Sleeping problems

OK, I ride a bike pulling three hundred pounds for eight hours a day (not continuous, but it’s my job so it’s for most of the time). When I come home I’m exhausted, but I don’t sleep well. We work until about two in the morning, so I don’t get to sleep until about 3:30. I wake up about five times in the morning and NEVER feel refreshed when I end up getting up. I don’t drink anything with caffeine and I have enough food in my system. Why can’t I sleep well? I’ve always had trouble sleeping, but I would think with this physical work I would sleep really well, right? I figure since I’m about twenty that I only need about seven/eight hours of sleep. So why don’t I ever feel refreshed? Please help!

You can start taking Melatonin, a miraculous (for me, anyway) natural sleep aid that you can buy over the counter for $3 for a month’s supply.

But you should probably see a doctor.

gitfiddle, you say you work until 2 in the morning and then try to sleep at 3:30. Do you work a normal 8 hour shift? If so, then maybe you need more time to wind down before going to sleep.

If you worked 9am-5pm you wouldn’t go to sleep at 6:30pm which is really what you are trying to do.

One possibility is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is more frequent in males who are older than you and are overweight. I assume you are not overweight since your job involves riding a bike and pulling 300 pounds. But still worth looking into. Have someone listen to you while you sleep. Ask them if you snore loudly and momementarily stop breathing only to gasp for air after 30 seconds or so. If so, see a doctor – there is a simple non-surgical solution called a CPAP machine.

I am curious. What work do you do? :confused:

My advice would be for you to see a doctor. Meanwhile, maybe this new schedule goes against your natural clock.

A warm bath, right before bedtime can be helpful. When you sleep, your body cools down so this bath gives your body time to relax and accelerates the cooling.
Stress can be a factor. And I agree with the previous post regarding the winding down. Your mind and body could be having a difficult time adjusting to being fully alert and engaged, and then one hour later…having sleep expected. What about some reading or maybe watching TV?

Exhaustion could be a factor as well. If you are placing a huge strain on your body, to the point of exhaustion, day after day, this could lead to insomnia.
Diet could be part of the problem as well. I think I have heard that it is a bad idea to eat right before sleep.
Good Luck

Like the others said, go to the doctor. Also, is this a new job? Did you previously work night shifts? If you’re new to this it can take a long time to settle in to it. I used to work nights for years and it took me a very long time to get used to it.

Part of the solution is to change your whole day rhythm. As honey said, don’t try going to bed straight away, take some time to wind down and get e routine established.

Are you doing this every night or only some nights? If you’re doing it some nights and not others it can be very difficult to get in a routine and your body doesn’t get used to going to sleep at the right time.