TRL Helpdesk- Nightmares

[graveyard johnny]

not been sleeping well for months - woken everynight  with vivid dreams including all sorts of horror and violence - mostly relating to me - had quite a bit of family turmoil and upset recently - any one got any ideas how to get a good nights sleep or what could be the cause of this ? thankyou GJ

[Futtocks]

5 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

not been sleeping well for months - woken everynight  with vivid dreams including all sorts of horror and violence - mostly relating to me - had quite a bit of family turmoil and upset recently - any one got any ideas how to get a good nights sleep or what could be the cause of this ? thankyou GJ

The broadcaster Dr Michael Mosley has a series just starting on Radio 4 about getting a decent night's sleep. It might be helpful, it might not, but he's someone with his own long-standing sleep problems. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0d7003n

[graveyard johnny]

3 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

The broadcaster Dr Michael Mosley has a series just starting on Radio 4 about getting a decent night's sleep. It might be helpful, it might not, but he's someone with his own long-standing sleep problems. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0d7003n

thanks - am finding waking up from a nightmare comes with firstly relief that it was only a dream then the exhaustion that follows - been unsettled and not been able to get back to sleep 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

I had real trouble sleeping for a long time, years in my late teens and 20s. What I did was forced myself to go to bed at the same time every night, get laid down with the light out at the same time, even if I didn't initially get to sleep. This was to tune my body clock into a routine of some kind. I also initially tried emptying my mind of all thoughts like some people tell you to try to do but when that didn't work I started trying to focus my mind on one single thing that I didn't have to think about too much, something that just instinctively came to mind. Back then I was an aspiring novelist and so my head was full of hundreds of characters and stories and I just told myself a story. I still do this to this day, I've reread some of my early novels a million times in my head at night! They're not very good but I know them word for word!

[GURNER]

As mad as this sounds, give it a try. Through various things that have happened in my life over the years and more recently waking up for the midnight visit to the toilet I was in your position. Think not of counting sheep jumping over a fence but more of imagining that of one  black faced creature coming towards you in a field.

It works for me, no idea why other than it stops you overthinking and calms you.

 

Please let me know if it works cos I will write a book about it and make a fortune

Edited October 24, 2022 by GURNER

[MattSantos]

Is it worth seeing a therapist? Might be able to help with the underlying cause.

Keep us updated.

Godspeed

[DavidM]

Often if i have a bad night its something ive ate or drank . Drinking tea late on keeps me awake 

[Futtocks]

I sometimes put on an audiobook or drama, with the volume set low. I find that, the more I want to find out what happens next, the more likely I am to drop off.

[DavidM]

26 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

I sometimes put on an audiobook or drama, with the volume set low. I find that, the more I want to find out what happens next, the more likely I am to drop off.

If im watching my ipad or tv I’ll nod off … and if i switch them off I dont go to sleep ! Keep the tv on and just go to sleep ( or better ipad on the battery )

[The Hallucinating Goose]

15 minutes ago, DavidM said:

If im watching my ipad or tv I’ll nod off … and if i switch them off I dont go to sleep ! Keep the tv on and just go to sleep ( or better ipad on the battery )

You know every night I tend to follow the same routine, read my book for an hour then watch an episode of a comedy on my tablet. Always watch comedy before bed because it will just lift my mood and make me happier as I go to sleep. Until a couple of weeks back I never fell asleep watching my tablet but for some reason did and ended up waking up about an hour and a half later with my head still propped on my hand and laid on my side. Funny little experience that. 

[graveyard johnny]

cheers- another night of broken sleep but on the bright side no bad dreams 

[gazza77]

I have a recurring theme in my dreams (every couple of months or so) that my wife is leaving me. Does that classify as a nightmare?

[hindle xiii]

Without being too personal, if you share your bed with someone, do they notice how you sleep?

There are a few sleep monitoring apps out there, granted to get full coverage and results on display you do have to subscribe to the premium service. I briefly tried 2 different apps and they weren't for me because the basic level didn't tell me anything.

[JohnM]

Are you on any medication of any sort? No cheese/ coffee/chocolate after 8 pm.

 

 

[Red Willow]

I dislike the term mindfulness but there are some great tools under this heading. It's about learning how to switch off.

I did a course and they described the mind and thoughts like a train going through a station and mindfulness is not getting on the train.

[Copa]

I put on a thunderstorm soundtrack and it gets me to sleep in no time. I had to try a few different ones before I found one that hit the right spot in my mind.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Copa

[Gerrumonside ref]

There’s a lot of good advice on here and I would advocate exercise as having psychological as well as physical benefits.

Other things to consider might be breathing exercises, meditation and the use of sound i.e. waves against the beach in a darkened room as oppose to light last thing at night i.e. reading on a tablet or phone.

Hope you find some peace anyway.

Edited October 26, 2022 by Gerrumonside ref

[The Masked Poster]

You don't want to know about my dreams! No, not sexual or anything dodgy, just the weirdest bizzare ###### you could imagine. It must come from somewhere but I don't think I want to know where from. 

Your dreams will be coming from a similar place, whether you want to find that out is up to you.