Mary – Interview 02
Mary often finds it very difficult to get to sleep, sometimes taking up to an hour to fall asleep. Mary finds that relaxation and meditation exercises help her to fall asleep, and help her get back to sleep if she wakes up in the night. Even if she has not had a good night Mary finds it impossible to take a nap during the day, although she may put her feet up in bed to have a rest instead. Mary hasn’t been to the doctor about her sleep, but has tried some over the counter remedies.
Mary currently works part-time as a Renal Social Worker, a job she finds very interesting and which involves meeting many people. She is married with 2 children and six grandchildren.
Mary noticed a change in the quality of her sleep after the menopause, although thinks her sleep may well have not been very good ever since having children. Mary had bad asthma as a child and this also caused her problems sleeping. Occasionally her asthma bothers her now, usually if she has a cold. Mary finds it very difficult to fall asleep and tries relaxation and meditation techniques to help with this. Sometimes though, when she can’t get to sleep Mary puts the television on or listens to the radio, although she finds the radio better for helping her get to sleep because the television is too stimulating.
Pain from arthritis means Mary does have more disturbed sleep because she has to change positions in the night. The pain from a recent second knee replacement has made sleep even more difficult for Mary. Swimming and gentle exercise during the day help with the pain from arthritis and Mary feels she does sleep better if she has been swimming.