The Student Room Group

Cannot sleep - agitation and restlessness

I have had trouble sleeping recently, and well yeah I'm known to be an insomniac, this no-sleep is different though.

When I'm in bed ready to sleep late at night, I feel tired and know I need sleep and want to sleep, but my wrists/shoulders/ankles/feet/legs feel like they just want to move. My body feels as though I should be up, dancing/running or whatever, I have to move these certain body parts, and then I'm relieved, but I have to keep doing it, and I cant sleep cos I feel agitated, the body parts feel uncalm and restless.

Whats up with me? :confused:


Love BlueAngel xxx
Reply 1
Ive had that before, my feet go into spasm. Making me involentarly move my feet or legs. Although its normally when im sitting up and my body is telling me to lie flat.
BlueAngel
I have had trouble sleeping recently, and well yeah I'm known to be an insomniac, this no-sleep is different though.

When I'm in bed ready to sleep late at night, I feel tired and know I need sleep and want to sleep, but my wrists/shoulders/ankles/feet/legs feel like they just want to move. My body feels as though I should be up, dancing/running or whatever, I have to move these certain body parts, and then I'm relieved, but I have to keep doing it, and I cant sleep cos I feel agitated, the body parts feel uncalm and restless.

Whats up with me? :confused:


Love BlueAngel xxx

:hugs::blueangel
BlueAngel
I have had trouble sleeping recently, and well yeah I'm known to be an insomniac, this no-sleep is different though.

When I'm in bed ready to sleep late at night, I feel tired and know I need sleep and want to sleep, but my wrists/shoulders/ankles/feet/legs feel like they just want to move. My body feels as though I should be up, dancing/running or whatever, I have to move these certain body parts, and then I'm relieved, but I have to keep doing it, and I cant sleep cos I feel agitated, the body parts feel uncalm and restless.

Whats up with me? :confused:


Love BlueAngel xxx

I get that... in little batches of a week or so, but very rarely, because normally I sleep 14 hours or so... but as kind of full-body spasms. It does go away after a while. Try drinking Horlicks or something. :p: I think it's a mixture of stress and excess energy. Not much more I can say - live on very little sleep, sometimes I have to too. :redface: Or you could try Nytol - they never did anything for me though. Don't go on proper sleeping tablets, they just drug you up.
generalebriety
Horlicks :p: I think it's a mixture of stress and excess energy.
Are you sure she should be drinking it then? We have something chilled here called Ovaltine that gets you sleepy quick.
jasonmraz
Are you sure she should be drinking it then? We have something chilled here called Ovaltine that gets you sleepy quick.

Clever. Horlicks is more or less the same thing. Over here in the crazy world of England we have Ovaltine too. Chilled though? I dunno... only ever seen it on TV. :biggrin:
generalebriety
Clever. Horlicks is more or less the same thing. Over here in the crazy world of England we have Ovaltine too. Chilled though? I dunno... only ever seen it on TV. :biggrin:

Chilled as in it chills you out. Gee, Brits, gah.
jasonmraz
Chilled as in it chills you out. Gee, Brits, gah.

How the hell can a drink be chilled out. Especially if it's hot. :confused: Bloody Americans.
generalebriety
I get that... in little batches of a week or so, but very rarely, because normally I sleep 14 hours or so... but as kind of full-body spasms. It does go away after a while. Try drinking Horlicks or something. :p: I think it's a mixture of stress and excess energy. Not much more I can say - live on very little sleep, sometimes I have to too. :redface: Or you could try Nytol - they never did anything for me though. Don't go on proper sleeping tablets, they just drug you up.

Ive tried many sleeping pills, herbal, to Kalms/Bytol, to prescription ones which are for my insomnia, but they are very very strong, knock me out for 10 hours and I feel sick and sleepy all day. I'll try the Ovaltine, Horlicks makes me feel sick. :smile:
Reply 9
Hi BlueAngel, I also suffer from insomnia, there are a few main ways to deal with it, maybe you already know these, but I'll outline them anyway:
1.) Read before going to bed, watching the television or using the computer stimulates your brain and is often the reason why sometimes "your brain wont switch off."
2.) Diet: As boring as it is, fruit and vegetables are vital, certain foods also stimulate your brain or CNS, particularly those that contain caffeine.
3.) Exercise: Pretty obvious, but it decreases your energy levels, and this makes you more tired at night.
4.) Structure: You should have a good routine, go to bed and wake up at regular times.

As for your restlessness it is actually a common problem. There is something called Restless legs syndrome (RLS), the symptoms are creeping, crawling, jittery, tingling, burning or aching feelings in the calves, thighs, feet or arms. It's probably best that you see your GP, as this may not be related to your insomnia, and he/she will be able to give you futher reassurance.

I hope this helps. :smile:

ps. I would avoid commercial sleeping pills.
Reply 10
So? Dance! Stick some music on (quietly - i'm sure others wouldn't be too entusiastic about sudden loud music at 2am) and strut your stuff!

Alternatively, wearing yourself out earlier in the day would probably be quite effective too. Make sure you get some good exercise and you'll probably end up sleeping better.


Mr Deeds - reading doesn't stimulate the brain? You must read some pretty rubbish stuff then! :p:
Reply 11
It's not so much that reading doesn't stimulate the brain, I'm not suggesting that it doesn't, but reading is certainly not as much a stimulant as the TV or computer. In fact, reading can be relaxing and soothing, and can bring about tiredness. Alternatively though, as Vetinari has suggested you could get up and dance, but this probably would cause you some discofort if it is RLS that you do suffer from.
Reply 12
You're probably going to bed thinking you won't be able to sleep because your body's agitated, so you'll be concentrating on it and get restless. Try to forget about trying to sleep (really hard I know).

Read...have a warm bath...hot chocolate...RELAX!!!