Struggling to get back to sleep

General advice
1

Hi my name is Levante .I have a 21 year old son who needs a bone marrow transplant. I am staying with him in the hospital as we are having treatment to get his bone marrow a negative result. This is the 6th week. I go to sleep but when I wake up I’m tossing and turning the rest of the night.I know it’s natural due to my situation but does anyone have any tops on how to get back to sleep..its like the harder I try the worse it is. I would appreciate anything :relieved_face: :folded_hands:

2

Hi Levante,

Thank you so much for posting. My name is Liam and I am the Patient Involvement Manager at Anthony Nolan.

I am sorry to hear about your son’s health and your difficulty in sleeping. I don’t have a clinical background but I thought I could might share a couple of tips with you.

Breathing, there is a type of breathing called parasympathetic breathing. here are some instructions on how you can do this:

  1. Position: Lie on your back or sit comfortably, placing one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
  2. Technique: Inhale slowly through your nose, focusing on filling your belly (the hand on your belly should rise, while the chest remains still).
  3. Exhale: Exhale slowly through your nose or pursed lips, making the exhale last twice as long as the inhale (e.g., inhale for 3-4 seconds, exhale for 6-8 seconds).
  4. Duration: Practice for 3–10 minutes to counteract stress.

There are a few different techniques, this is just one. So please have a look online for some others.

And secondly, we have our Telephone emotional support service available at Anthony Nolan. It is a service that provides some counselling and some goal based support too and you might find it useful right now. Please call 0303 303 0303 and choose option three to speak to on of our helpline staff. We are open 9-5 Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. You can also email us at patientinfo@anthonynolan.org.

Wishing you all the best

Liam