Not sleeping thru the night

For about the last month or so I have been waking up early (between 4:00 and 6:00am). Mind takes off and I can't get back to sleep. Usually try for about 30 minutes to get back to sleep and then give up and get up.

We recently moved and there has been some stress over that, but I'm afraid this is becoming a habit. I'm tired during the day and grumpy as hell. I don't use coffee after morning, and drink decaf tea with dinner so I don't think caffeine is part of the problem. I meditate every morning so I'm trying to get my mind in the right place.

Any ideas on how to break this cycle of early wake ups?

Thanks

JeffH

Not sure what your schedule is like, but normally if I wake up early, I get up, go to the other room, check some email etc... and then after about 20-30 mins go back to bed. Staying in bed trying to fall asleep many times simply doesn't work unless I get up first.

I'm retired so I don't really have a schedule. I agree that just laying there "trying" to go back to sleep doesn't work.

OTC Melatonin works for me...it doesn't work for everyone. Check with your doctor

When I'm not getting back to sleep, I generally get up and read. If I do anything on the computer, the light from the screen has a tendency to keep me awake. I do better if I read, and I always have books around (see my avatar).

LSAT wrote:OTC Melatonin works for me...it doesn't work for everyone. Check with your doctor

I take a 1mg one every nite and have for years. More than that seems to mess with my head. Thanks for the suggestion though.

JeffH

library lady wrote:When I'm not getting back to sleep, I generally get up and read. If I do anything on the computer, the light from the screen has a tendency to keep me awake. I do better if I read, and I always have books around (see my avatar).

I try that as well. When I've gotten around 6 hours I just start the coffee and start the day, even though 7.5 to 8 would be better.


Jeff H

Jeff, when this happens to me (frequently), I have some success, when I wake up around 4 am, to get up, do some little chore like go to the bathroom, take my mask off - clean it and my face with a wipe, then go back to bed in the same manner as If I were going to bed at bedtime. I'm usually up no longer than about 5 minutes and I often go right back to sleep. I think the trick is putting the mask back on and going back to bed as if it were bedtime. If I don't do this, I often lie there for about 45 minutes and I'm up for good around 5.

I agree that restarting the bedtime routine can reset the ability to fall asleep. Any time I'm stubborn and just keep laying there. any shallow dozing I achieve is not satisfactory. Do you end up napping to make up that extra time? Your move didn't happen to involve time zones did it?

Audiobooks and podcasts for me. If I wake up I just throw on a podcast and fall asleep listening to that.

I can recommend some audiobooks that send me off to sleep. Some I don't even know how they end. Because I fall asleep before it ends.

However I do have a talking book that is 50 hours long

Sadly, I have been dealing with this for a while.. Diagnosed with severe insomnia.. I get to the 4am period and religiously wake up for the bathroom and cannot fall back asleep with mask.. Will sleep if I keep it off.. Is a daily struggle..

This used to happen to me. Anybody with this problem hit me up for a sample of the pur-sleep product. It really helped to solve that particular problem (my "alarm" time used to be 2:00 am, every night--it was uncanny).

Bret

kteague wrote:I agree that restarting the bedtime routine can reset the ability to fall asleep. Any time I'm stubborn and just keep laying there. any shallow dozing I achieve is not satisfactory. Do you end up napping to make up that extra time? Your move didn't happen to involve time zones did it?

Hadn't thought of "restarting" bedtime routine. Good idea. No, I don't nap. Didn't cross time zones with move either. We closed on the house we moved from yesterday and I slept better last nite. I hope that all this is moving stress related and after we close on the house we are buying on Friday I'll go back to "normal" what ever that is.

Thanks

JeffH

SleepGuy wrote:This used to happen to me. Anybody with this problem hit me up for a sample of the pur-sleep product. It really helped to solve that particular problem (my "alarm" time used to be 2:00 am, every night--it was uncanny).

Bret

Forgot about Pursleep. Used to use it all the time. May have to order some again.

Thanks Bret

JeffH