Anne - Interview 33

Age at interview: 71

Brief Outline: Anne is married and has three children, and six grandchildren. Anne retired from teaching some years ago and now works hard at keeping active, particularly enjoying spending lots of time in her garden. Anne feels that sleep is a waste of time and would much rather have more time to do the things she enjoys doing, such as writing and doing research.

Background: Married, three children, retired Teacher

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Anne feels that her sleep has been particularly bad for the last four years or so, and is very frustrated by this, largely because when she has a bad night she is very bad tempered and it takes her until about 11 am in the morning to feel herself again.

 

Anne’s main sleep problem is waking up in the early hours of the morning and not being able to get back to sleep. She sometimes finds on a particularly bad night that she is awake for three or four hours. Because Anne doesn’t want to disturb her sleeping husband, tossing and turning, trying to get back to sleep, she tends to get up and either does housework, watches DVDs or uses the computer.

 

Anne does find that the more active she is, the better she sleeps and has recently joined an exercise group called SMILE (So Much Improvement from Little Exercise). Since joining SMILE she has noticed a small improvement in her sleep.

 

Anne has found over the years that when she has things to worry about, this has a big impact on her sleep, especially as worries seem to be magnified in the night. She has tried writing down solutions to her problems, but hasn’t found that this works. Anne has tried tablets to help with her sleep but finds that she sleeps very heavily when she takes them and doesn’t think this is a very natural type of sleep. Anne wishes she could get by with only 4 hours sleep, that would leave her much more time to do all the things she would like to do.

Being busy whilst on holiday and just getting away from normal everyday life helps Anne with sleep.

And when you’re on holiday do you sleep any differently?

 

Yes. I sleep much better on holiday. We have just come back from the Isle of Wight. Very wet and windy week. And I did sleep yes. I was much better. So …but then the day time was different I think.

 

In what way was it different?

 

Well I mean we were busy going out places and we did a lot of eating during the …and of course being in a hotel you don’t need to watch what you’re drinking for driving and things like that, so it’s very artificial really. And it is different.

 

But you managed to sleep?

 

Quite well yes.

 

What was the difference then? Was it that you were able to get to sleep or that you stayed asleep?

 

I still read when I went to bed, but when the light went off I would fall asleep and then I’d wake but because it was different sounds I seemed to be able to lie there and not worry so much and eventually go off again. I was only awake about twenty minutes, half an hour. So it was lovely.

 

So there was no getting up and wandering around?

 

No. well just going to the bathroom and that was all.

 

And is that your normal experience of being away?

 

Being away on holiday yes. I do sleep better.

 

That’s the answer then?

 

Go away on holiday all the time. I like that. I like that.  

Anne knows that if she doesn't have enough sleep she is very grumpy in the morning.

Sleep at the moment is a disappointment I suppose, because I feel I’ve improved my life style by doing all the things, diet, exercise and all this, and I’d hope that the sleep would improve more than it has.

 

So how important then is sleep to you?

 

It is, if you don’t want me to be bad tempered.

 

Is that the only reason?

 

I think so, yes. I’m quite a, I don’t like being unpleasant to people.

 

So it does have that much of an effect on you?

 

Oh yes, yes. I grump and groan!

 

And is that all day or …?

 

Oh only till about eleven.

 

Okay so that’s interesting. So have you got a recollection in the past of you being a morning or an evening person or neither of those?

 

I am definitely not a morning person.

 

Right. So the grumpiness is not only necessarily if you think about it being a shorter sleep?

 

Yes.

 

Have you always been grumpy in the morning?

 

No, no, I’ve not always been grumpy. I just like to be on my own when I wake up and if my routine is broken that’s annoying.  

Anne finds that her problems seem much greater in the night, and they sometimes develop into nightmares.

In post retirement have you had other times in your sleep that’s been…?

 

Well for different reasons yes. I find at night that any worries you’ve got are multiplied and it all seems much worse. At one stage I actually would write down solutions, but I found that made it worse as well. So I don’t do that now.

 

Why did it make it worse?

 

I don’t know. It was sort of reminding me during the day what I was thinking about I think.

 

Ah so…

 

So I stopped doing that. I was trying to be scientific and put it all down… I read somewhere that if you write down what you’re dreaming about you can solve it the next morning, but it doesn’t work.

 

It didn’t work?

 

It didn’t work at all.

 

It made you more focused on it?

 

Yes.

 

Were these dreams that were keeping you awake or was it just thoughts?

 

Thoughts mostly, thoughts. And then sometimes it would turn into nightmares, but, and when I have nightmares I’m quite active then, I sort of throw myself around a bit. So, and that upsets my husband.

 

So you’re a nightmare thrasher rather than somebody who just lays there?

 

Yes. That’s when I’m asleep and I have a nightmare. But when I’m worrying I lie there. Oh dear. It sounds dreadful. 

Anne strongly believes in a link between eating well, getting enough exercise and sleeping well, but is disappointed with her sleep at the moment.

And is there anything else. Have you ever heard anything else mentioned in terms of how to get a good night’s sleep?

 

Oh well I’ve tried all sorts of things. I’ve tried the milky drink. I’ve tried the restful music. And I had a tape of I think it was surf or something. I don’t eat after, heavily after seven o’clock. I certainly don’t have caffeine after 7 o’clock. So all the things I recommend I try to keep to.

 

So you have already tried all those things?

 

Yes, I still do those yes.

 

And is that purely because of how it might impact on your sleep or are there other reasons?

 

That is basically to keep me, try and get into good health.

 

So it’s all about health?

 

It’s all about health. Yes. I’m on a health thing at the moment.

 

Are you?

 

Yes.

 

Does that also go to food as well. Because I’m also interested in that?

 

Yes. We have adapted our diet.

 

Is that recently?

 

That was started last year yes.

 

Okay and have you noticed any change?

 

Oh yes. Yes. I have lost a lot of weight. I’ve got more energy, but I haven’t got much stamina. Which sounds a bit strange.

 

Oh right. So you have got more interested in doing things, but it doesn’t last?

 

It doesn’t last for very long no. It takes me twice as long to do things now.

 

So you are quite conscious of health messages?

 

Absolutely yes.

 

You link those in. And where does sleep fit into that?

 

Sleep at the moment is a disappointment I suppose, because I feel I’ve improved by life style by doing all the things, diet, exercise and all this, and I’d hope that the sleep would improve more than it has.

 

So how important then is sleep to you?

 

It is, if you don’t want me to be bad tempered! 

Anne can sometimes lay awake worrying until two or three in the morning.

I go to bed fairly early, half past ten. And I read for half an hour to an hour. Sometimes I go to sleep at half past eleven and wake up about two.  Sometimes I won’t go to sleep at all until about half past two, three. So it's varied, but there doesn’t seem to be any pattern why it’s varied.

 

Okay and then how long would you sleep for in the morning?

 

If I’ve had a fairly good night’s sleep that is, you know, I can go back to bed again, I’ll get up at half past seven, but sometimes if I’ve had a really bad night my husband let’s me sleep in and I sleep in to about ten.

 

Okay so you’re kind of catching up on sleep?

 

Try to catch up yes.

 

So you go to bed at half past ten you say?

 

Half past ten.

 

And then sometimes, sorry, what was the half past eleven?

 

That’s reading, reading, reading!

 

Do you read every night?

 

Pretty well yes.

 

So you read for an hour in bed?

 

Yes.

 

Then turn out the light and then…?

 

Hopefully go to sleep.

 

And how often do you not?

 

I would say two, three times a week, not.

 

Okay so you’re just laying there?

 

Worrying usually. Yes.

 

Till two or three in the morning?

 

Yes can be.

 

Gosh that must be…?

 

It’s quite wearing yes. And I get very, very bad tempered.