Help me! HUGE sleep problems!

[Diana Jean]

I have had wacky sleep problems for as long as I can remember. I talk in my sleep; I walk; I kick; I snore; I toss & turn; I dream VERY vividly; I've been known to ring bells, clean closets, throw cell phones in the garbage....you name it, all in my sleep. Now my fiance and I are having problems because he hasn't had a good night's sleep for months, and his sleep deprivation level is unbearable. I've been to doctors; I've had a sleep study done; I've been on anti-depressants, anti-convulsants, and all manner of naturopathic notions like Valerian root, Evening Primrose Oil, Calcium & Magnesium, Acidophilus.....the list goes on. Each new method seems to work for a while, and then my old sleep habits come back. I've been watching my diet; I don't eat after 7 PM; I try to be in bed at a regular time each evening; I try to set up bedtime routines - nothing seems to work! I'm at the end of my rope, and my fiance is talking about separate bedrooms! Please, someone help me!

[This message has been edited by Diana Jean (edited 03-09-2001).]

[DatSoundsLogico]

Hi Diana
This seems like a very tricky problem you've got. I don't have any suggestions to offer you just some questions. Of course there's the obvious: are you eating nutrious meals and getting moderate amounts of exercise?
But also, when you do physical things like cleaning closets or throwing out phones (while sleeping)are you dreaming that you are doing this as well? Or are you dreaming of something completely different? Have you seen someone who does dreamwork? I truly believe that dreams have much to tell us about ourselves, if only we will listen and try to figure them out. What about meditation or yoga - have you tired either? It helps to slow down our bodies and our minds in this hectic modern world of ours.

Good luck Diana. I hope you find a solution soon.




------------------
"If you Always do what you've Always done,
You'll Always get what you've Always got."

[NIX70chs]

Try heavy exercise before going to sleep.

[Diana Jean]

Thank you for the replies. I usually dream about whatever I'm doing. For example, the other morning I couldn't find my necklace when I got up. (It's usually hanging on a hook beside my bed.) I remembered dreaming about it, but I couldn't figure out what I'd done with it. Finally, the next day I found it hanging on a hanger in my closet.

Sometimes the dreams are vivid, and I will remember what I thought I was doing (and actually did). Other times, like with the cell phone incident, I have no memory of what I've done. It's getting very scary, and my fiance and I have pretty much reconciled ourselves to having separate beds for the rest of our lives.

I'm having sinus surgery this summer, and hopefully that will help to clear up some of the breathing problems that I think contribute to my sleep problems.

I've tried the heavy exercise before bed thing - mostly it makes me more active. I guess once I get started moving around, I can't stop, even when I'm asleep.

Anyway, if anyone has any more suggestions beyond what I've already tried, I'd sure appreciate the help. Thanks!

[rands]

Diana Jean I'm not going to claim to understand your problems, thats alot of problems for one person to have to go through, but I can say I've experience some of them and a friend let me borrow a magnetic sleep system and within a couple of days I noticed a big difference and after a couple of weeks I was sleeping all night. They say it puts you in a deeper realm of sleep. It was kinda of expensive but sleeping in different rooms doesn't sound like much of a honeymoon. Good luck!

------------------