right before I woke up at 9:30am. I was in a different house (than the night befores dream) and it was extremely dirty because I hadn’t been cleaning it, like cobwebs and dead bugs in corners dirty…so I started vigorously cleaning it and moving heavy things but I didn’t have enough room for all my stuff and my boyfriend was coming over so I kept looking at the clock thinking I would never get done in time and I was in a panic & frustrated.

I took my pill at 9:30, went to bed at 10:00, read then turned off light not too long after. Woke up at 4:20am, went to the bathroom then wrote down some of the things I was dreaming. Slept on and off until 8:30am.

Dreams:
-I bought a big, run down, dirty house that had lots of junk left from the previous owner. I was cleaning and found a window that was hidden behind all the junk and it had a big hole in the bottom corner between the wall and the window. My mom was helping me and she was pulling into the driveway, I was in the passenger seat, the neighbor had his puppy out on the curb and I told my mom to watch out, she said she saw the puppy, missed it with the front tires but then ran it over with the back tires. I was hysterical.
-I was at a party and I was nervous because there was someone there I liked and he was very handsome and cool and I thought I was very awkward and ugly. I went to go to the public bathroom and I was afraid my purse would get stolen so I put it on the back of the toilet bowl and hung my coat up on the hook of the door and my coat got stolen. I went to run out and try to chase the person but something was holding me back. I couldn’t tell what it was and I was getting very frustrated and angry.

I found this on WebMD:
Parasomnias are disruptive sleep-related disorders that can occur during arousals from REM sleep or partial arousals from Non-REM sleep. Parasomnias include nightmares, night terrors, sleepwalking, confusional arousals and many others.

Nightmares

Nightmares are vivid nocturnal events that can cause feelings of fear, terror, and/or anxiety. Usually, the person having a nightmare is abruptly awakened from REM sleep and is able to describe detailed dream content. Usually, the person having a nightmare has difficulty returning to sleep. Nightmares can be caused by many factors including illness, anxiety, the loss of a loved one, or negative reactions to a medication.

I took my pill at 9:00, went to bed at 9:30, read then turned off the light before 10:00. Woke up at 4:40am was confused if that was the first time I woke up then had to go to the bathroom. When I laid back down I tried going to sleep but I was tossing and turning a bit. I think I got back to sleep, woke up once or twice then the alarm went off at 6:30am. I remember having some weird dreams about my past again…school, friends, my parents and vacations.