Waking up at 4 or 5am and anxiety

[Sorrytodisturbyou0]

Anyone else seem to have a brain transplant in the middle of the night? I’m usually a good sleeper but for the past week most nights I’ve woken up at anything from 4 to 5am, tossed and turned, wondered if I need the loo, decide to go to the loo, get back in bed and BAM. Every single worry I’ve ever had and just huge shame and over analysis of things I’ve done in the past, running over work stuff in my mind, just brain (and heart) racing in general.

Logically I think this might be as my self care has been really off the last 10 days or so, I fell off the wagon with dry january and haven’t been exercising, I’ve just felt in a slump.

Do I hold the answer myself do you think - just better self care during the day and perhaps stop drinking again (I haven’t been drinking a lot and definitely not Xmas level!) or is there something else going on?

I literally feel like I’m losing my mind.

Happy to report a much better night’s sleep. I did still wake around half 4 but was able to drift back to sleep, I looked at my clock in shock when I woke to find it was 7:45!

A downside though is that I consistently had work related (stressy) dreams so I don’t feel as well rested as I might!

But progress. Herbal tea, not wine, in the evenings is definitely the answer. I’m not going to go completely alcohol free, but will cut it out for a week or so and then drink much less than I was doing.

@GwendolineWindowlene urgh horrible, I’m so pleased the Nytol worked for you. Do you find they give a lingering tiredness into the morning?

Thanks to those who’ve guided towards the ‘sleep hygiene’ classes. I have the Calm app so I will revisit what’s on there

Stressy dreams are also a nightly occurrence here. Argh.

I find Nytol one a night don’t leave me feeling crap in the morning, but I wouldn’t recommend doing what I did last night and taking it in the middle of the night. Before bed is fine.
I find Night Nurse the best for a really deep long sleep, I rediscovered is recently during a cold. It was fabulous, 11 hours of sleep a night.

Sominex which is available in pharmacies contains the active sleep ingredient which is in Nightnurse. I take 5mg of melatonin each night which really helps.

I'm definitely coming to the end of the peri menopause now and the sleep disturbance is improving (not on HRT) despite life being just as stressful.

Do you have to get melatonin on prescription?

1.30am for me too... but didn't get back to sleep! Long day ahead. In the end, called it quits and started working at 4am! Was quite a productive few hours.!! Will have tea and toast and see how much longer I can do without keeling over! F@ck off insomnia! You're not welcome anymore!!!!

1:30 is so tough. might you get chance for a lunchtime power nap if you’re flagging?

@Sorrytodisturbyou0 yes... luckily I am a team of one! So I will pootle on for a bit and then take a nap when I crash! No one will miss me for an hour or so! It's a shame though, as I've been killing it recently with good sleep habits. Stayed at the boyfriends last night though (my bubble), and I don't like sleeping at his house much! It threw me off my normal kilter!!!

You can get melatonin on prescription or buy it online. I prefer the gummies but haven't seen those lately online.

I have stuck to dry January and I am waking in the wee hours and not being able to get back to sleep. I try and stay asleep and end up waking with a headache. My brain is a whirr in the darkness, and it's so frustrating. I am 49 potentially peri, but am on a drug, Zoladex, to help prepare for an ablation. It stops the ovaries from working so can bring on a menopausal state. I have some hrt tablets which I am loathe to take, but if this waking is due to this then I might try it for a week.
Wishing you all a full nights sleep very soon. At least it's not an earworm keeping me awake, which is what I used to get as I tried to get to sleep initially.

@Sorrytodisturbyou0

1:30 is so tough. might you get chance for a lunchtime power nap if you’re flagging?

Our gp wasn't keen on prescribing it for my yd despite her hospital consultant giving it to her. I have read cherry juice has a similar effect in promoting sleep. Holland and Barratt sell it.

This was literally me last night!

I have been struggling with stress lately, some life issues that can’t be solved Other than time at the minute and as a result I’ve been getting palpitations and chest pain a lot where I can’t even run up the stairs without setting my chest off.

I woke up last night so stressed and tense at 3am. Got out of bed and the movement triggered a sharp pain in my chest.

I took some nytol after about 40 minutes and it helped loads. I literally could feel the Tension leave my body.

There’s a lovely game I play on an app called I Love Hue which is really calm and soothing and helps with anxiety It really chills me out but I try to Stay away from my phone in the night.

I think the only way to solve it is to really look after yourself during the day and focus on your wellbeing. I know I need to do some light exercise (I too feel like I’ve been in a slump) so I’ll be doing some light stretching or some yoga as soon as I feel ready to.

Better night last night with Phenergan. My problem is the waking at 2:30/3am then not being able to get back to sleep. My alarm then goes off at 6am.

I don't get any grogginess and woke at 5:45 after sleeping through from 11pm. That is great for me.

I find that kirklands sleep aid pills work for me, they are mainly antihistamine, half a pill is enough. I have just been reading about 5 htp as a tablet and Montmorency Cherry capsules too are supposed to help.
Alcohol is the worst it allows people to fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply for a while, but it reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep theres more information here

I find that kirklands sleep aid pills work for me

They wipe me out! Maybe I should have tried a half rather than 2 of the badboys.

Two! Wow id sleep for a week 😀 half is enough i reckon.

Another menopause sufferer here. HRT sorted it until Covid struck and the early terrors, cold sweats and stomach-churning returned, presumably because of a general rise in anxiety. I upped my HRT dose by 25% (no idea if a pharmacist would approve, but I had cut down from a higher dose myself, with GP's blessing, anyway) and it's much better.

Well, last night I managed 10.15 to 6.20, with only one wake for a pee. AND, I actually had good dreams!

I'm 43 and anxious by nature but have always slept well until recently when I started with the 4am wakenings. Racing heart, alert brain. It was all going on. In the back of my mind if be aware that dh would be getting up at 6 so even if I got to sleep I'd be woken again then. Like a few of you, we're in separate rooms but I always hear when he gets up. I'd put eat plugs in in preparation but would have to take them out because I could hear my heart beat which caused stress!

Attending Teams meetings and having to look at my haggared face was horrible (we have a few 'camera on' meetings; I always turn it off where possible!).

It just stopped for me. I suddenly started sleeping until hearing dh get up (6i can cope with). I do still occasionally wake around 4ish but I seem to be able to slip back into sleep. For the past week or so I've been okay which makes me wonder if it is hormone related? I haven't done anything differently. I'm dreading it starting back up again because it's an absolute killer. I did also take some annual leave (which didn't end up as relaxing as I'd hoped when I booked it because I didn't expect to have three children at home!). Perhaps the break from work helped? I'm just making the most of it right now.

Sorry that so many of you are suffering. Itstso awful. There's a reason why sleep deprivation is a recognised form of torture.

Well. Good news and bad news from my night.

I woke at 4, used loo, tossed and turned. Next thing it’s 6:30, so I must have slept again. It didn’t feel like quality sleep though.

I do think the lack of stimulus from the outside world and a very one dimensional life, with no let up in work stress, has played a big part in this for many of us

Not me but DH. The slightest noise wakes him (ddog faffing about in her basket, weather, cars starting outside) and he finds it impossible to go back to sleep. He's unemployed atm and worrying about that which isn't helping. I got up at 4.30 today to take ddog out of the room so he could try and go back to sleep but he couldn't.

I really feel for all of you, he operates in a permanently exhausted daze, it's so horrible.

@Schmooopy does he take any sort of sleep aid?

I took some nytol again last night and it helped loads, I woke up for about ten minutes and drifted back off.

I also took some Kalms yesterday, they haven’t worked for me in the past as my anxiety can be extreme, but they worked wonders yesterday. I had been walking around with Sharp chest pain from being so worked up and they really helped me relax. I have a feeling that my day time stress is the cause of my night time wakefulness at the moment.

@Sorrytodisturbyou0 that’s sounds like a fairly successful night compared to the former!

I seem to be back into waking frequently and vivid dreams

I was waking at 4.30am for weeks too. It didn’t matter what time I went to bed I still woke up but couldn’t get back to sleep. It was making me unwell because I suffer with migraines so they increased.

In the early hours of one morning when I was so frustrated with being awake again I ordered a weighted blanket from Amazon out of desperation. Since it came I’ve slept right through. I thought it was all hype and I’d probably wasted £60 but honestly it’s the best money I’ve spent. Now I get into bed at about 9pm, read till 10pm and DH’s alarm wakes me at 7.30am. I highly recommend it.