sleep hygiene?
 

I wonder how people have been helped by sleep hygiene? My husband doesn't have bipolar (maybe I do but the doctors in this area are not very helpful to me) but he hasn't been a good sleeper for a long time. Does anyone have any tips on how to improve sleep aside from meds? He does sleep ''ok'' most of the time but requires ''peace'' and the tv for 2 hours before bed each night, then he reads a book. If I interrupt him he gets a headache. I think he may have high functioning aspergers. I wonder if this is partly why this occurs. Does anyone have a friend or family member with aspergers? I find my mood dips in the evenings (sometimes it is ok but other times I don't like having to be silent). If I have something I need to discuss it just has to wait. Until the following afternoon. He doesn't want to see a doctor (they would only offer meds here anyway which he doesn't need)

:grouphug:

Hello, Pink Kitty!

Maintaining good sleep hygiene is possibly the most important part of my personal self care. My own sleep-preparation rituals don't extend over so much time as your husband's, but I find I do need to "guard" them from disruption.

No doctor has diagnosed me being on the autism spectrum, but I do have one online friend who sits somewhere in that category. He frequently stays up late at night.

Maybe some melatonin would help?

they make a time released pill.
I take a quick acting one as well.
plus visteril.
I used to take .5mg of klonipin...it worked great!
then my pdoc took it away because I drink.....
and now i sleep just fair.
I have added some cbd to see if that can help.
4th night
bizi

HI all, maybe this will show up here. I just up-dated my routine in the Sleep forum area here on Neuro.

I am in remission from Major Depressive Disorder.

Learning and then applying the methods of sleep hygiene has helped me.

There is a description of them here.

Sleep hygiene - Better Health Channel

Thanks for the replies
:grouphug:

My old sleep MD liked this site: sleep.org


Years ago I had a psychologist who taught sleep habits.
When I was young and single, I took everything out of the bedroom except the bed and the dresser.
I read books before bed IN A DIFFERENT ROOM
so that I associated the bed with sleep.

And blue light can be disruptive to the sleep process.
(Amber light is better for most.)


=-=-
Now I take medications that help.
I've got multiple life-long sleep issues.


M

@Mari
Have you ever tried visteril for anxiety/ sleep?
bizi

Bizi,

The meds are not the issue.

I don't like going to bed.

So hard to explain.

Interesting comment. Do you know why you don't like going to bed. Sleep and bed are such a huge part of our living and our daily routines..ummmm

I swear I replied to this. Maybe it was another similar thread. Anyway, my doctor gave me a whole list of things to improve sleep. I knew most or all of them already so you can probably Google for your own list. I'll name a few though.

Ones that work for me
-stop using electronic devices (tablets, cellphones...) for at least an hour before bed. (a quick peek is ok, as I use my phone to set my alarm and that seems fine).
-darken the room and quiet the home. sometimes I can still sleep with light and sound though
-have a set bed and waketime, at least with only a few hours (no more than 2) every night.
-use a lavendar scented diffuser (is that what it's called?) it helps with relaxation
-do some light yoga like an hour or even 30 minutes before bed.
-have a regular exercise routine with weight training.

Things that don't work for me
-limiting all computer useage. I find that checking my sites and/or engaging in some light conversation helps put me in a relaxed mood.
-eating like 3-4 hours before bed. while i don't want a full belly, i can't sleep if I'm hungry.
-??


That's what I can think of off the top of my head. Gosh, I'm sorry to hear about the strict bedtime rules your hubby has for you to follow. Sometimes mine has certain requirements, like if he has a bad headache, all the tvs and lights (well most lights) need to be off. This is more rare though. The common one is that when it's time for him to go to bed, the bedroom light must be out as well as the bedroom tv. And on a few occasions, he'll require that I help put him to sleep. I have to stay with him until he falls asleep or else he can't sleep. This one I can totally relate to though because generally speaking, that's my requirement. No lights, no noise, and him by my side. Unfortunately, he sometimes has to work from home and late at night or early in the morning. This always wakes me up, but usually I can go back to sleep now. It's when he's working or on the phone and I'm TRYing to sleep, that I struggle.

*hugs

Today has been a good day for me, I got some good sleep last night :)
And nothing much has rattled me today :D

Hugs to all :D:grouphug:

Hugs to you.


:hug::hug::hug:

Sleep problems seem common. I sleep well most of the time unless I have a major worry causing anxiety. I never get cross with myself for not sleeping.

I tend to wind down in bed and when I turn out the light, I find a comfy position, turn over then back again (not sure why) then imagine myself in a safe environment and create a story in my head of how my ideal life would be there. I seem to just zone out shortly after.

I really don't like labels. There is a condition cyclothymia which seems to be a milder form of bipolar. I prefer to think we are all the way we are because of our genetic's and our upbringing. Neither of these do we have control over.

Most of us do a wonderful job of managing ourselves. It is hard when our needs don't match what our partner needs.

I send best wishes to you and your husband. :grouphug:

I'm checking in here :) I posted in another thread but decided to censor myself and delete it. I'm having issues sleeping. I also try to stay away from ''the news'' and talking about the ''thing'' which is always in the news :( I'm sorry about that. It's hard to find places where people are not talking about that :( (I mean, in my threads I prefer not to talk about it...

I wonder if anyone here has had a good result from lamictal? Or has a doctor or anyone else recommended it as a possible helpful med?
:grouphug:

I am on lamictal and a lot of other meds to sleep and address my anxiety.
lamictal is my only mood stabilizer.


I am on a lot of haldol, 30 day injector type and then 5mg twice a day with cogentin. twice a day as well.
my main pill for anxiety is tofrnil, it makes me nervous because it is an anti depressant useful for treating anxiety. I also take 1mg of klonipin the am and 2mg at night!!!!!
It took a nervous break down to get klonipin back in my life again,sigh....
It is 9pm and I have been up about 11 hours and I am yawning.
I like the PA that I saw again Lauren PA, I asked her if I could have her as my provider? She said yes, so that is great!!!!!


I am disassociation a lot, For about 20 minutes I felt a sleep.
While I was hospitalized I would zone out of my body and see myself in a coffin it had a small light in it,,,I would call out jeffs name and he would never answer me they felt so real. Like I got lost 2 times in the building....
I could go on and on about my dreams vs reality, I left there worse then I went in.
jeff was so angry no one call him back he tried every day to speak to a pdoc...to no avail.


I need to go to sleep now we may watch downton abbey together.
that would be nice.


bizi

Been trying Gabapentin now for like a month or two (?) It immediately started working to relax and keep me asleep, even if I still struggle slightly getting to sleep. But I feel pretty good and rested...unless I oversleep, and then I'm drowsy all day. Bleh! So weird!