[blparent] question about insomnia

Thu Mar 19 11:51:54 UTC 2009

The flip side of this is that if you can't sleep you may want to get
screened for postpartum depression. The inability to sleep is a red flag
and shouldn't be taken lightly. 
I do think Eileen is right, parents do have extra adrenalin though that
shouldn't impact one's ability to sleep, the adrenaline  is more of a
"baby's crying, I need to respond" type of kick. 

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Eileen
Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 6:50 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [blparent] question about insomnia

Caffine stays in the body for quite a long time. I find drinking my
caffine before noon allows me to have caffine but still not be wide
awake at 3 AM in the morning.    For the afternoon I try to take in lots
of hydrating drinks like water because a health letter once mentioned
that dehydration  could  make  one sleepy. Well I know for sure
dehydration can give me a head ache...

Yeah I found nursing to be very helpful in getting to sleep, but those
hormones will settle down in a month or two.  I read somewhere that new
parents have higher adrenylin levels. That may certainly have accounted
for some of my own sleepless nights with my first son. Number two has
left me too exhausted to worry anymore.
HTH,
Eileen

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 11:53 AM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] question about insomnia

Hi.  I tried melatonin at one point, but it didn't seem to work well
with me, especially because I wasn't going to bed at the same time every
night, which is part of what makes melatonin work.  The only thing I can
think of that has changed since I stopped nursing is that I've been
drinking coffee again, but I wasn't sensitive to it before.  Still, I
feel like the walking dead, so I may try to cut back, or even cut out,
coffee and see if that helps.

Thanks,
Jo Elizabeth

"Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one
holds water."--Swedish proverb
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
To: "NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 9:10 AM
Subject: Re: [blparent] question about insomnia

> Jo Elizabeth,
>
> I'm not a mom and have not experienced your exact condition, but I 
> gather that your insomnia is more a part of your normal life and 
> thatyou had
less 
> of a problem
> when you were pregnant and nursing.  I know that it is common practice
to 
> change one's diet during pregnancy and while nursing, so it would make

> sense to look at
> what you may have changed.  I don't know how deeply you have already 
> investigated your tendency toward insomnia so I don't want to tell you
a 
> bunch of things
> you already know, but looking at what you eat and drink when can be
very 
> helpful.  I've dealt with it from time to time and have come to learn
that 
> certain things very
> definitely affect my ability to sleep.  Be very aware of your caffeine

> intake as that can play the largest role.  If you are sensitive to 
> caffeine, you could be affected by many things besides coffee.  
> Caffeine can remain in your system for
hours, 
> and even a little can affect some people so you have to experiment.  I

> know people who
> can drink a regular cup of coffee before going to bed and it has no 
> effect.  For myself, I can drink pretty much all the coffee I want
before 
> noon without worrying, but
> I have to be careful in the afternoon.  For some people, sugar can be
as 
> bad as coffee.  Finally physical exercise too close to bed can leave
one 
> wide awake.
> Some recommend that one not do any significant excercise less than
five 
> hours before going to sleep.  There can be other patterns that can
effect 
> one's ability to
> sleep as well.  The idea, for example, that a small glass of wine will

> help you sleep doesn't always work.  I figured out, for example, that
the 
> bowl of icecream that I
> once enjoyed before bed was a very bad idea for me.
>
> There is a tendency for many to chalk up insomnia to not seeing light 
> and thereby having your biological clock out of sync with your day.  
> My experience has been that even doctors jump on this idea way too 
> quickly without working through other possibilities.  Whether blind or

> not, over-the-counter melatonin helps some people.
> it did not seem to help me when I was younger but seems to help now.
For 
> me, a lot of insomnia has been the result of my having a sleepless
night 
> or two and then
> starting to expect and even worry about it falling into a pattern. 
> Breaking the pattern has often been the key.
>
> There is more that could be said, but I'll stop in case this is all 
> old news.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
>
> On Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:10:01 -0600, Jo Elizabeth Pinto wrote:
>
>>Hi.  It's one o'clock in the morning, and I'm dead tired and wide 
>>awake--again.  I struggled with insomnia before I got pregnant, but
the 
>>whole time I was carrying
> and then nursing, it seemed like I could go to sleep if I just stayed 
> still for a moment.  As soon as I stopped nursing, bam!  No more
peaceful 
> sleep.  I'm wondering if
> any of you other moms experience anything like that.  I get my best
work 
> done at night, but all this wakefulness makes me feel like the walking

> dead.
>
>>Jo Elizabeth
>
>>"Don't throw away the old bucket until you know whether the new one 
>>holds water."--Swedish proverb 
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>
>
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