I 'should' sleep like a baby - any ideas?

[RogerRoger]

Hi

New to FB and this forum.

I've had a Charge HR for week now, mainly to monitor my sleep. As expected it tells me 3 - 4 hours a night. It's been like this for three years, I know it's not enough as am always tired, grumpy, can't concentrate and have almost no short term memory any more.

I 'should' sleep really well as:

1. I don't have a paricularly stressful job or family life
2. I'm not overweight
3. Don't smoke
4. Generally avoid alcohol during the week.
5. Don't drink coffee after noon
6. Go to bed / get up more or less same time every day
7. Not on any drugs
8. Have no health issues
9. Have a gluten free diet
10. Cycle to work thus do an hour exercise every week day.
11. Have been tested for sleep apnea (they say I don't have it)
12. Have a comfy bed, dark room, live in a quiet location, don't read a tablet etc in bed at night.

So the list goes on and on, I should be a champion sleeper. I tend to go out like a light but then wake and be restless all night. Even if I take Zopilone pills I still wake and really don't sleep much better (I do not take them regularly)

Any ideas?

[Thyla]

Any chance you are deficient in magnesium?  I had assumed I was fine on that front until I found out one of my long term medications creates deficiencies.  I started with one at night and within a couple of days I was sleeping deeply enough to dream.  To be honest I don't think I have done that in decades.  It freaked me out quite a lot but I am used to it now.  Maybe look up the sources and see if you think you are getting enough from your diet. An hour of cycling a day may well warrant a top up.  

[birdwatching]

This is just a thought, but maybe you should try some yoga. It might help with both sleeping and with busy thoughts.

[modelmalina]

Hi,

Perhaps try to read a good book at the end of the day.

Along with a glass or almond milk or tea. Add some honey if you like.

This works for me. A few suggestions and hope they work.

[shwaldman]

I heard magnesium was a sleep aid recently and I am curious, how much do you take?

[birdwatching]

Once, I got TOO tired to fall asleep!
I simply couldn’t get enough sleep. I’d gotten into a cycle of being too tired to fall asleep!
I got myself out of it by taking lots of time to fall asleep. A good read works best for me. But no liquids at night due to incontinence problems.
Best of luck with your sleep!

[DanielleinDC]

You might want to talk to your doctor about that.

I use aromatherapy to help me sleep. I have this formula where I put one drop on my pillowcase, and I sleep fairly well. Lavender and vanilla are good relaxing scents. The blend I use is lavender, marjoram, cedarwood, and ylang ylang, and it's strong enough that a drop is good enough.

[RogerRoger]

Thanks. Doctor just said 'get up and do something when you can't sleep'... have tried lavender but find it vile and doesn't help!