Keep waking up earlier and earlier, WTF is wrong with me😭😭😭

[WTHiswrongwithme]

My sleep is horrific at the moment. I go to bed anytime between 9 and 10.30, fall asleep easily but I wake up SO EARLY. At first it was 6 which I could cope with, I’m a morning person so getting up at 6 is quite nice.
Lately it has been 5 or 4 but this morning was 3am and I just can’t get back to sleep😭😭😭 I have three kids and a busy job, I cannot cope like this😭😭😭

I’m happy and relaxed, no major worries, I exercise, eat healthily, drink limited coffee and no alcohol. I’m tired when I go to bed! I’ve tried going to bed later but it makes no difference. Still up earlier and earlier.

When I wake I sometimes look at my phone or listen to audiobooks which is know doesn’t help but lying there trying to go back to sleep doesn’t help neither!

Please give me your top tips for getting back to sleep when I wake at 3 or 4am. I cannot cope like this😭😭😭

I mean bloody hell it’s not even 7am and it feels like lunch time already. Please someone help me!

How old are you ? Sounds like peri menopause.
I’ve been awake since 5am because of it !

8 hours from 9pm is 5am. Just go to bed later?

@JustKeepSwimmingJust I do try and go to bed later but it happens even if I go to bed at 10 or 11. But yeah I’ll try that again.

@SomewhereOnlyIKnow I’m only 35, no other signs of peri at all and my mum didn’t have menopause till much later. I did think that but it just seems so unlikely. Also had full blood test lately for other reasons and it didn’t indicate anything.

With me it doesn’t work like that, I still wake up early no matter what time I go to bed.

I’m exactly the same! Although am quite stressed. I’m starting think peri menopause. Haven’t found anything that helps so far have to say. Apart from when I was unwell and tried night nurse

@JustKeepSwimmingJust 5am I can just about cope with but not 4 or 3!

Me too! I've been awake since 4am. Weirdly I feel ok at the moment. I out it down to perimenopause.

I try to empty my mind of thoughts.
I try and ‘look’ at nothing but black in my mind, try and push out any visions or thoughts. It works occasionally.
I have thought about trying a ‘drowsy’ antihistamine, but I don’t really want to go down that route.

I’ve been awake since 4 here because I didn’t get back up after cuddling DS to sleep at 10pm - still feel like I’ve had a full night though. So 9pm-3am sounds reasonable to me.

I like listening to a mindfulness thing aimed at sleep or a not hugely interesting but do want to know the content non fiction audiobook (currently on thinking fast and slow) with the sleep timer on.

I have a friend who swears by the Paul McKenna sleep track on YouTube but I don't usually find I need it personally.

I’ve been awake since 4. I’m peri and my mother, aunt and grandmother and actually grandad on other side all experienced early waking as they got older. We do need less sleep.

I basically accept it. Sometimes I can go back to sleep sometimes it’s obvious I’m fully awake. Once every week or so my body has a bigger sleep that feels like catch up but apparently sleep doesn’t work that way. Since just accepting it I find it much easier.

Like others going to bed later makes no difference to wake up time and actually I find it harder to get to sleep then.

Maybe this is why older people nap in their armchairs 🤷‍♀️

I always used to wonder why there was a few elderly people waiting for the shop to open so they could get a paper. Now I know it’s because they’d been awake for hours !
I try and get an afternoon nap in on my days off if I can.

I've had sleep problems all my life and have medication to help. Sometimes I get a reasonable night but never sleep right through the night, I'm always awake for varying intervals several times during the night. I get what I assume is adrenalin going through my body and when that happens I know I'll not get any more sleep. Does anyone else experience that?

Last night I went to bed at 10.30, woke at 12.30am and have been up all night.

It's a lonely existence, especially in winter - I envy people who can just go to bed and sleep normally. My FIL thinks he's had a bad night if he gets up for a wee once during the night!

Welcome to my world. I wake 3-4 am most nights. Haven’t found anything that helps. I have concluded I simply do not need the sleep and I seem to function ok.

Occasionally, I will take a promethazine but it makes me sleep too long and miss an alarm clock if I need to be up.

I’ve seen something about cortisol waking you up ?
Not got time to Google now, off to work ! Then I’ll feel tired after lunch.

@Squills

I've had sleep problems all my life and have medication to help. Sometimes I get a reasonable night but never sleep right through the night, I'm always awake for varying intervals several times during the night. I get what I assume is adrenalin going through my body and when that happens I know I'll not get any more sleep. Does anyone else experience that?

Last night I went to bed at 10.30, woke at 12.30am and have been up all night.

It's a lonely existence, especially in winter - I envy people who can just go to bed and sleep normally. My FIL thinks he's had a bad night if he gets up for a wee once during the night!

Yeah me. I have chronic insomnia. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night. It must be about 10 years ago. I mostly feel like I sleep for about 15 mins at a time and am then awake for varing degrees of time. It's ridiculous and have tried everything including very brutal sleep retraining. It's so upsetting. I have chronic health issues which triggered the insomnia but can never get on top of anything as am just so sleep deprived all the time.

Going to bed at 9 is really early. If you went to bed later, say 11pm or 11.30pm every night, your body clock might adjust.

Counting back from 100 works for me. Also reading on a kindle with a black background and dim writing.

My sleep took a nose dive in peri too.
Are you falling asleep during the day or taking a nap? Hows your sleep hygiene?

@woolandwonder

You have my sympathy... it's awful isn't it?

I don't know anyone IRL who suffers from insomnia. I used to get the usual hints and tips from friends like get up and get cold, you'll get back in bed and sleep because it's warm, milky drinks, etc, etc. Those remedies may work for occasional insomnia but not if you are a long term sufferer.

Every night without fail I take 50-75mg of promethazine, 60mg codeine, and a neuro night complex with has magnesium in it. Even with this lot in me I still can't sleep. I could cry at times I'm so tired!

I gave my son half of one promethazine tab because he couldn't sleep (he's in his 40's by the way, not a child) he slept like a log and was drowsy all day! I just don't know of anything other than the meds above that could work.

I know doctors don't like prescribing sleeping tablets but I'm not sure that it's a good thing for long-term sufferers because being unable to sleep is not just about tiredness it can affect mood, etc.

Could you try promethazine? I know without my meds I wouldn't sleep at all, just cat-nap.

By the way my medication is prescribed by my GP - I'm not sure if it's available OTC.

Gosh aren’t you a beacon of empathy @JustKeepSwimmingJust. I’m glad 6 hours sleep is enough for you, it’s not for me. My job requires concentration all day and then after that I’m looking after 3 kids, so no, 6 hours (sometimes 4 or 5 if I go to bed at 11 and wake at 4!) is not enough for me.

Sympathy to all other sufferers.

My sleep hygiene is good. As I said I’m ridiculously healthy at the moment, don’t have too much screen time later in the day etc. Lots of exercise. Maybe it’s just my age…

@Squills thanks I might ask about meds! Does codeine help you sleep?!?

@WTHiswrongwithme

Yes, codeine makes you drowsy - it has side effects though and is habit forming. The two side effects I get are that it makes me itch and I get constipated. Frankly I'm past caring though - I just need to sleep.

I'm reading up about the Cortisol mentioned by @SomewhereOnlyIKnow.

It sounds really likely to be the issue with early waking. I haven't read it all yet but so far I've learned that the levels of Cortisol, which is similar to adrenaline, are lowest at 12 midnight but raise 2-3 hrs later. For me, that would explain the feeling I get of adrenaline surging through my body. I can actually feel it but this is the first time I've been aware that it is real and there is a reason for it. I'm feeling encouraged. Here's a link to the article I'm reading if you're interested.

www.risescience.com/blog/cortisol-and-sleep