A Three Part Love Letter
Feb. 11th, 2013 02:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redfiona99I don't sleep well. Actually that's not true, once I get to sleep, I sleep wonderfully well, it's getting to sleep that's my problem. Since September it had got a lot worse. The problem was that I wasn't going to sleep until 4 am and then sleeping the sleep of the dead until 11-12ish, which is not good if you have a job to do. So I went to the doctors, where I was dealt with by the usual GP off-handedness that comes with anything that might require more than "take three times daily". Apparently I should lay off alcohol (which I already do), and just try to get to sleep at a reasonable time. I would like to be canonised for not shouting at her. She also gave me the web address of an NHS website on the topic (which I'd already visited) and told me not to take sleeping pills because they're bad for you.
Leaving after this decidedly unhelpful appointment I dashed round to Boots where I discovered that they don't have over-the-counter sleeping pills any more. I grant that doctors can't just go round writing prescriptions for benzodiazepines but there ought to be a middle ground between bennies and nothing.
I therefore was forced to resort to herbal remedies. No, not that one. I had a look in Holland and Barretts and most of their sleeping pills were either valerian on it's own or valerian plus stuff. I did some wiki-ing and there is at least some science behind it (seriously GP, this is what you're reducing me to) so I bought a set of NatraSleep pills (http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=1054&prodid=1275). And they are wonderful. I have been sleeping. And waking up when the alarm goes off. And functional.
I mean, it's not perfect and I know the sleep isn't as good but it's so much better than it was before.
So yes, love letter part 1 is to valerian, oh lovely herb.
Part 2 is to my Argos radio alarm clock which is cheap (£5.99) and functional and actually gets me. So thank you Argos.
Part 3 is to Kerrang! radio. Which is what I put on said radio alarm clock because I tried ClassicFM and it was just not right for waking up to. And Kerrang! radio is wonderful. It covers a broader range of music than the magazine does (the Sunday morning had the Beatles on) and is pleasingly shambolic on occasion. It's lovely. And I'm not just saying that because I've heard 3 Manics tracks in 3 weeks.
Leaving after this decidedly unhelpful appointment I dashed round to Boots where I discovered that they don't have over-the-counter sleeping pills any more. I grant that doctors can't just go round writing prescriptions for benzodiazepines but there ought to be a middle ground between bennies and nothing.
I therefore was forced to resort to herbal remedies. No, not that one. I had a look in Holland and Barretts and most of their sleeping pills were either valerian on it's own or valerian plus stuff. I did some wiki-ing and there is at least some science behind it (seriously GP, this is what you're reducing me to) so I bought a set of NatraSleep pills (http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=1054&prodid=1275). And they are wonderful. I have been sleeping. And waking up when the alarm goes off. And functional.
I mean, it's not perfect and I know the sleep isn't as good but it's so much better than it was before.
So yes, love letter part 1 is to valerian, oh lovely herb.
Part 2 is to my Argos radio alarm clock which is cheap (£5.99) and functional and actually gets me. So thank you Argos.
Part 3 is to Kerrang! radio. Which is what I put on said radio alarm clock because I tried ClassicFM and it was just not right for waking up to. And Kerrang! radio is wonderful. It covers a broader range of music than the magazine does (the Sunday morning had the Beatles on) and is pleasingly shambolic on occasion. It's lovely. And I'm not just saying that because I've heard 3 Manics tracks in 3 weeks.
