[acb-hsp] Sleep

[Carmella D Broome]

I've struggled with insomnia for years. I can vividly remember having problems with it since elementary school. I do have light perception and have to wear sunglasses outdoors when the sun is out due to    light sensitivity so its not like I have no awareness of day vs night due to lack of ability to discern light.  I'd like tohave a sleep study done at some point, although  a lot of people  say they feel those are a waste of time.  I know it couldn't hurt, though, and maybe they'd  come up with something. I  know that anxiety and depression due fun things to sleep, too, and I have problems with both. 

I know my sleep habits aren't good.  As in, I  don't  keep a great routine, go to sleep with the TV on, don't get enough exercise, and so on.  I've taken OTC, herbal, and prescription meds  for years.  

OTC stuff has little to no impact on me now because I took it so often during college. It might work  for one night once in a great while, but  that's about it.  That includes Tylenol PM,Benodryl, and Ni-quyl. OTC stuff is okay for occasional short term use,  a few days maybe.  That's what's recommended on the  labels, too.  I definitely  overused them when I was younger. They're not recommended for long-term use and  lots of them contain antihystamines or other agents, such as pain relievers and are being taken just for sleep when there's more in them than that.       

I have taken mellatonin. It helped for a while, but  my Dad got me concerned about  lack of long-term studies and lack of  FDA regulation.   I also read that  mellatonin could contribute to depression, which I've dealt with on a clinical level, so I stopped taking it. 

I took it for a while (as in several weeks at least) before I  felt like it was helping me at all. I found that it  helped promote more natural sleep. As in,  if I   was relaxing and  being still  and reading or other  wind down before sleep behaviors, I would start to feel  sleepy naturally. It didn't feel like a drugged sleep and  I didn't feel sleepy the next day. I did find that I would wake up in the   middle of the night still, so I would take  another one right before going to sleep to  delay that. I did find that I had  some vivid dreams while taking it. That may have been because I was getting deeper sleep but it was kind of weird. I had a lot of night sweats when I was taking it. I don't  know if that was the mellatonin or for other reasons, but at the time, I felt it was the mellatonin.   

I've also tried that flower  essence   spray on your tongue stuff. I think its called Rescue Remedy.  It was  supposed to help anxiety and sleep.  No results of any kind. No side effects that I know of either.  Nothing.  I've done the camamille and Sleepy Time teas. They're  relaxing in that drinking  hot tea sort of way, but that's about it. I tried some other herbal thing that was supposed to be  a combination of sleep promoting natural ingredients.  I want to say it was called Sleep MD, but I'm not positive about that.  It was these big pills like vitamins. They smelled and tasted funny and  I didn't find that they helped me sleep.   

I've taken the older meds like Trazedone and  another similar old med.  No results.  I tried Vistoril, which I think is sort of similar to Benodryl.  No  help there either. I took ambien. It  gave me  vivid psychadelic type hallucinations.  Totaly trippy and entertaining, but it didn't help me sleep. I take Lunesta now.  It does okay.  Some nights better than others.  I haven't tried any other newer prescription  stuff.   

I know one of my problems is that I often fight sleep.  I don't know if its a control thing or what, but my brain   doesn't like to shut off and let me relax.   I've gotten to where, for something beyond a nap, I have to  almost feel  unable to stay awake I'm so drowsy.  I have to take something that will pretty muchh "knock me out." I know that's not natural  nor is it healthy.  

I know a fair number of my clients use alcohol to help them sleep.  We all know why that's generally a bad idea. Personally, it makes me more restless. Others use  Xanax or adavan on a regular basis for sleep.  With any of those, addiction issues can be a concern.  

I  think breathing and relaxation exercises can be of some help. I also  have heard of an  ap for the IPhone for insomnia that varies the   script and  music or  relaxing sounds so the  user doesn't  get bored or able to predict what's coming next.  Its supposedly able to tap into brain  waves to get to the ones that help promote sleep.  I haven't used it so I don't know if its helpful or not.

I wrote a paper on insomnia in college and did a presentation on it that was basically an update on that paper last year at a lunch and learn CEU thing for other  MH professionals.   I read an interesting book on the subject a little while back called "Wide Awake."  I downloaded it from BookShare. It was a journalist's memoir of  trying  to findhelp for her own insomnia. She  investigated some related sleep stuff, as well, went to conferences,  talked to experts, interviewed other people with sleep issues, and so on. It was  interesting and informative, too.  Pretty sure I posted  info from both on my blog
http://CounselorCarmella.WordPress.com

Carmella Broome EdS LPC LMFT
Crossroads Counseling Center, Lexington SC
http://CounselorCarmella.WordPress.com
Author of Carmella's Quest:  Taking On College Sight Unseen (Red Letter Press 2009)
http://CarmellasQuest.LiveJournal.com
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