So... I imagine everybody has times that they go to sleep and wake up tired. Do you ever, say, wake up and feel like a truck just hit you, or somethin'?

I've been having these nights where it's not like the usual nightmares, where I'm just scared when I wake up. I can't remember what I dreamed out, I haven't moved at _all_, and my muscles feel like every single one of them was clenched tight the entire night. I can barely get out of bed in the morning.

...so....like that? ever?

Hey Wynne,
I do have those nights that I wake up in the same position I fell asleep in and the feeling I got run over by a truck.

I was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia several years ago and one of the things I learned is that when we don't get enough restorative sleep our muscles do not get an opportunity to regenerate and they can feel overworked all the time, even upon waking in the morning. And I don't have to tell you about stress, but it becomes part of a vicious cycle that takes place, increased stress, decreased sleep, which increases even more stress, which interferes with restorative sleep, which leads to sore muscles etc, and so forth... With increased stress our body releases increased amounts of cortisol which causes muscle tightness. It's like watching the spokes on a wheel spinning around and around. This is a good indication, and you can tell me "DUH" if you want to, that you need to find some relaxation therapy, or soothing techniques, or safe space imagery to give your nervous system a well needed break. I know that processing frightening events will also cause you a lot of emotional _and_ physical stress.

There are also gentle stretching techniques I find very helpful and lots of hot baths soaking in my lavendar bath salts. <- my favorite.

Oh and one more thing my Homepathic Practitioner suggested just today; Fill a white cotton tube sock with plain, uncooked rice and Epsom salts and tie a knot at the end, microwave for approximately 2 minutes and lay it against a sore part of your body. The rice provides a moist heat to relax your muscles and your body absorbs the magnesium from the epsom salts which soothes the muscles and bones. You can reuse this sock as often and for as long as it lasts. Just be careful not to overheat and burn the rice or your skin.

I am sorry for your pain. I hope this helps.
JM

Wynne
Mindfulness meditation relaxes EVERY muscle in your body. Get a CD (I think Jon Kabat Zinn is the best, but there are others) and listen to it a before you go to bed. It really slows down the crazy thoughts, your breathing, and therefore eases the stress.

Just something that works for me.

PL

quote:

Originally posted by Wynne:
So... I imagine everybody has times that they go to sleep and wake up tired. Do you ever, say, wake up and feel like a truck just hit you, or somethin'?

I've been having these nights where it's not like the usual nightmares, where I'm just scared when I wake up. I can't remember what I dreamed out, I haven't moved at _all_, and my muscles feel like every single one of them was clenched tight the entire night. I can barely get out of bed in the morning.

...so....like that? ever?

Wynne,

I haven't experienced exactly what you describe, but I honestly haven't slept well for a really really long time, so most mornings I wake up feeling fatigued. A lot of mornings I wake up with a back ache. The strangest thing is that a few mornings since starting therapy, I've woken feeling like I was out till 4am drinking when I haven't touched alcohol. It seriously feels like a major hangover. I think it's all some kind of physiological response to the emotional stuff that our unconscious shows up when we're asleep.

Russ

Hi Wynne,
I've definitely experienced that. When I'm doing really hard work in therapy, especially when I was doing a lot of memory recovery, I often felt like I was tired in a way that sleep just didn't help. The work you do in therapy can take a huge amount of psychic energy not to mention stressing your system. And I often found that when things started to surface, they often came up in dreams and even at times when I would sleep through the night it would feel like I hadn't had any REM sleep.

And sometimes when I'm still fighting really hard to hold something at bay I can find that really tiring also.

All that said, HB's suggestion for getting tested is a very good one. Checking for an organic reason in addition to it being a side effect of our emotions is always a good idea.

Sorry you're feeling this way, I know how difficult it can be to go through you're day feeling exhausted.

AG

quote:

Originally posted by Wynne:
So... I imagine everybody has times that they go to sleep and wake up tired. Do you ever, say, wake up and feel like a truck just hit you, or somethin'?

Hi Wynne...

I thought this was a "normal" feeling? NO? hmmmm....

Anyway...kidding aside. I have a sleep disorder...(lol...that is when I do sleep.) Anyway...in talking to the Dr. about sleep disorders he told me that nearly everyone goes through an entire cycle every 90 minutes. That is...all the normal sleep stages. So...he told me to make sure I sleep in increments of 90 minutes. Which means...if you normally get 8 hours of sleep...take it up to 9...or down to 7.5....even 6 hours will leave you more rested than if you wake up in the middle of a cycle.

What I am saying here is this. If you have to wake up to an alarm...make sure you go to bed at a time that will give you a better shot at waking up at the end of a cycle. Say...9 hours before your alarm is set to go off.
This also holds true for naps. Always take a 90 minute nap. An hour won't do it. 3 hours is a perfect nap...it's the only way I am surviving right now.

I hope you have a better night. If you need hypnotic sleeping music...I can HIGHLY recommend "Structures from Silence" by Steve Roach. The track is 30 minutes long and if you set your player to repeat it will run all night. It works for everyone I've ever suggested it to. Well worth the one dollar download.

That's good advice Soulfuldaze (neat name too). I always wondered about my sleep cycle -- I will sometimes wake up feeling more refreshed after only 6 hours instead of 7 (I typically aim for 7).

Wayne, I tense up a lot when I sleep too -- in fact, not long ago, I began gritting my teeth and spent months thinking that I needed a root canal or something when really, it was my jaw that was aching. I'd also wake up feeling sore, especially my upper shoulders and thighs, as though I had I lifted weights the previous day. Like, you, I'd then be exhausted and achy. To my horror, it was discovered that I sleep walk at times (but this is not the only time I wake up sore) -- whether or not I wander around, sleep quite tensed up, or sleep beautifully depends upon how I begin the process of going to sleep. My best trick is to go to sleep listening to a meditation CD that focuses upon physical relaxation of the body. I have one called "Sacred Pool" -- it's one of several by Carolyn Conger, PhD & Michael Stearns, but if you just go to iTunes or your local New Age shop, you'll find plenty of others to choose from. I usually fall asleep towards the end of CD (30 mins) and I wake up refreshed. I was told by my dentist (of all people) that I probably go to bed with my stressful issues on my mind and fall asleep tensed up (true, because I stay busy all day and only at night do I have time to reflect).

Good luck to you -- this is something I have to consciously try to keep on top of. I have always LOVED sleeping; only recently has it been a source of trouble...you can see about going to a sleep center where they study your sleep patterns and such too, if you've got health insurance. I've heard that those sessions are insightful.

Thanks all for your replies. I'm talking to CalmT about it a bit, and he pointed out something kinda fascinating.

I have pretty frequent nightmares (2 nights a week, I guess that's a lot, I've had them forever), and generally when they're really bad? Like, an 8 or a 9 out of ten, say? I can still remember what happened in them: getting chased, monsters, that sort of thing (the usual). When they're as bad as they were the night I posted, I can't remember a thing. Nothin'. Just the physical sensation of muscles being tight.

He asked me a really odd question - could I trust my body to remember things.

I'm still mulling that over today.

Wynne,
Did calmT leave you in a cliff hanger? LOL!

Do you think he is talking about body memories? I think I recall you speaking of them and being aware of what they are, or perhaps I just assumed that.

Sometimes the trauma experience was so intense, or perhaps very young, that they are stored in fragments. Some of those fragments may never be recalled, but our body doesn't play the same tricks on us as our minds do (this gives me shivers) and thus we have somatic sensations w/o an actual memory to attach it to or validate it, if you will. But we need to give those feelings and sensations as much honor and significance as we do actual cognitive memories. Do you think that is what he meant?

Sorry if I am just blabbering.
JM

Not blabbing at all, JM. And I think it wasn't so much a cliffhanger as something he didn't entirely mean to say or think through but said anyway. Sounds to me like something he probably should have asked me questions about instead of saying, but he said it, and then when I was like, "Um...what? does that mean?" he started talking about another experience I'd had where I got the shakes (as it were) _after_ I'd had a big bad ole' experience, rather than during.

Cliffhanger? Not exactly. I think I would want to yell at a T who gave me cliffhangers.

quote:

Cliffhanger? Not exactly. I think I would want to yell at a T who gave me cliffhangers.

LOL! I am sure you would! I guess that was a poor choice of wording. I didn't mean it quite that way or to imply he'd play any sort of games as that would inducate. I will check my Thesaurus and see if I can come up with some more applicable words next time.

quote:

Originally posted by Wynne:
Thanks all for your replies. I'm talking to CalmT about it a bit, and he pointed out something kinda fascinating.

I have pretty frequent nightmares (2 nights a week, I guess that's a lot, I've had them forever), and generally when they're really bad? Like, an 8 or a 9 out of ten, say? I can still remember what happened in them: getting chased, monsters, that sort of thing (the usual). When they're as bad as they were the night I posted, I can't remember a thing. Nothin'. Just the physical sensation of muscles being tight.

He asked me a really odd question - could I trust my body to remember things.

I'm still mulling that over today.

Interesting. The reason I went into therapy was because I was waking up with horrific anxiety/panic attacks in the wee hours. I've had less since starting therapy but I still occasionally wake up drenched in sweat without remembering what I'd been dreaming about. Or, I'll wake up in the morning with just a general sense of fear/dread without really knowing why.

According to my T, sometimes we don't remember our dreams for a reason. Not a conscious reason of course, but a reason nontheless. Perhaps to protect us somehow.

Sorry to hear you're sleeping so poorly. I hope it improves as you move through therapy.

Russ