You're right Bekkie, my OH can sleep watching tv, noisy music, adverts, all sorts, I cant wake him, get him in bed and he is moaning that I have a tiny dim light bulb to read by and its keeping him awake.
I now use the tablet to read with paper background set to black and the writing very dim, Oh this sleep problem affects us all in some way.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
When you think about it,society's expectations are at the root of the problem. It is an unwritten rule that when we go to bed at night,we 'must' sleep because it is unlikely we shall get the chance during the following day. It is clear though from this thread,that bed doesn't always equal sleep. Over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution,our bodies learned to shut down when we were tired,not necessarily at a certain time of the day. Modernity dictates that we must conform to socially acceptable parameters i.e sleeping between evening and morning. That's where the pressure to sleep comes in.
Just look at dogs. They sleep when they want to,not just at night.
I used (before I retired) work shifts...6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm and 10pm-6am....alternating weekly, and for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure, it's a killer!
I am 55 too. I used herbal Nytol for a while - had to take 2 as 1 didn't work! Had some lovely sleeps - even is you wake up you just go back to sleep again feeling really nice and OK in the morning too. They do smell awful though! I now sleep a lot better since moving from a flat to a house and getting my garden back again. I notice I sleep worse if it has been a wet day and I haven't been out for a walk or done any gardening (some people call it exercise but I hate that word!). Also found that going to bed later helps - had to go to bed at 8.30pm for a couple of years when we had a shop and had to get up at 5a.m. Gradually getting later and later but have to vary it as I work 2 days a week and have to get up about 7 rather than "normal" 7.30-8. I think it is an age thing - the older you get the less sleep you need as the body is not needing to grow and develop and also we use less energy doing things like rushing around.
I think someone mentioned last night or earlier that although you say you aren't stressed, you are actually stressed about not sleeping and I think Lyn is right that when you realise you aren't alone you worry less.
When I woke at 6 this morning I thought that maybe Lyn was right and I had had enough sleep so decided to just lie and listen to the birds.....before I knew it the alarm was going off at 7.30, I had obviously fallen back to sleep because I wasn't stressing about it.
Talking (in real life or virtually) can definitely help
All this talk about sleep has reminded me of an article I read a year or two ago; it may have been on the BBC web site. Apparently up until the 16th or 17th century people used to have 2 sleeps per night.
The first sleep would be soon after sunset, then they would wake, perhaps eat, socialise etc then sleep again.
What changed all this was, I think, a combination of improved/cheaper artificial lighting/ factory hours/ street lighting?
It is similar to the change in eating habits, the old habits still maintain on building sites; a sort of breakfast at 10.30, which echoes the Georgian idea of hot chocolate and perhaps something to eat at that time. The Georgians then had 'Dinner' at about 4.00, then a late 'supper' after the Opera or Theatre at about 11.00pm
Now I am pretty much retired, I can eat when I want to and sleep when I want to. This means I do not have to conform my sleeping or eating to business times and I feel much better for it.
You could, but I think you may get into trouble. I would turn remove his covers, turn it up full and open the windows, then go in the spare room...he should get the message
He was already lying infront of it- totally starkers! The only time he feels the cold is when he wakes in the morning, luckily the timer turned the fan off quite soon after i posted
Posts
You're right Bekkie, my OH can sleep watching tv, noisy music, adverts, all sorts, I cant wake him, get him in bed and he is moaning that I have a tiny dim light bulb to read by and its keeping him awake.
I now use the tablet to read with paper background set to black and the writing very dim, Oh this sleep problem affects us all in some way.
When you think about it,society's expectations are at the root of the problem. It is an unwritten rule that when we go to bed at night,we 'must' sleep because it is unlikely we shall get the chance during the following day. It is clear though from this thread,that bed doesn't always equal sleep. Over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution,our bodies learned to shut down when we were tired,not necessarily at a certain time of the day. Modernity dictates that we must conform to socially acceptable parameters i.e sleeping between evening and morning. That's where the pressure to sleep comes in.
Just look at dogs. They sleep when they want to,not just at night.
I used (before I retired) work shifts...6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm and 10pm-6am....alternating weekly, and for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure, it's a killer!
HI Pauline
I am 55 too. I used herbal Nytol for a while - had to take 2 as 1 didn't work! Had some lovely sleeps - even is you wake up you just go back to sleep again feeling really nice and OK in the morning too. They do smell awful though! I now sleep a lot better since moving from a flat to a house and getting my garden back again. I notice I sleep worse if it has been a wet day and I haven't been out for a walk or done any gardening (some people call it exercise but I hate that word!). Also found that going to bed later helps - had to go to bed at 8.30pm for a couple of years when we had a shop and had to get up at 5a.m. Gradually getting later and later but have to vary it as I work 2 days a week and have to get up about 7 rather than "normal" 7.30-8. I think it is an age thing - the older you get the less sleep you need as the body is not needing to grow and develop and also we use less energy doing things like rushing around.
You have my sympathy, Pauline. I could never get used to sleeping in the daytime...but of course it wasn't helped by changing shifts every week.
I think someone mentioned last night or earlier that although you say you aren't stressed, you are actually stressed about not sleeping and I think Lyn is right that when you realise you aren't alone you worry less.
When I woke at 6 this morning I thought that maybe Lyn was right and I had had enough sleep so decided to just lie and listen to the birds.....before I knew it the alarm was going off at 7.30, I had obviously fallen back to sleep because I wasn't stressing about it.
Talking (in real life or virtually) can definitely help
All this talk about sleep has reminded me of an article I read a year or two ago; it may have been on the BBC web site. Apparently up until the 16th or 17th century people used to have 2 sleeps per night.
The first sleep would be soon after sunset, then they would wake, perhaps eat, socialise etc then sleep again.
What changed all this was, I think, a combination of improved/cheaper artificial lighting/ factory hours/ street lighting?
It is similar to the change in eating habits, the old habits still maintain on building sites; a sort of breakfast at 10.30, which echoes the Georgian idea of hot chocolate and perhaps something to eat at that time. The Georgians then had 'Dinner' at about 4.00, then a late 'supper' after the Opera or Theatre at about 11.00pm
Now I am pretty much retired, I can eat when I want to and sleep when I want to. This means I do not have to conform my sleeping or eating to business times and I feel much better for it.