Some Reasons Why Your Sleep Patterns Change After the Death of a Loved One

We all continue to mourn over the death of our loved one. Everyone mourns differently than others and your way of mourning is okay. There are the ones that people call strong, and the ones who people say are depressed. I have learned to put aside what people say to me, they do not know how you feel even if they have been in that situation because everyone is different and the way we grieve is different. Sleep patterns tend to be interrupted shortly after the death of a loved one.

Realize that it takes time:

The first few months is always the hardest to deal with. It is the time when your body is still in shock and parts of you do not want to believe that this is happening or has happened. When you first hear that your loved one has died, you will probably find yourself awake crying or staring at the ceiling as you lay in bed hoping that this is not real. The pain is intense and this is why the body often goes into a stage of shock. Shock can cause you to freeze into the moment. Some people do not even cry when they hear the news or they will want to push everyone away, this is all apart of shock. Shock can cause you to not be able to sleep for the first few months.

The breaking point:

The shock usually wears off shortly after the funeral. For me, the funeral is what made it seem real. I still did not want to believe but the funeral is what made me break down. Breaking down is different for each person. My husband broke down the day after our son had died. I had a cousin who loss a son and she broke down the day after the funeral and her husband did not shed a tear for almost two weeks after the funeral. Breaking down works in stages and will often comes after the shock starts to wear off. When the shock first starts to go away, you sleep patterns may be interrupted by dreams or fear.

The loss dreams: