What do you do when you can't sleep?

[Comfreyfan]

I used to happily read through the night when I couldn't sleep. These days my eyes get tired before I do, so I now listen to talking books and fall asleep incredibly quickly - having a bed time story probably pacifies my inner child!

[HeyWayne]

I've an 8 1/2 month old boy you could borrow. Teething, plus clock mucking about means a 4 o'clock wake up this morning.

Reckon I'll sleep tonight.

I think if I tried the yoga thingy I'd end up with cramp. Not condusive to getting to sleep.

[Snadger]

My step-dad taught me something he learned when he went to his wife's prenatal classes, which I use when i can't sleep and it seems to get me off pretty well.

Get into a comfortable position in which you usually sleep (fetal for me)
Tense your toes for 8 seconds, then release
Tense your calves for 8 seconds, then release
Tense your hamstrings for 8 seconds, then release,
continue with buttocks, stomach, back, shoulders, arms, hands neck and head.

Then think of a story or scene, don't problem solve or think about a particular subject. The ussual one I use is that you're in a corn field, you see a well in the middle of it and walk up to it gradually, you look inside.... and then just let your mind wander, let it create whatever story it wants.

That normally works for me. If not, hot wiskey, with honey and lemon!

Or a sleeping pill............

[dexterdoglancashire]

I've an 8 1/2 month old boy you could borrow. Teething, plus clock mucking about means a 4 o'clock wake up this morning.

Reckon I'll sleep tonight.

I think if I tried the yoga thingy I'd end up with cramp. Not condusive to getting to sleep.

I'd babysit you know, but I don't do crying or nappies.

[Snadger]

I always read a book before the words start going blurry, put the book down and i'm out like a light!

The problem is that depending on how interesting the book is and how knackered I am this could take from half an hour up to three hours!

[HeyWayne]

I always read a book before the words start going blurry, put the book down and i'm out like a light!

The problem is that depending on how interesting the book is and how knackered I am this could take from half an hour up to three hours!

Or you could do like me, take your glasses off and it all goes blurry.

[Snadger]

I've an 8 1/2 month old boy you could borrow. Teething, plus clock mucking about means a 4 o'clock wake up this morning.

Reckon I'll sleep tonight.

I think if I tried the yoga thingy I'd end up with cramp. Not condusive to getting to sleep.

I think I'd rather stay sleepless than go through the whole kids thing again....................

[dexterdoglancashire]

Or you could do like me, take your glasses off and it all goes blurry.

Brilliant! Me too. Last thing I take off at night and the first thing I put on in a morning.

[Rhona]

The yoga thing would make my toes and feet crampy too. And my calf muscles. Why does that some people and not others I wonder?

I'm out like a light too these days. In the olden days before babies, work would be on my mind all the time and could occasionally keep my mind too occupied at night. I never found a solution, just hoped the next night would be better!

[Nicos]

I just read or do suduko if I'm really awake..sometimes it takes me 20 mins to settle- other times 4 hrs...just got to go with it really

[HeyWayne]

Oh, and one other thing - the room shouldn't be too hot, I can't sleep if it's too hot.

[Marthaclematis]

I either do what SarzWiz does and 'pretend' to be asleep - I keep focused by imagining I'm on a film set acting the sleeping part and firstly the sound engineer has to get that right so the breathing has to be authentic. If I want to move I imagine the director asking me to move a little. Then the lighting engineer will be fiddling with the lights and a bulb might pop.... etc...
Another thing I do is the alphabet dinner party game where a famous person will bring another famous person to dinner along with a cooking ingredient... Angela Rippon might bring Alan Bennett and some Apples.
Usually these days though I am asleep quite quickly after reading a text book, the RHS 'Garden' magazine can sometimes do the job very quickly if I insist on reading it front to back and not just the bits I find interesting.
Sundays are the worst night for me - work the next day. I have my magazine ready!

[OllieMartin]

The yoga thing would make my toes and feet crampy too. And my calf muscles. Why does that some people and not others I wonder?

I'm out like a light too these days. In the olden days before babies, work would be on my mind all the time and could occasionally keep my mind too occupied at night. I never found a solution, just hoped the next night would be better!

If you weren't a gardener (and hence avid fruit and veg eater) I'd suggest it could be a lack of potassium (bananas, apricots, potatoes and tomatoes amongst others) as paotassium regulates your muscles contractions. It's usually caused by an inbalance of some minerals in the blood, sleeping with slightly bent knees, dehydration (or excess alcohol!)
The best way to avoid them, assuming you eat plenty of fruit and veg, is to stretch your legs before bed. That way they would have to bend further for the muscles to be fully contacted.

The truth is, the fugacious yoga exercises might actually help.

[susieq100]

I try to do 'big sums' in my head eg if a Mars bar is 3 inches long and it's quarter of a million miles to the Moon, how many Mars bars would you need to stretch there? That kind of thing - the numbers are so huge it's like counting sheep only less boring!

[Rhona]

If you weren't a gardener (and hence avid fruit and veg eater) I'd suggest it could be a lack of potassium (bananas, apricots, potatoes and tomatoes amongst others) as paotassium regulates your muscles contractions. It's usually caused by an inbalance of some minerals in the blood, sleeping with slightly bent knees, dehydration (or excess alcohol!)

Hmmm...interesting. I do eat tons of fruit and veg, especially tomatoes! I drink at least three litres of water a day, and with babies waking all hours, no excess alcohol at the moment either!

I did train as a ballet dancer and my feet are fairly kn*ckered from that. Don't know if that could be a factor. I do know that being pregnant gave me the most horrific crampy legs! I discovered the bestest cure ever as a result - tonic water with Quinnine. A muscle relaxant apparently - definately did the trick.