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I have had sleep issues for as long as i can remember, I can remember being on Brownie camp, I can only have been 8 or 9, being the only one awake and feeling the dread of knowing how awful I would feel the following day from lack of sleep. I still have it, in bouts lasting up to four months at a time with no discernible cause or reason. People who don’t have issues sleeping rarely understand the effect it can have on your life, assuming you feel ‘a bit sleepy’ the next day. I can safely say then when I’m mid-bout the mental and physical effects are pretty scary. The nausea, the dizziness, the forgetfulness, the fogginess, the anxiety and the worst, the absolute paranoia. Earlier this year I had three months of bad insomnia, only getting between two and three hours sleep a night, by week five I had become so intensely paranoid I genuinely believed my husband was trying to kill me through mental torture and that my friends were trying to drive me insane. It was pretty hard and I almost broke.
Over the years I’ve tried many, many techniques to help manage my insomnia from CBT and hypnosis through to hardcore sleeping tablets (that made me feel terrible) but the inconsistency means that something that may help one week positively hinders the next. I wanted to share what’s in my current armoury and would love to hear any other ideas for things to try.
Not sure if this does make a difference but the ritual of spraying my bedding does help me transition into going to bed mode. It helps that I love the scent of lavender.
I've been taking these for about three months and i think they are helping me get back to sleep (sometimes) when I wake during the night - not a glowing review I know, I suspect they might be placebo for me….
Magnesium bath
A hot bath with two handful of these and a dribble of Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Bath and Shower Oil knocks me out like nothing else - BUT becomes less effective if I use it too much, twice a week is highly effective for me, more, not so much.
Melatonin
Controversial as this isn’t available in the UK (i pick mine up in the States). Melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland and production is triggered by darkness, i.e it’s gets the body ready for sleep. Although my problem is staying asleep rather than getting to sleep, a low dose and occasional melatonin regime helps me get more deep sleep (thank you fitbit!). Talking of hormones, i'm currently testing a new hormone treatment to balance out my very messed up hormone balance, watch this space, I will write it up at the end of my trial.