LITTLE SLEEP!

@dennismm I believe Shawn Stevenson recommended magnesium lotion in his book Sleep Smarter, which was quite informative. Much stuff that we already know, but with some explanations that I for one didn’t know.

@johnbishop same here trazodone doesn’t work for me. Lorazepam used to work but not so well anymore. I fall asleep, but don’t stay asleep and used to work for me but now I wake up several times during the night. Going to talk to my doctor about other suggestions. Maybe the best thing is to try to sleep on my own there’s some natural things like melatonin and L-Theanine that Supposedly give good results

@dennismm Your description sounds like me eight years ago. I was 65 then, a lifelong competitive runner, fit, active, cognitively sharp (or so I kept telling myself...who obligingly nodded enthusiastically). I had no symptoms whatsoever...no napping, no fogginess, no headaches, no narcoleptic intervals, say at red traffic lights, ...nuthin'. And I would awaken with drool from my slack jaws. I told everyone I slept really well, just a bit short (less than six hours typically). It wasn't until I experienced my first run of AF (atrial fibrillation) near the end of a 10 km maintenance run one day that the rest followed...an overnight polysomnography showed I have 'severe OSA', obstructive sleep apnea. Your sore throat is a very clear indication of occasional, maybe frequent, supine sleep position with slack jaw, maybe because that's the only way you're getting air. Many of us turn on our sides as we awaken, not realizing we do it, or we're still mostly asleep, and if we fall asleep for even a moment, our jaw and lips lose their tone anew and we pour.

IF you can find a reputable facility that does over-night polysomnographies, that will be evidence nobody can refute.

Sleep aids, soporifics are a lot like dates, chocolate, driving well over the speed limit, and sex: they all work better if done seldom. If you do them daily, they soon lose their potency. I have just had a terrible run of poor sleep, but not so much due to my lifestyle (I'm a sponge for on-line information and videos about a wide range of topics, and I'm an amateur astronomer....so it doesn't take any great intellect to assume I'm up until the wee hours). I care for a sometimes wife who has several autoimmune disorders that occasionally make her prescriptions cause her to be very unsteady on her feet to the point where I sometimes have to lunge and grab her when she's standing, whether at home or in public (I say sometimes wife because it seems I only get her, the old her, back several days a month. The rest are foggy and fraught). I am also the most handy and proximal child to my 96 year old dad who is in the last 15 months of life, as a guesstimate. Frail, cranky, fearful of falling, shuffles along with a walker...you get the picture. He called at 0550 on Friday to say he wanted to go to emerg because he couldn't pee. I'd fallen asleep near 0230. You can do the math. The next three nights have been only marginally better. Last night, without an aid, I slept exhaustedly until 0900, with the usual early-morning bedtime. So, it can be done, but a lot has to be in place for it to happen. You need few(er) obligations next day, none would be best, and you need to be tired. You must have shut off learning mode or inquisitiveness mode by shutting off all digital devices with a screen at least an hour earlier. When was the last time you sat at your dining table or breakfast table, but just before going to bed, and read your local newspaper obits? I take it as a civil obligation to do that...they're my neighbours! But it also calms my mind and puts it in the right frame to fall asleep.

Returning to soporifics: remember, use them only when they are absolutely critical for you to live well the next day. The rest of the time...................tough it out! I use melatonin or other concoctions, but maybe twice a week. I feel I need them to stay potent, and they will not do that if I use them every night.

This is just my thinking. I know I'm not representative of all of you, maybe of none of you. Our personalities and interest, and our regular obligations and duties, vary widely. We don't share the same histories, or even medical circumstances. But unless something is to be taken daily, like a statin or an anti-coagulant, or synthetic hormones like thyroxin, I really to fear taking, and depending on, a soporific regularly, daily.

@gloaming
What a beautifully response, wow.
You could certainly be a writer
It is now 1;44 AM and I’m writ this. Sending emails doesn’t make it worse it just fills my time since none of the medications work!

I’ve had insomnia most of my life. I’ve settled into a routine that helps me most nights. I have my room cool (66) and dark - blackout shades. I try to keep bedtimes consistent and I keep screen time minimal. At lights out, my phone goes on airplane mode and I don’t touch it till morning. I take 1/2 of a Lunesta tablet at lights out, and the other 1/2 when I inevitably wake between 2 and 3. If I were to look at my phone, or turn lights on, I’d be up for hours. I meditate on my breathing and redirect any negative or worried thoughts to that.

@con123
It was very kind of you to follow up my post. Calling all 3 drs today as someone has to have a solution!!

@gloaming I've read many times and I personally found out the following. Exercising, including walks are necessary for our general health. However, it should be done way before a person attempts to go to sleep. I've often violated this rule and yes, my body doesn't "shut down" for hours and I struggle to get to sleep. I hope this helps someone.

@royanthony You are quite right to point out that, as individuals, we all have the personal responsibility to learn what we can, and what we cannot, tolerate. I know some people who drink caffeinated coffee after supper and who are apparently no worse off for that routine. Some go running in the evening when the kids are in bed and they have a partner at home to watch the proverbial fire. They sleep better just an hour or two later. As you know only too well, exercise is best done before a final day's meal and not within three/four hours of bedtime. Some say that screen time just before bedtime is bad for sleep. I would have to say I'm not in that camp, but I appreciate that others are and that they must make adjustments to their evening activities accordingly.

@con123 For those reading. I have done it all month of cognitive sleep therapy at U of M. Recently on an investment Podcast the subject came up and I heard a pretty good suggestion that was different from journaling. That was to write down your entire to do list running in your brain. Explained this prevents sleep as it a running loop. By writing it down which sounds counter intuitive as if your bringing it to the fore front. It was explained, No by writing it down you are mentally closing the tabs on all the items freeing your brain to say okay to sleep. The expert swore by the effects it can bring.