Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Beth Stewart's avatar

OMG this newsletter made my day.

Especially since I went to bed at 2am. (laugh/cry)

I'm 42, so who knows if it's perimenopause or not. I have a sleep mask, I sleep in the guest room upstairs b/c my husband snores, and the fan hahaha, your description was 1000% correct, and I keep it as cold as the upstairs AC is willing to do when it's 90 degrees outside (Ah yes, North Carolina summers). The kicker is I can typically sleep quite well once I am asleep, it's just getting unconscious that is so damn difficult.

I try not to drink caffeine after 3pm, I too take Trazadone, occasionally Delta 9 gummies, and try to get some exercise every day, and drink tons of water. I take Magnesium, Zinc, and Iron every afternoon but that's more to heal my skin, b/c I had an all-over body rash for like 4 months due to an overactive immune system. Haven't noticed it doing anything for sleep. (I take a multi-vitamin and Pre/postbiotic in the mornings too.) I also sometimes take Hydroxozine b/c it helps with itchiness in particular, but it reminds me of Benadryl and can make me feel hungover, which I don't like. Ironically, I also drink bourbon most every night. Sure, bad habits, unhealthy, wtf-ever, but my cat who'd been with me for 20 years died at the end of March so - I'm dealing. I treat it a lot like wine though - I have sought out certain flavors and kinds and have some faves that have just the right amount of caramel. I occasionally read, but sometimes that just gets me more agitated, so I often watch tv I enjoy and color at the same time until I start yawning.

I am in a lucky position right now where I can sleep in, so I am giving myself grace about the sleep patterns and questionable habits right now. I have had a therapist forever, but she recently closed her practice, and my husband and I still do marriage counseling, so I actually plan to take a break from individual therapy for a bit. I'm tired of talking about my feelings! :S

Also - I truly truly appreciate this newsletter. I'm terrible at consistently participating in online communities but so far every one of these newsletters has helped me in some way, regardless of comments / chatting with other people. XO

Expand full comment
Rebecca | Your House Machine's avatar

I had to upgrade to paid to comment on this. I've always struggled with sleep (early waking mostly) and have tried everything under the sun. I've found relief in various drugs over the years Ambien (before we knew how bad it was), Trazodone, nortriptyline (another old timey antidepressant), Unisom, THC, PEMF infrared mat, continuously monitoring blood sugar, Oura ring, etc etc etc.

I sleep with white noise, an eye mask, ear plugs, blackout shades, and frigid temperatures (perimenopause yay!).

And still, I struggled.

I finally was convinced to try CBTI (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) which is considered the "gold standard" treatment and has results that beat basically any and all drugs out there. You need a therapist to walk you through 6-8 sessions and it seriously has transformed my sleep more than anything else I've ever tried. I am drug-free and sleeping better than ever. I do still have off-nights and weeks where it's harder, but what's great is that I now have cognitive tools to deal with the stress of not sleeping well. I feel freedom from worrying about sleep. I know this sounds a little over the top but it's truly been amazing. It's not cheap, but sleep is priceless!

Dr. Matthew Walker and Donn Posner are two people who talk about this in interviews if you want to learn more -- Matt Walker's interviews with Peter Attia convinced me to finally try CBTI.

Also, hello from Portland! I too adore Bastion's bread and depend on it for my GF/DF sustenance.

Expand full comment
102 more comments...

No posts