I'm waking up too early - thread to share advice.

[AmyPeralta]

When I'm stressed I have a habit of waking up between 3 and 4am and not being able to get back to sleep.
I wake up really alert with worries already going round in my head, spend an hour trying to get back to sleep and then just give up and get up. I'm exhausted. Does anyone else have the same problem? Thought it might be helpful to share things that work.
In the past I've had a bit of success with:

Drinking warm water
Listening to an audio book on slow speed
Concentrating on breathing.

Also wondering if it's worth asking GP for anti anxiety meds? Although I'm generally fine during the day, would be just to stop early morning anxiety really and get more sleep.

Exactly the same here. I can cope with it for a few nights and sometimes I just get on and start my day at that time as there is no chance of me going back to sleep.

I've also used over the counter sleeping tablets from Boots, very short term use, they seem to keep me asleep past that witching hour.

I’m also going through a phase of this at the moment. Possibly perimenopause related but I can’t get the GP to discuss it beyond “have some antidepressants”
Haven’t tried any prescription medication but the following help me:
Specific worry, about something I can do something about - get up, write solutions in a notebook, cup of weak tea.
Non-specific worry about things I can’t control - Square Breathing, counting backwards from 100 visualising fireworks, half an hour reading a dull book, cup of weak tea.
Kalms can help, not the night version, the ordinary ones.
I go to bed early enough for me to get at least 6 hours sleep. Have tried staying up later but I still wake at 4.
Concentrate on the fact I am in bed, so my body is getting to rest even if my brain isn’t! More often than not, this helps me drift back off.

It’s a bit crap though, isn’t it!

More exercise. I work full time so I walk for an hour before work (I've just got back from a 3 mile walk) and I walk at lunchtime and sometimes run when I get home before dinner.

My head hits the pillow and I'm out.

Same here.

I have an app on my phone called Rain Rain. I use the brown noise setting and stick my phone under my pillow or put earphones in.

Also repeating a mantra of "there's nothing I can do about it this time of the night"

I also have a couple of scenarios I play out in my head. Imagining I'm on my favourite holiday, listening to the waves crashing etc (the app has an ocean setting too that helps with this).

I’ve also woken at 4-5am for the last couple of years 😬 I tend to get up, have a cup of tea, watch en episode of something on tv then go back to bed and I may or may not fall asleep for an hour before the alarm. I find staying in bed or getting annoyed about it doesn’t help so I just accept that this is me at the moment. I have farming blood so maybe I should buy some dairy cows??

Following for tips. Valerian tea before bed can work but tastes so disgusting. The tablets don’t seem to work for me.

Woken 4-5am for years. Following with interest.

I just get up and get on with the day, I wish I could sleep longer.

This used to happen to me, quite a bit. Then I stopped drinking alcohol completely and now I sleep right through. Just 1 glass of wine would do it to me, so if your having any at all that will really affect things. Also lots of exercise as pp has said so your physically tierd when you go to bed.

I also wake at 3am many nights with the same racing thoughts and inability to just drift off again. It’s so frustrating and I’ve not found anything that helps!

Some good ideas on this thread though which I will try.

I listen to Sleepcasts on Headspace when I go to bed and when I wake up through the night. It helps to stop my mind going round in circles.

Yep. It's all the time for me now. 🥲

Thanks all - great ideas and helps to know im not alone. Wishing everyone luck getting more sleep hours

Podcasts help me go back to sleep 😴

Same here
Podcasts usually help me go back off and even if it takes a while I don't get too anxious as my mind is vaguely occupied. I pick podcasts that are interesting but not too exciting / stimulating!!
The exercise is a good point as I don't do enough
Also agree any alcohol and it's a nightmare

I'm the same. Been like this for at least 6 months but maybe longer since lockdown ended.

I'm going through a really stressful time right now finding a secondary for my SEN child. I think I'm.going to go back on my anxiety tablets and stop drinking tea before bed. I think I could sleep through if there was no urge to use the loo added in.

This happens toe frequently, except I can always fall asleep eventually again but can often take up to an hour. Also my sleep is just generally rubbish because of anxiety, it often takes me hours to fall asleep so I mostly don't bother trying now until I'm utterly beyond exhausted. I also often wake up multiple times in the night. I do think naturally I am a night owl though and tend to sleep best if I went to bed say 1 or 2 am and sleep until say 9 or 10am. However with three jobs and two young children obviously that kind of lifestyle is not possible sadly.

I find reminding myself that there is absolutely no point or benefit to worrying when I cant do anything about it right there in bed slightly helpful. Although the physical symptoms of the anxiety is really what disturbs my sleep and it can take ages to calm them down. I play alphabet games in my head which helps, like pick a category say fruit and find an A fruit, a B fruit, a C fruit etc. It's rare I get through the entire alphabet of more than a few categories before I'm asleep. Or some other boring visualisation like going through different categories of clothes in my wardrobe.

Ultimately the only thing ive found that works pretty reliably is taking promethazine. You can buy this OTC but you do build tolerance to it if you use it frequently and also tends to take about 12hrs to wear off for me, so I often forget to take it early enough and spend the morning with a bit of a groggy hangover type feeling. That's not nice but it is better than being exhausted all day and not being able to sleep. But I only take this maybe a couple of times a week max as don't want to build tolerance.

My sleep becomes disturbed, including waking at around 3 am, when my thyroid is out of whack. Could this be an issue OP? Overactive thyroid can cause anxiety.

I tend to just lay there in the dark 😂 And have a cup of tea at around 4 am if I'm still not asleep (I get up around 5 am for work, so no point in falling back to sleep after 4 am).

The herbal sleeping tablets are quite good.

I use sominex short term if I've had a run of bad nights.

I go through phases of this, it's usually hormonal. I find more exercise helps if I can manage to find time for it.

Nothing worked for me. Was waking around 3 every morning and then stressed I couldn't get back to sleep, and not functioning well on little sleep so getting anxious.... it was a vicious cycle.

This went on for far too long before I saw dr and got to the point I couldn't remember whether sleeplessness or anxiety came first! Both became awful!

Have you done an anxiety scale questionnaire?

I got mirtazapine w

Oops pressed too soon..

I have mirtazapine which I take an hour before bed. Sleep thru every night. Rarely wake for the loo even. And the aching alway there anxiety has gone. It is so worth it in my case (I used to be resistant to take antidepressants but in this case its saved my sanity/sleep.)

I’ve had this for years. What helps

• a Nytol if I’ve had a few nights of waking early - seems ri help me sleep through to about 6
• stretching and holding the muscles rigid (if you know what I mean) for a few seconds
• deep breath in for five, hold for seven, out for five. It slows your heart rate down
• turning over to lie on my front (I never normally sleep on my front and it seems to help calm me down )

Forgot to say I use Clarityn occasionally, as the active antihistamine in that makes me drowsy and if I take it early evening it helps keep me asleep past 4am. Sometimes even as late as 5.30 am 🎉

How old are you? I had severe anxiety and insomnia a little over a year ago and it turned out to be perimenopause. When I started taking a variety of perimenopause supplements it settled down brilliantly. I really was very unwell with it at the time though.

To stay asleep, try valerian (Kalms etc.) - it did nothing to help me GET to sleep, but KEPT me asleep.

High quality CBD oil - take 3 drops the second you wake up at 3am. The cheap oils are useless - Blessed CBD is expensive, but was the most effective I tried, before I hit on the peri stuff.

Melanin.

Your doctor won't give you anti anxiety medication. Many are highly addictive, and won't treat the CAUSE of the problem.