Strategies for deep sleep when you have insomnia

Sleep deprivations after having kids

I have suffered from sleep deprivation. My first experience with it was after having my first child. Two years later, my second child arrived, and I experienced it again. I now take prescription medication to help me sleep.

I feel incredibly frustrated when I can’t fall asleep. I keep thinking about the day I have in front of me, and how much energy I’m going to need. This, of course, makes it worse. When I’m feeling stressed, my mind goes into overdrive and won’t stop humming. This makes it very difficult to fall asleep.

Extreme sleep deprivation can make me feel psychotic and out of it. I can’t think straight. The sleep medications help me to fall asleep. However, there have been times when I’ve stayed awake for hours after taking the pills. What helps is having complete quiet; keeping the TV off, no noise coming from outside, etc.

Of course, I have the lights off. I try to ease my mind by focusing on breathing in, out, in, out. If I’m truly able to focus on that, I can fall asleep pretty quickly. If this doesn’t work, I may turn the TV on for a while or read a book for a few minutes. This helps sometimes. I tend to sleep better if I’ve had strenuous exercise sometime during the day.

I went to my general practitioner to discuss my sleep problems. He originally prescribed Ambien, which worked well.

I eventually switched to Lunesta, which I use now. It feels gentler to me. I explained to my doctor that I couldn’t sleep, I had two small kids and a job, and I was desperate for sleep. He said that I had a lot going on and that stress could be a big factor.

He also said not to eat too late at night. I took his advice, and it worked. I’d prefer not to stay on sleeping medication forever, but I’m staying put for now. I love to sleep!