Taking the plunge

[CheerBear]

haha that gave me a big smile that you sleep with your fur baby not the other way around @Maggie. They definitely have a way of making their way into our hearts. My Mouse cat owns my room (her room). I think she owns my pink fluffy blanket too, and I am allowed to borrow it sometimes 😉

A face wash and a happy to see you run around the bed is a pretty lovely way to wake up!

We have floorboards here and Noodle is BIG and clumsy. I hear an incredible thump, thump, thump as he races up and down the hallway. We have a couple of floor mats and one of his favourite things to do is race up the hallway then pounce and slide the mat along the floor. It's so funny to see what state the house is in in the mornings sometimes. Mouse is the opposite, so stealthy and so quiet (though very playful when she wants to be). She doesn't meow, she squeaks and only to me. I swear she watches Noodle sometimes thinking that she's embarrassed that he's part of her species 😛

[Former-Member]

Hahaha @CheerBear - I laughed out loud when I read mouse only squeaks at you and noodle thumps around the floorboards. My cats are still sleeping - that's pretty much all they do.

I am learning I am not the only person here who has trouble sleeping. @Maggie@CheerBear - how many hours of sleep do you get a night if you don't mind me asking? Do you get to sleep before midnight? Any tips off what may helps to enhance getting off to sleep would be music to my ears at the moment. Anything is worth a try 😊

[Maggie]

@CheerBear  Lol.

[Maggie]

@Former-Member I'm lucky if I get two hrs once in a while. I do lie down and rest and find that helps. No suggestions have worked for me, not even sleeping pills, they just made me feel hung over and more depressed. Grab it if you can I reckon. 💕💕

[CheerBear]

Hi @Former-Member  🙂 

Our cats are still babies really, which might be why they are the way they are. In saying that, I think Noodle is actually a puppy stuck in a tiny tiger body who has been mislabeled a cat 😉

I really feel for people who have a really tough time with sleep, like it sounds you do @Maggie. I have my moments, but I think in general my sleep has improved over a few months. Last night was pretty bad in terms of sleep for me as I would have been lucky to have fallen asleep before midnight, then woke tossing and turning at 1:30, then again at 3:30 but I couldn't get back to sleep so I gave up and got up at 4:30. This is on the back of a few nights in a row that have been hard so I am starting to feel it now (I feel sick, dizzy, lethargic, slow etc). I'm going to have to have a nap today, which I am careful with in case it further messes with my night time. Way past the point where I can push through now though I think.

There's a thread here on sleep hygiene that might have some ideas.

A big one for me was not drinking coffee in the later afternoon/evening. I physically put the coffee in the cupboard at about 2:30 in the afternoon (which was what happened at the mental health service I stayed at, so I kept that going). Another is that I try to log off from the forum by about 10:00 and as it gets closer to that time, I am careful about what discussions I am involved in here. I can get easily distracted and lose track of the time, and I find that even fun/exciting conversations can impact on my ability to wind down. Sometimes (often) I lie in bed and watch something that doesn't really interest me on my tablet (with the brightness turned right down) and I kind of drift off. Podcasts are good for that too.

The biggest thing for me has really been to do what I can to help myself, but not stress about sleep as worrying/thinking about sleep seems to make it harder to come by if I do. 

Hope that you find something that will help you 🙂

And that you both have a good day 🙂 (thanks for the company in the wee hours @Maggie. It was so nice)

[Former-Member]

Hi @CheerBear

I think you may have given me a clue as to why I had trouble sleeping last night:- I had some coke around 5:00pm and was on the iPad after 12:00pm. I never normally drink cola at all but felt like an energy boost. Maybe it worked too well lol. All night I was like

Will have to try and put the iPad down by 10:30pm as that is probably overstimulating. Thanks for the tips lovely. Hope your day is going well and you are not needing matchsticks like me yet 

Hi @Maggie - only 2 hours sleep!!!! I don't know how you do that. Do you nap during the day? You are a trooper my friend, if that were me I would be 😑 by the end of the day. I usually need quite a bit of sleep, but I am rarely asleep before 2:00am. Will have to keep trying to get up earlier to get my body clock back in order. Won't hold my 😨😅

Hope you are both enjoying your day 😊

[Maggie]

@Former-Member Yes the coffee/cola drinks are a biggie, along with the brightlights mentioned by @CheerBear. I had to stop worrying and accept things. No I don't nap unless my body just can't go on anymore, then I lie down, but not often. I don't have LF or a sick husband to look after, so consider my life much easier than both of you. Some suggest listening to the sounds of birds on a cd or iPod, something relaxing and soothing, running water, meditation. All individual I think.

Love the pics @Former-Member says it all. Had a lazy day here, nothing achieved, but...... Hope you both enjoy your evening.

[Maggie]

Feel like :pile_of_poo:😩😩😰😥😢

[CheerBear]

😞 @Maggie 💗💛💕

[Faith-and-Hope]

@Maggie .... 💜💕