Lately I’ve not been sleeping well at all. I have always been a good sleeper, but struggle to get back into a good sleep pattern even after one night of broken sleep, I also struggle to get back to sleep if I’m awoken early in the morning or late at night. So, when you have a flatmate that works shift work as a nurse, and can rotate between leaving for work at 11pm, arriving home at 11:30, arriving home at 6 am or leaving home at 5:30 am and you have a bedroom that the flatmate has to walk through to get to the kitchen (a serious design flaw!), well that is a recipe for disaster. Add to that late night telephone calls, my dry skin which is a big problem at night aka constant itching, my natural propensity for waking up at the same time no matter what time I go to bed or how little sleep I get and well I’m just absolutely exhausted 24/7.
I’ve tried all the top suggestions sleep experts recommend like no media an hour before bed, since I don’t have a tv and the cd player and radio is in another room, this isn’t a problem. I’m not eating wheat and drinking plenty of water, I get outside every single day for sunshine (when there is any!) and eat healthily. I am not stressed and really relax my mind as much as possible before bed. But the problem really isn’t me, it is the noise!
I share this for two reasons, firstly some of you might have some good suggestions, but secondly I think it is just a brilliant reminder that only so much is within our control. Life is not perfect, while I am exceptionally blessed (I have a roof over my head and food in my belly) and make a large effort to live a relaxed and as stress free an existence as possible, there still are, and will always be, things that are not easy and are not joyful. I could feel myself today getting more and more rattled when I finally got to bed at 1:30 am to be awoken again at 6:30 am. Five hours sleep for many nights in a row, is not conducive to a rested and happy frugal trenches!
So I will keep putting one foot in front of the other and try to focus on the good despite exhaustion and hope and pray for one good night’s sleep soon! Life isn’t perfect and that really is OK!
I was wondering if you drink caffinated tea or coffee? I found that my sleep impoved so much when I switched to decaf tea. I used to drink several (ok, lots of!) caffinated cuppas throughout the day and after a few days of changing to decaf I started to feel less tired throughout the day and eventually linked the two.
Just a suggestion – hope you get it sorted, not having enough sleep can really wear you down.
Hi Lisa, no I don’t drink tea/coffee daily, maybe a couple of times a week! That is a great suggestion though!
I have pretty bad tinnitus which keeps me awake – so I use a white noise machine to help me sleep. I think it might help you if the noise is an issue – it blocks out all the surrounding noise. There are some versions which aren’t too expensive and I think they are very effective. You can get them here: http://www.rnid.org.uk/shop/products/tinnitus/
Is your flatmate trying to be quiet in the mornings? Other things which have helped me sleep – a hot bath before bed, warm milk with honey – but it sounds like you are just a light sleeper. I think the machine might help.
Lynn
That sounds good, I’ll look into that!!
No I don’t think she is trying to be quiet at all!!!!!
I can sympathise – lack of sleep is awful! Have you tried ear plugs? They might help to block out the noise. I always have a hot milky drink before bed and I always fall asleep reading – I find that’s the easiest way to a good night’s sleep. I hope that you get some good quality sleep soon.
I plan to get those ear plugs tonight if possible!!!
Is it possible to switch rooms so that your flatmate is not walking through your space. That would really disturb me.
I used to nurse and am a rotten sleeper so I do sympathise. It is awful running on not enough sleep.
No, due to rent issues (she pays more) she is in the main bedroom, also I’m only here until January or Feb, so it wouldn’t make sense! But it would sure be helpful
We sleep with a fan or air cleaner on ever night, it helps drown out the noise.
I also find that a few drops of melatonin helps me sleep much better this time of year.
I might look into the melatonin as I’ve heard many good things about it!
It may also help to get some earplugs and a sleep mask. I know it sounds silly, but it helps people sleep on planes and stuff. I just mention them since you said the problem is the noise and disturbance in the apartment and everything else is fine. So those ways of blocking it out may help.
Thanks Kris!
I’d second (or third) the ear plugs suggestion. Boots own Maleable Wax Ear Plugs are excellent for cutting out noise. Also, Valerina tablets (from Boots or a health food shop) really help to aid a good night’s sleep.
Elizabeth, those are great suggestions, thanks!
Id 4th the earplugs/mask suggestion
I have to say I would be a horrible person to live with under those circumstances, like Suzan said – is it possible to switch rooms?
Jen
Sadly no! And I feel like I’m on the brink of becoming a horrible person to live with although I keep smiling thinking “fake it till you make it”!
I’m going to vote for the earplug suggestion as well – these work well for me, as does a dose of melatonin before bed. I also drink some Sleepytime tea about an hour before heading off to sleep – it’s mostly chamomile with some mint, and it really helps to make me dozy. If I am having trouble sleeping, one thing that seems to work is to listen to something soothing. I know some people can’t fall asleep when there’s noise, but drifting off to some quiet music or a soothing voice (guided meditations can be good) helps me to get to sleep and then makes any noise that happens in the night seem a bit less jarring.
Jenn thank you, those are all great suggestions!
I agree with the others about ear plugs, but I am also wondering if you have time to fit in a few afternoon naps?
I know when my sleep is disrupted I find that even an hour every other day or so can be enough to help me get by.
Looby I tried a nap today, making it very clear why I was napping and I’ll let you read the next post with the result
It sounds as though your flatmate could maybe need a reminder to be a bit more considerate, with late night phone calls, and waking you up to ask questions. I live with a nurse but he doesn’t impose his unsociable waking hours onto us in this way.Is it possible to have a chat with her about it?
Is it possible to switch bedrooms? Having to walk through someone else’s room while they are asleep may make it easier to think it’s ok to wake you than if she had to go and knock on a door. As a nurse myself, and married to a nurse, I have to say that my first reaction is that you are being expected to compensate too much for her irregular hours.It is possible to have these hours and not keep others awake. You seem like such a nice person-is she taking advantage of that?
She is a very nice person and I don’t think she would do it purposely, but I do think she thinks what she does/thinks is right and therefore anything else is wrong. She can sleep anytime/anywhere and if she goes to bed at 10 can sleep until 7 or 8 am even with the phone going etc. Also she naps for an hour a day. When she is on nights I go out all day to make sure the place is quiet for her, I do do this as much as possible probably 75% of her night shifts!
Yep – I am also with the earplugs suggestion! I sleep with them everynight – it is the ONLY way I get a decent nights sleep. You get used to them very quickly
There’s a trend here with earplugs. Thanks!
I go with the white noise machine. I used to live near a railroad track, and everyone said, “Oh, you’ll get used to it soon and won’t even hear it.” Well, I think a train must have come through every morning at the time of my sleep cycle where I was not in deep sleep, so I got a white noise machine. Makes all the difference in the world!
Yes, trains, planes etc don’t both me that is good noise, so I’m sure a white noise machine would be helpful! Thanks!
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I also work odd hours and when I worked with roommates the only thing that allowed me to sleep when the rest of the world was up was earplugs! Try them and let us know how it works. It worked wonders for me because once you sleep about 5 hours if you hear a noise you can get knocked out of REM sleep and have trouble falling asleep again. Sleepy = grumpy. Good luck. And remember it is only temporary.