In my book that is due to come out at the end of May, Targeted Montana Witness, the heroine Jillian has insomnia. The reason for her inability to sleep is that she has suffered trauma on trauma. She saw her fiance' be killed, learned that he was connected to criminals after his death and was put in witness protection. That would cause sleepless nights for anyone.
Believe it or not, I was writing from experience when I came up with the character of Jillian. Not the my dead boyfriend is a criminal part, but the I can't sleep part. Ever since menopause hit, I have had sleep issues and it seemed to get worse once I had cancer. There are things that help some with the insomnia. Over the counter herbal remedies worked for a while and now I take a low dose prescription sleep pill. I listen to sleep music, do some deep breathing and pray with a focus on gratitude and what was good about my day. All those things help, but I still often find myself oh so very wide awake at 3 a.m.
When I do have one of those nights when I wake and can't go back to sleep, I try to make the best of it by praying, reciting memorized Bible passages and listening to the Bible read aloud by a man with a soothing voice. David Suchet was the British actor who portrayed Hercule Poirot for twenty five years. He became a Christian when he read the Gideon Bible in a motel room. He has a wonderful warm voice. Sometimes listening to the Bible helps me go back to sleep. The book of Isaiah works really well. It's four hours long so I won't awake abruptly when the reading stops. I'm grateful that my job as a writer allows me to set my own schedule. If sleep has eluded me at night, I try to catch up with a nap during the day.
I guess if God wants me to be awake at the hour, I should use if for his glory and my growth. How about you? Have you or some one you know ever had trouble sleeping? What did you do that helped (asking for a friend)? Have you ever woke up and knew that you were supposed to pray for someone? Leave a comment and your email address. I will be giving away copies of Targeted Montana Witness (USA only) and you can find out what Jillian did to make her insomnia a productive time.
I love to hear from readers you can reach me through my website www.sharondunnbooks.net and sign up for my newsletter there where I do more giveaways.
thanks for letting me share
Sharon Dunn
As you can see, I'm awake to. The doctor prescribed me a pill to help me sleep, but I haven't tried them. I've heard all sorts of stories about walking in your sleep to falling asleep while driving. I have been trying to walk of the evenings to make myself tired enough to sleep, plus catching a nap during the day.
ReplyDeleteIn the summer when the weather is nice, I try to go for a walk toward evening. everything helps but nothing totally gets rid of the sleep issues.
DeleteI often can't fall asleep because of restless leg syndrome, and that's when I take a low-dose sleeping pill...and then there are those nights I that I dream I'm sleeping and even tell myself to go back to the dream. lol I think it's called lucid dreaming. At any rate a good night sleep is something to behold.
ReplyDeleteI too struggle with sleep - between restless legs syndrome and rheumatoid disease, it's difficult to get comfortable. I have found that not much helps so I listen to audiobooks! And I love having the windows open in spring/summer to hear crickets and frogs - so soothing. Also many times God brings specific people to mind to pray for. Thanks for your kindness in offering a giveaway 🥰
ReplyDeletekheldreth@neo.rr.com
When I have occasional sleeplessness, I take melatonin supplement that also has herbs such as valerian that help you relax enough to sleep. I also herbal tea that helps with relaxing too that I sometimes drink at night. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteRead
ReplyDeleteGreat T-shirt!
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't had that problem. It sounds like a really interesting book.
ReplyDeleteread book
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmaild dot com
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
DeleteSharon—yes I have had the same sleep patterns as you describe. I LOVED hearing about David Suchet! Didn’t know that about him. When I’m awake at night I wait to see if there is something the Holy Spirit wants me to pray about. More often than not He wants me to practice turning my anxious thoughts over to Him. For me, it takes practice as true rest and deep sleep is believing that God is utterly reliable.
ReplyDeleteThat previous comment is from me, Susan Luff. I don’t have a G account so it didn’t add my name. 😕
ReplyDeleteI love your books and can't wait to read this one!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I laugh that between the two of us, we may have had one night's sleeplessness in the last 30 years. We're both instant and heavy sleepers. I think wanting to sleep and not being able to must be torture!
Thanks for sharing with us!
carrottopfromtexas2@gmail.com
I struggle with sleep occasionally. Either my RLS is acting up which makes it hard to fall asleep or my anxiety decides to rear it's head or it's the once a month insomnia that comes. Or it's my dog stealing up most of my bed when he comes up and I have a very small part of my bed to sleep on.
ReplyDeleteIf I wake in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep (when it's not caused by my dog), I do pray, I will turn on my radio to K-Love to fall back asleep to contemporary christian music and/or I will slowly rock myself back and forth until I feel tired enough to fall back asleep.
I do occasionally after a very bad night take a sleeping pill the next night.
Thank you so much for the giveaway! I'm so sorry about your sleeping issues. I developed sleeping issues during peri-menopause, which got worse after having to take high doses of prednisone for 1-1/2 yrs due to a blood auto-immune disease that I contracted. After several years of suffering through this, a doctor finally listened to me about the sleeping issues, who then sent me for a sleep study. It showed I had sleep apnea. I started wearing a CPAP mask, which helped, but I still had issues. I had previously put a red light filter app on my smartphone that filters out the blue light and adds a li'l red which helps produce melatonin so that I could read in bed to try to relax and not be kept awake. This helped me to be able to read the Bible, which helped me to relax, especially the Psalms. After trying many natural remedies, I've found that what works for me is to include magnesium rich foods with dinner; then, about an hour before I go to bed, I take 2 tablespoons of tart cherry juice concentrate and drink a cup of organic chamomile tea. I'm sleeping much better with only very occasional issues. I praise the Lord for this. To answer your 2nd question, yes, the Lord has woken me up with a burden to pray for someone or something. Thank you so much for sharing about your insomnia. God bless you! wileyluvstabby(at)comcast(dot)net
ReplyDeleteMy doctor told me to take melatonin. I still have nights where I wake up and can’t fall back asleep.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, your book sounds and looks intriguing! I have not had a problem with not being able to sleep thank goodness. May you have a very Happy and Blessed Mothers Day. Alicia Haney. aliciabhaney@sbcglobal.net
ReplyDeleteIf I'm lucky, I will sleep 4 hours straight, but most nights it's off and on sleep. I take meds to help with nerve damage in my back which why I sleep for a few hours. Your book sounds intriguing, which is my kind of book! BTW, I love your T-shirt! ceedee1958@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteLooking back in the Historical records, folks used to have a bowl of "Gruel" before bedtime ( Saltwater Foodways By Sandra Oliver, Last Dinner on the Titanic): Give it a try. I would suggest a big bowl of cooked oat grouts with a touch of cream or dairy alternative as an evening meal ( sometime after 7 pm), I've never had any problems sleeping when I do this.
ReplyDeleteI struggled for years with waking up at 2 or 3 am and not being able to go to sleep. But I finally trained myself not to do it anymore, though it took years. Now, I often have trouble falling asleep. I have recently started listening to an audio version of the Bible also. It is helpful, and I know if I fall asleep, I am still getting God's Word subconsciously. L cisson at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry. There are nights that I have trouble falling asleep. It can be rough. I also lay in bed and pray. I am enjoying Jullian's story. Thank you for sending me an ARC. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteInsomnia may be debilitating. Even if my thoughts are racing, I am just grateful that my body may be still and rest.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had insomnia for about 43 years, since the summer after my sophomore year of nursing school, when I started working some night shifts. I’ve had trouble falling asleep (often for hours) ever since, even when I’ve worked day shifts for years at a time and now that I’m unable to work due to MS. I use the time productively by reading, but nothing too exciting, so sometimes I need to switch to something less stimulating. Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteTrauma induced insomnia is so hard! I've watched my family members struggle with it.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with insomnia often. I’ve tried a lot of different things but none seem to work. Often I can fall asleep but then wake up and my brain won’t stop. Justmom4x@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteOnce in a while I do have trouble getting back into sleep, I feel tired, but I can't get comfortable. I try taking deep breaths and clearing my mind of racing thoughts but that doesn't always work. Eventually I do fall asleep, but it takes a while.
ReplyDelete