Shut-eye Revisited

Published at: ‘Newslink’, Headstart A. B. I. Service; March 2011.

Ever since my rehabilitation, my sleep’s been quite lacking. Many things have been tried to help, like sleeping powder, pills and relaxing music accompanied by a softly spoken voice. Unfortunately, none of it’s really worked. 

Upon the advice of my GP. I visited a sleeping specialist in Charlestown. We all have circadian rhythms, he explained, which rise and fall in sync with day and night. Unfortunately, my brain was so traumatised after my accident that it lost all sense of the natural cycle; the ‘on’/’off’ part, so to speak.

By restricting my sleeping time between 11pm and 6am, my sleep deprived body would be forced to resume a more natural metre. The melatonin pills taken for the first few months did much to help, as meatonin is a substance the body produces to help prepare itself for rest. Although I still wake up very early, I am now no longer trying to sleep for hours before nodding off or frequently waking up in the middle of the night.