Insomnia

[Traboo]

Hello beautiful people, 

I'm currently living in NDIS housing and I love it. I get looked after very well and I'm so grateful 🙏 The only problem is that I have terrible insomnia. Im so exhausted by 7pm I go straight to bed, then im awake at around 3am. I constantly feel tired and I also have bad osteoarthritis which causes extreme pain 😢 

[AlwaysMyself]

Hi @Traboo , 

So lovely to hear the housing is a good and supportive experience. 😊. 

Sorry to hear about the insomnia though; I’ve had insomnia as long as I can remember - of fluctuating degrees though, thankfully not always as severe as sometimes!

I wondering whether it's something you have chatted to a doctor (or mental health support) about at all? 

The reason I ask (without any pressure to, only gently, friendly encouragement to consider it) is because there can be physical and/or psychological reasons that we may experience insomnia. And sometimes they can be improved once we understand the root cause of it. 😊. 

I won’t lie — I still get insomnia. But understanding the physical and neurological things that contribute to my poor sleep help me fix some (eg sleep apnoea) and be aware of how I can reduce/manage others (eg physical pain, light-sensitivity, racing thoughts, etc) to at least try to offer my body/brain the best chances of a better sleep.

I’ve also been waking consistently at 3am-4:30am every night (morning?) for the past 2-3 weeks now without being able to fall asleep again as quick/well as I usually would 🤔. It's very odd for me, and I am hoping my body gets out of this habit again soon. It’s a funny coincidence you also mentioned 3am. 😅

[Traboo]

Thanks for the good advice. I've spoken to my doctor. I have obstructive sleep apnoea and also severe osteoarthritis. 

[Dimity]

@Traboo the inconvenience and fatigue are troubling but it sounds as though you might be getting up to 8 hours sleep regardless so I'm not sure that counts as insomnia.

It's hard to shift your sleep cycle - I've been trying. I tend to veer the other way, getting to sleep late and waking late. 

If you have untreated sleep apnoea that would contribute to daytime fatigue. I hope you're getting help with it.