My Insomnia Tips

Being at a university has its pros and cons. One major downside for me personally is lack of sleep, whether that's because I am up pulling an all-nighter trying to hit those deadlines or have that dreading stomach feeling where it keeps you awake with worry. I suffer quite a bit with insomnia and it tends to flare up a lot more when I worry or have a lot on my mind.

I am no way an expert, but I do have some tips that help with insomnia for me personally and hopefully with you. Insomnia isn't anything an illness, but lack of sleep can have a huge effect on your everyday life. It can be such a problematic, stressful experience to have that has a lot to do with your brain that makes it difficult for you to get to sleep. If you are like me and stress out a lot with work, exams, deadlines etc it can be hard to get rid of those thoughts and go to sleep with ease. 

The signs of insomnia are:

• Difficulty falling asleep 
• Waking up during the night 
• Waking up early in the morning 
• Feeling irritable and tired and finding it difficult to function during the day

My Story.

I suffered from insomnia badly when I had my GCSEs and sometimes even at A level. I started getting insomnia really bad when I was up working on Art deadlines at 11-12 at night. This wasn't the best of nights, but we've all been there, right?

When going through my GCSEs I had a lot of exams in the same week some were even the day after I just sat one. So my stress levels were really high and I struggled a lot with sleeping - down to nerves, anxiety that sort of stuff! 

I used to stress myself out so much when I was in bed the night before an exam. I'd sit in bed thinking of how my exam will go, this leads me into staying awake, which lead me into imagining getting no sleep and fallen asleep in an exam - failing. So this panicked me and I would end up crying and wake my mam up (what a selfish child I was).

Sometimes it helped just to know someone else was awake, but once I went and told my mam she would always say something like 'get a drink' or 'read a book' which weren't the best ideas, but were comforting for me to actually get some sleep. Unsure how but sometimes you need reassurance at the weirdest of times.

Anyway, 's my insomnia got bad at times I was snappy (typical teenager) with lack of sleep so I travelled to my doctors to see what they would recommend.

Obviously, with it being insomnia the isn't a lot a doctor can advise other than leaflets and talks. I read through the leaflet they gave me and honestly it didn't help at all. When you are young I find problems like this just get pushed under the carpet.

These are the things I did find helpful though through time: 

• Getting into a routine of bedtime around 10-11pm
• Listen to music with an eye mask on
• Spray lavender scents on your pillow
• Stop doing work at 9 the latest
• Take your mind off work by watching tv, talking to a friend etc
• Green tea helped calm me

Surprisingly I grew out of insomnia once my exams were over with, once it hit A level and I got it again I just realised to be calm about it all and relax. Don't think about your exams, be relaxed and just think of something exciting like your holiday abroad or Christmas etc when trying to get to sleep.

I obviously still at times get sleepless nights off stress etc but the only thing I can recommend is NOT TO THINK ABOUT WHATEVER IS STRESSING YOU OUT. I know it is hard to get rid of that thought but if you do that you'd be surprised as to how simple getting to sleep can be.

What helps you get a good sleep??

<3