Struggling with Sleep Consistency Anyone Else Dealing With This?

[emmawalter]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been going through a bit of a frustrating phase with my sleep lately and wanted to see if anyone here can relate or share some advice.

For the past few weeks, my sleep schedule has been all over the place. Some nights I fall asleep quickly and feel fine the next day, but other nights I just can’t seem to switch off my mind. Even when I do sleep, I sometimes wake up feeling like I barely rested.

I’ve tried a few basic things like limiting screen time before bed and sticking to a rough bedtime, but it doesn’t always work consistently. It’s especially tough when stress or random thoughts keep popping up right when I’m trying to sleep.

I noticed that a lot of discussions here revolve around insomnia, sleep routines, and even things like circadian rhythm issues, so I thought this might be the right place to ask. From what I’ve seen, this community is really supportive and focused on sharing real experiences, which is exactly what I need right now .

So I wanted to ask:

• Do you have a consistent bedtime routine that actually works long-term?

• How do you deal with an overactive mind at night?

• Has anything simple made a noticeable difference for your sleep quality?

I’m open to trying small, practical changes nothing too extreme just something sustainable.

Would really appreciate hearing your experiences

[TracyNZ]

Hi Emma,

i too often wake feeling like i barely rested. sometimes my body feels like it ran a marathon over night - is sore and exhausted.

i have had disturbed sleep since i was under 5 years old - nearly 50 years.

i have tried so many different things over the years including sleep hygiene techniques, accupuncture, hypnosis, psychotherapy, sauna therapy, chinese herbs, reiki, osteo, running in the morning, running at night, stretching, warm milk, cherry juice, positive affirmations, different pillows, tai chi, breathing techniques, muscle clenching and release, mindfullness, white noise, sleep music, EFT tapping, orange light in the evening. And more…

i have come to learn that the medical conditions i live with all have disturbed sleep as a symptom. so that complicates it.

over active mind - what helped me was to write down, mind map, draw, journal what was going round in my mind. that way i would not forget anything, could quickly review to see if there was anything urgent i had to do right then, and sometimes found a solution i had been considering. other times it led me to work on an idea for 2 hours, and then i could go to bed and sleep.

the sleep routine - tried it at various times over the years, and it has only been recently that i have been following the getting ready for bed activities /routine. i have made sleep a priority on my action (to-do-list). my body and mind will not heal without deep sleep. my body won’t process the toxins as it needs to if i am not in bed and resting /sleeping. i created a timeline working backwards from when i wanted to be asleep by. included whatever needed to be done - pack bag, clothes for next day, house lights out, tidy kitchen, noting down whats top of mind, checking the calendar if i have anything else on tomorrow, and time to unwind in bed doing sudoku. i wrote this down and put it on my lounge wall - as that is generally where i am in the evening. i can see it. i have a physical clock by my TV in the lounge so i always know what time it is. so i am making myself get moving from 9.15pm to make sure i am in bed and lights are out by 10.15pm. i may still be listening to the deep sleep music on brain.fm but i am resting, saying my affirmations, doing the 478 breathing to assist the nervous system, and releasing the tension in my body.

i would also suggest getting a medical - bloods to check your iron, magnesium etc, thyroid and female hormones.

the more you worry about or fight the poor sleep, the worse it gets. find techniques that help you to relax about bedtime and having a busy mind.

tracy

[emmawalter]

ok thanks it means alot