Finding Sleep

In an adapted excerpt of her blog, Kerry Simmons tells us of some techniques she uses to help battle her insomnia, including exercise and myofascial release

After nine years of being on sleep tablets, they stopped working.

The doctors didn’t know until it was too late that this is the effect they can have if taken long term. Therefore, it was no-one’s fault, just one of those learning curves. Prescribing regulations have changed due to this new information of sleeping tablet effects long term, and I’m glad that my story has served as a way for the system to learn in order to better serve others.

However, for me, once the tablets stopped working, I was going six to seven nights without any sleep at all. I might have gotten a couple hours of sleep if I was fortunate, but then the same experience would happen again. This went on for nine months, and I witnessed my brain and body struggle to function. I believe this also affected my brain and mental health in unwanted ways I never could have imagined.

I tried to practice gratitude that I was sleeping at all while searching for other things to help. Also, I found there has been an adjustment period for my brain and body to get used to the simple fact of sleeping again. It’s been very gradual.

At first, sleep actually made me feel out of sorts. I’m guessing that my brain had been trying to manage without and was now confused with this new state. The more I do sleep, the more it seems to feel right again, and it has now been just over a full year of continuous sleep. Before these strategies, I was also moved around previously onto a lot of different sleep medications to try to help, but these only made my system feel more confused and quickly wore off.

For days that I cannot sleep, I try to rest in other ways if that is possible, like doing  solitaire or puzzles. I’ve also learned that the right type and amount of exercise is very important for my sleep. I have physical health conditions which mean intense exercise is unhelpful, but not enough exercise means I don’t sleep and therefore the symptoms of my physical health conditions are even worse. So, the answer has been to do moderate exercise, like a 40 minute to an hour’s walk during the day, then do gentle exercise before bed for about 10–30 minutes. This actually makes me feel sleepy!

I also have a sleep-inducing snack before bed. Usually GABA bread or GABA rice, along with some healthy protein like goat/sheep cheese, boiled egg, tuna/sardines, or turkey, if I have some. I’ve also found eating peaches or lettuce before bed helps. I used to eat sage and found that made me sleep. Nowadays, I don’t use it due to medication  changes. The cheese actually really helps. Apparently, with cheese, it actually can help some people sleep and others not if they are sensitive to certain ingredients in it. That said, for me it seems some things that are or aren’t supposed to help sleep can be the opposite for me, so again it’s been about trying things out to see what works.

With food, I soak anything that I can that is non-organic in water and half a teaspoon of lemon, apple cider vinegar, or bicarbonate of soda to remove pesticides. When I struggle with money for food, I look for food pantries that sell food at extremely discounted prices and food banks. Tinned vegetables are brilliant here as I can soak them, and they are free. So still eating healthy on a budget as my food pantries also sell fresh vegetables. Also with food, I’ve learned that anything in the healthy food range that is black, red, or purple in colour has helped my cognitive functioning and therefore, I believe, my sleep. So, red cabbage, blueberries, red quinoa, blackberries, red onions, and I’d guess aubergine too, although that’s one I haven’t tried yet but should (yum!)

Another thing which has helped my insomnia is myofascial release. Before trying this therapy, it really needs to be thoroughly researched and checked with a doctor first as there can be a lot of contraindications with underlying health conditions. I made sure too that I went to a very reputable MFR therapist centre which has a lot of experience. Again, I had never heard of this therapy, so I did my research. I found the idea was that MFR can release stored up trauma and emotion from the fascia, and therefore, the body and the subconscious will have the same release as well.

I go for a myofascial release massage and chat to my massage therapist throughout. After just two sessions, I felt a big release in my stomach and chest area that had been preventing me from sitting still long enough to rest and nap and shaky hands that prevented me holding things. Two years’ worth of stored up energy released in two sessions, two weeks apart each. That to me was a huge shift, finally being able to have some rest again. It has also helped sleep at night for the same reason as those stored up emotions aren’t keeping me awake.

Again, when I think about it this is pretty incredible.

Read more of Kerry’s blogs here