Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Problems sleeping

Hi.I always have problems falling asleep at night.I was wondering if any Kickas members have any good home remedies that could help me get some sleep.
John

I don't have problems going to sleep in the evening, but I pretty much always wake up in the middle of the night, and it can be a struggle to get back to sleep, and then I feel extra groggy when it is time to get up for the day, so I send you my empathy!
To fall asleep: If you have dinner at about 6pm, and it has a serving of protein with it, don't snack until about three hours later at 9pm, and then have a snack that is a complex carbohydrate, no protein with it. This is supposed to gently increase serotonin in your brain to help you sleep!
Also, no caffeine from the afternoon on. No tv or screen time before bed. Soothing music, candles, hot bath, snack, completely dark room and then straight to bed. I hope this helps you get the zzzzs you need!

Hello John,

What are the reasons... pain? not tired? Insomnia?

I have had issues falling asleep for all 3 reasons in my life at times.

Regarding pain... just was never easy for me. I had to go to bed and sleep as long as could until uncomfortable or pain set in. I typically could only sleep in 1 position to avoid a lot of pain and use pillows to keep me in place. Once uncomfortable and some pain set in... had to get up and sleep some in Lazy Boy chair.

Otherwise I find that reading a book helps me nod off... also helps to go to bed at same time each day and accustom your body to that. My family here drinks a tea before going to bed.. about hour prior. i find that relaxes me as well.

Best to you,

Tim

I agree with Jan and Tim. I once was told that sleep hygiene is a necessity and that included everything that Jan said. Then I also do what Tim said. When I am awake in the night I always have a cup of herbal tea.

I go to sleep pretty easily but wake up hurting and then it is up and out of the bed after about 30 minutes.

Hope you rest well tonight

If it's pain, I used to take baths before I went to bed. Then if I woke in the middle of the night, I would take a pain pill and get back into another warm bath and let the pill take effect. Nothing worst then not sleeping.

Not only is sleep important but more crucial Is the right kind of deep sleep. A person could sleep 6-8 hours and wake unrefreshed because they aren't getting the deep sleep. Also I was told not to eat dinner late - best at 6pm - limit alcohol and caffeine, don't use computer before bed time (the light from screen says to the brain it's daylight - go figure!). If I wake during the night I don't lie there trying to go to sleep (worst thing), so I get up and have a hot chocolate drink and read a bit, then go back to bed (works a treat for me). Also no naps during the day - have to leave sleep for nighttime only. 20 min rests ok but no sleeping. Learnt all this at chronic pain program. I also shower before bed - helps with the pain and relaxes me for sleep. Hope this helps you even just a bit. I know why they use sleep deprivation for torture!!!

If I am having a hard time falling asleep (more often than not!)
I have to have a hot bath soak. I usually add some coconut oil to it so my skin doesn't dry out to much. The only problem comes when I try to get out of the bath. I have some grab bars for assistance but there have been times when I just put a towel over me and wait until I can move to get out

What is worse is when I wake in the middle of the night and it feels like I am going to burst into flames. I have to walk around or lay on the floor and try to get whatever part is stuck to move. I automatically know that I am done sleeping for the night but I try to rest once I get calmed down.

Hi John,

I hear you on this one..... I have had sleep troubles for as much of my life as I remember.

I have loads of trouble falling off to sleep.

Add to this, I have been a light sleeper all my life. I don't need many hours (thankfully!) to feel refreshed but any small noise wakes me. Until I started the No Starch Diet I was waking in pain every night after 4 hours downtime and then struggling to get back to sleep after getting up, stretching, walking around etc as my brain woke up and I started *thinking*!

Thankfully that is much less of an issue these past couple of years!

But the *getting off to sleep* has been a worsening issue for the past few years. I have been keen to address this better, as I am about to hit menopause and I can't imagine my insomnia getting worse!

As the others have said, paying attention to your sleep hygeine and routines is ESSENTIAL.

The things to avoid (after 6 pm) for me are:

Food, caffeine, aerobic exercise (too much endorphin - makes me all buzzy! ), computer screen (white light), reading work-related technical material (can't switch my brain off), family conflict (tricky at times with a 17 yo teenaged son in the house).

The things that help are:

Warm bath or shower, rubbing lavender oil on my skin (Lavender is a good soporific agent), quiet reading with classical music in the background, gentle yoga (in a dark room - stretching and mind clearing...).

Despite practicing all these things I have really struggled of late - made worse recently by having a moderately severe hand laceration injury in mid-February. I then spent the next month or more sitting on my butt watching TV and reading (couldn't work, do housework etc). I was going for a daily walk, but I just wasn't anywhere near physically tired enough by midnight!

Despite now being back to about 75% function level, I was still having a lot of trouble - sometimes up to 90 minutes in bed awake. (not helped by a husband who has been in bed for 2 hours and who is sleeping deeply and SNORING!)I had been doing some reading on suitable non-prescription remedies when I ran into a lady who works for a company that makes herbal medications. That was the impetus I needed....

For the last 2 weeks I have gone to sleep within 15 minutes *every night* and slept quite soundly nearly all night!

The miracle is a pill called ReDormin made by a Swiss company and marketed here in Oz by Flordis. It contains extracts from Valerian root and hops.

I remembered that I had taken Valerian (BTW - it's quite stinky! )about 20 years ago when I was teaching until 10:30pm and had real trouble winding down when I got home. It worked somewhat but this combo with the hops is AMAZING!!!

Maybe go and ask at your nearest healthfood store or pharmacy? My formulation conatins 1.25g Valerain root (Valeriana Officionalis)and 360 mg hops (Humulus Lupus fruit). The hops is supposed to stimulate melatonin production.

When I was talking about this to my always helpful rheumie just yesterday, he told me that you can now get melatonin over-the-counter here in Oz. He uses it to avoid jetlag - and the lucky man is off to Spain for a month this weekend!

So maybe ask about straight melatonin as well?

Good luck - insomnia is certainly is a bu@@er!