Sleep...science, logic, or granny knows best???

Grace,

I have fond memories of my gran making me a hot chocolate before bed when I was a small person.  She swore it would make me sleep better.  God bless her.

Very often I have weird sleep patterns and it annoys the hell out of me.  I start work at 6am (albeit from home) but being awake at 2am does me no favours at all.  I get especially annoyed if I fall asleep on the couch early evening and then can’t sleep when I go to bed.

I did have a phase of 10 weeks where I was only getting 20-25 minutes of sleep per night and had decided to make a doctors appointment as I couldn’t keep going (no problem falling asleep at my desk, but wise awake all night) and then all of a sudden I started sleeping again.  Turned out my bedroom was too warm and I just can’t sleep in heat, and as we entered Autumn the ambient temperatures fell.

Long may your full night’s sleep continue and hopefully it was just a ‘glitch’.  It’s definitely not CDH though as it’s the last thing I check on my way to bed and the first thing I check in the morning and all good 🙂

Love Rachel

I have Delaware to also snuggle up to................SO thinks Delaware can sense my heart beating...........so I am a surrogate mama dog. She settles down right away and I am not far behind!! She has this bed privilege because she is deaf and can be startled by the other dogs.......k

Granny's always know best (but I would say that - just don't tell my mum I said that!!)

I find it hard to switch off some times (I'm one of life's constant worriers) and I use Bach's Rescue Remedy which is a flower remedy to help, its used to combat / calm nerves but take it at night and I get a really good sleep - don't take it often but if I've had a couple of bad night's and need to sleep then I use it.

Cheese is also meant to be bad for weird dreams I think?

Hi Grace,

Glad the hot chocolate works. They say don't have any screen time for a hour before bed, the blue light can make you more awake. Or buy computer glasses that block the blue light. I also use melatonin. Work like a charm!

Sweet Dreams!

Chloe

Hi Grace,

For some reason a Hershey chocolate bar was like a sleeping pill for me. I did a little research and trying to cut calories where I can, I found that cherry juice has melatonin in it. I drink about six ounces before bedtime and within about thirty minutes I am really sleepy. I seem to be able to function with six hours of sleep. However since I retired, I am able to enjoy a short nap after lunch. The post mentioning the blue light from computers and phones is a very real thing. Most devices have a night mode for that problem. Stephanie

Lovely post Gracie!

Reminded me of my Grandma.  Grandpa passed away just before I went to college, and I moved to her city for college.  She was needing some help, so I got to know her as an adult.  She's still one of my favorite people ever.

More to the point, she told me once that she had trouble sleeping after Grandpa passed, and she went to the doctor.  Now she was from Kansas, and her background was one of those odd protestant sects that didn't believe in cards, dancing, or drinking, etc.  I think that's why she married Grandpa (he was full-on Irish Catholic and quite bawdy!) as he must have been quite a departure for her.

So the doctor asked her if she ever had a little drink before bed, and she of course said no, she had not.  But she decided to try it, and when she told me she was almost giddy and treated it as this big secret, as though it was such a naughty thing to do (she was seventy four or so!).  So in her seventies my little Grandma started having a nightly glass of wine, and slept like a baby.

Thanks for the memory jog!

Huggs, Mikey

Well a lot of walking if your not use to it, can upset your rhythm. Even something as simple as eating habits.

I recommend following Granny 's advice, remember they lived in a age of good old fashioned remedies, not shove a pill down for everything. Hot chocolate was one , and Horlicks, and she swore blind Lavender under pillow, the fragrance helped you  relax and sleep.

Do you regularly turn your mattress over and end to end, this stops them dipping and lumping which gets uncomfortable.

Hi Grace

I’ve been having a lot of problems sleeping, mind you I always do. Normally I struggle to get to sleep but once I’m asleep I don’t wake till morning but like you I’m currently waking several times a night, after I finally get to sleep.

I think the pandemic/lockdown is causing a lot of people to have problems sleeping at the moment, unfortunately you are not alone.

I’ve been drinking Pukka teas nighttime blend, honestly I don’t like the taste much but it does help me sleep. I’m also a big fan of lavender, lavender spray on my pillow, lavender oil in the bath or burning lavender oil.

I hope the hot chocolate continues to work for you.

Best wishes
Zoe xx

Granny always knows best when it comes to home remedies. I have trouble sleeping through the night since I was a child. Nightmares! Although less frequent now as I get older but they have plagued me my whole life. I saw some terrible things as a small child and have been all effed up since.

Amanda...

Horlicks, I had totally forgotten about Horlicks....and ovaltine!!!...are they still about??

and I do turn my mattress quite regularly....perhaps I should get out of bed before I do it....maybe it's sleeping under the bed that's causing the problem!!!!!

Smiles, grace x

The calming and anti- depressing qualities of CBD are well known.  Sure, okay, it's not all about the medicinal benefits, the THC part is enjoyabkrme too.  But, like alcohol, a little helps, a lot doesn't.  ( getting high as a kite and "dozing off" is not a good sleep ).

Stevie

For me I think it’s an age thing... needing less sleep. If I can’t sleep... a cheese sandwich and a glass of milk usually works. And right now you’ll have to excuse me but I’m yawning like a basking shark!

Bon nuit darlings xxx Polly

Good question I suspect that they are Grace. Sleeping under the bed, did that when we were kids. It was secret den, an indoor tent, hours of fun.

I remember that too !!...blankets pulled over the sides to make it pitch black...torches, lemonade and very fluffy treacle sandwiches....