Coming out of insomnia and into Beauty Rest - An Insomniac's guide to sleep

Insomnia has had a huge impact on my life recently; if I know I have something to do the next day I won't sleep. It's not the kind of scenario where I sleep a little, toss and turn and fall back to sleep. Yes, an insomniac's night can be like that, but more often than not, it's a whole lot more jarring. You get to bed at a reasonable time, your eyes are even burning and tired and your lids are heavy, you close your eyes and nothing happens. Your mind just starts repeating a song on loop (often a song you HATE which makes the whole ordeal 100% worse), you lie there, your muscles too tired to move and you watch the time go by. 2am 3am 4am. 4am is the worst. That's when my dad gets up so being awake still at 4am when I lied my head down at half 11 makes me even more desperate than I was. But anyway. the time keeps going and eventually maybe you get an hour or two of sleep.

Who hasn't had a night like that? We all go through it. The problem is, I can't do what my friends tell me to do. "Just stay awake and you'll fall to sleep easily next night." Nope. Next night I'm still there, exhausted but still not asleep.

During exams I relied on my doctor to help me through it. I was getting more and more stressed knowing that each day I should have been working my brain as much as possible. I needed to be in the best mental shape possible in order to tackle my third year exams (that's final year BA). At first I went to a pharmacy and got myself some over the counter sleeping pills. They were just antihistamines (like hay fever tablets), Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride (you can find that in Nytol). For many that works but I was taking 50mg and it still did nothing. I did the mistake of taking two one night (100mg) and still I couldn't rest, instead I experienced sleep paralysis which left me even more worried and fearful of Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride. So, I went to the GP and I booked an 'urgent' appointment as I had about 10 days to revise for two three hour exams. My doctor looked at my past history (insomnia once a year, always during exams) and prescribed Zolpidem.

I slept. Like a baby in a the cosiest little cot ever. But my heart rate started increasing. Each day my resting HR went a higher and higher and my regular HR of 53bmp turned into 65 and 66 and 67. Eventually, they stopped working too. They sent me to sleep but I'd wake up after a couple of hours and at 4am I'd wake up ready to take on the day, or so it seemed. That day I had to go to my walk in centre due to palpitations and increased heart rate. They told me to rest and take it easy, as though that wasn't all I wanted.

After my exams I was free but coming off the sleeping pills was a little harder but no where near as bad as some of the experiences I'd read online. I managed to sleep but it took work and I am still having to undergo a routine every night in order to doze off. It's working and I've not needed to take Zolpidem or over the counter medicines. So, here are a few tips for a great night sleep, from an insomniac to anyone who's struggling.

1) PLAN your week

Planning is a common thing people do when trying to sleep. "Ok so, tomorrow I need to wake up at 7am get the 789 bus and..." so on and so forth. You might go down to details or just repeat the same thing over and over. My tip is to get a weekly planner, the kind you just put on your desk and throw out each week as it's done and write down, Monday through Sunday, what you've got to do. Another idea is to use a journal to write down any thoughts you might have before falling asleep. Get it all out on paper and away from your brain.

2) LAVENDER

In the Language of Flowers, Lavender is given the meaning of 'mistrust' as it was thought to hide asps and it was put in little nets to be used as deodorant in Victorian times. Cheap and easy to get, lavender, fresh or dried is an old flower used for washing and cleansing and has especially been used for sleep and anxiety. I keep a little bag under my pillow and I spray my bedding and my room in a lavender sleep mist. Another idea is to sip it. Pukka teas have a Night Time Tea using lavender (find it here) or Waitrose has a cheaper and delicious version too. You could also make it yourself using loose chamomile tea leaves, a tea strainer and loose

dried lavender, sip it before bed.

3) YOGA

Yoga is meant to relax you anyway but yoga before bed helps loosen your muscles, helps you breathe deeply and helps induce sleep. I normally use Pinterest to find different exercises and it's helped me find my 'one'.

I do this every night whilst practising some deep breathing exercises. I set my fitbit Charge 2 on relax for 5 minutes and normally go through it 3-4 times. If you don't have one all you have to do is inhale for 4 and exhale for 4 and keep doing it.

4) DON'T be HUNGRY

My hippo's appetite is rarely satisfied and at night, if I've not eaten enough (of the RIGHT things) I will be hungry and I won't stop thinking about food. Make sure you get plenty of protein as well as a healthy supply of carbs. Though there's conflicting information about sugar, I've found that a little bit of a sweet thing (maybe berries with some cereal) helps me crash.

5) CALCIUM

Calcium is great for healthy bones, of course but it is also handy for sleep. Apparently, calcium and magnesium are helpful in sleep and according to this article, calcium helps produce melatonin (also found in cherries and cherry juice, another option) which in turn helps induce sleep. If you're vegan you can just as effectively use a vegan alternative, I normally use unroasted, unsweetened almond milk. I pour some in a mug and put it in the microwave for a minute for a warm calcium-laced drink. Wild.

6) IF you CAN'T sleep till late TRY and get up at YOUR normal time

Things don't go as planned and there is no immediate and always-effective cure for insomnia. Different periods of your life will require different reactions and produce different worries. CBT is great for insomnia (or so I'm told) but some night of bad sleep affect everyone, it's not weird. If you know it's a little harder for you to get to sleep try not to mess up your routine.Wake up at your normal time, on weekends too, and go to sleep at your normal time. Your body has a little clock inside it, somewhere... it's not worth messing that up when you don't have to.

7) DECAF

Drink something decaf. Be that guy in the coffee shop asking for a decaf cappuccino. If you are at the point of taking sleeping pills of any sort, you really don't want to take your heart on any roller coasters.

8) VENTILATION

Summer is getting sticky, even in Britain (cheers global warming...) which makes me wake up every night at about 1am sweaty and gross. I got a fan and set a timer. The noise is annoying yes... but you can get foam ear plugs and then it kind of sounds like white noise on sleep apps so hey ho.

9) DARK

Make your room as dark as possible and, if it is still too light, a night mask is a great thing.

10) EXERCISE

Some people swear by it, others hate it. I sleep best when I run or I've done other exercise but not before bed. Try and do it in the morning or afternoon. Exercise makes my body tired, yes, but it also wakes me up which is why I've always done it before studying so, find what's best for you, tiring your body is a good idea.

There's a lot you can do for yourself to help you through tough times. Take some or all of these steps and get some rest.

#sleep #wellness #beauty