Waking up at 3am every single night! What can I do?

[Gogoyoyo]

On day 6 of waking up at 3am every single night, not just waking up then falling back to sleep, but I am properly awake and could get up and start the day! Life is busy, I have 3 Primary aged DCs, 2 part time jobs and a DH that works away a lot. So short of it, I am seriously knackered and really need the sleep! I go to bed between 10-11, DCs wake up at 6.
I'm at a total loss about what to do as there's no explanation behind it!
Probably going to sound a bit silly here, but I keep thinking that it's a premonition and something bad will happen at that time soon - ridiculous I know!
Any tips / advice welcome..

Welcome to peri-menopause. Insomnia/sleep issues are often some of the very first symptoms.

I drink a herbal sleep tea. Can be found in Tesco or Aldi.

I think I read this tip on mumsnet, apparently it’s something army people do to fall asleep.

Thinking of a word, preferably with no repeating letters, say holiday. Think of the h. Think of as many words as you can beginning with h, and form a picture of each one in your head as you think of it. When you get stuck with one letter, move on to the next.

I’m perimenopausal and also have the 3 an thing a lot. Sometimes I’m just instantly so wide awake this doesn’t work, but if there’s any sleepiness in me at all, it usually does the trick.

As for the magnesium, which is critical, btw, make sure it's magnesium glycinate, not magnesium citrate.

Sleep disturbance is certainly a symptom of perimenopause.

However, OP waking at 3 am specifically for the last 6 nights is more like a reinforcing cycle of night wakings - now OP is stressed about it, it makes it increasingly likely that it will happen again.

OP, don't check the time if you wake. Give yourself a certain amount of time to lie there awake, relaxed, do some breathing exercises or meditation. After 20 mins if you are still awake, get up. Go downstairs, maybe get a cup of herbal tea, glass of milk, give yourself 20 minutes & return to bed. Repeat the steps.

The key thing is breaking the anxiety about being awake.

Peri menopause. I too woke up at 3am every single day for 5 months. Everything I tried made no difference.

Magnesium glycinate! You can get it from Amazon!

Nytol, or the generic version.

I agree it will be your hormones. I'm 43 and last year there was a 2 month period where I slept very little. Didn't sleep until 1am and woke up at 5am every single day. Nothing helped, not trying to nap in the day, not ear plugs, not a relaxing weekend away, not camomile tea. I was desperate. Then one day I just started sleeping normally again. I live in fear of it happening again. I will be stocking up on the magnesium!

This! The brain creates a habit - been there myself. Cover your clock and rest if you wake. You will soon break the habit.

If you google Chinese meridian cycle a 3am awaking would suggest you have something going on in either your liver or lungs!

Any chance your heating is switching on and waking you? My radiator makes a noise as it heats. I dont notice it in the day but at night when house is silent, and it kicks in at 4am, it wakes me. It's been colder recently, so if your heating switched on based on thermostats maybe it's starting earlier than usual?

Be careful what magnesium you take. Some can cause stomach problems. I tried magnesium citrate a few years ago and it was awful. I'd also been waking up around 4am recently. I'm definitely perimenopausalat 52. I now take magnesium glycinate. No stomach issues and I sometimes even sleep until my alarm goes off, which I never used to do!

Any recommendations for magnesium glycinate, boots, Tesco etc seem to only have the oxide variant.

ASMR films on YouTube?

Have you tried staying up until midnight to see if you still wake up at 3am?

Next I think was excessive sweating. Now I’m 41 I’m getting brain fog, forgetting words continually. Night sweats, flooding. Increased anxiety and depression. Joint aches. Headaches and my period lasts maybe 1.5-2 days now whereas it used to be 5 days

I use Solgar, bought from Amazon. It's around £7/£8

Better spray from Amazon and magnesium tablets from Lidl.

Now I’m 41 I’m getting brain fog, forgetting words continually. Night sweats, flooding. Increased anxiety and depression. Joint aches. Headaches and my period lasts maybe 1.5-2 days now whereas it used to be 5 days

Why on earth aren't you on HRT? It will massively help with all these symptoms

Might it help if you're able to think of it, not as something that's necessarily pathological or requiring a great deal of concern, but as a variant of normal? So that you're not lying there stressing about this nighttime waking, what it might mean, whether things will ever go back to how they were, and then getting wound up into a state where you're unlikely to get back to sleep, but instead just accepting that it happens and letting your second sleep come to you when it comes?

www.bbc.com/future/article/20220107-the-lost-medieval-habit-of-biphasic-sleep

HRT completely resolved my early wakings.

Any recommendations for magnesium glycinate, boots, Tesco etc seem to only have the oxide variant.

I got mine on Amazon. It's called Nu U.

At least being tee total means the sleep you do get is great sleep?!

When I wake at 3am ish I’m quite pleased that have so much time to get back to sleep and then just lie still thinking about resting even if I’m not asleep, I’m at rest. I usually fall asleep soonish. Quiet audio helps too.

This used to be me, 3 or 4 am every morning, go for a wee, over active thinking / worrying kicks in and that’s me awake until morning. Usually go on my phone and browse mumsnet to distract me from my thoughts.

Then i read a thread on here where, like this one, many suggested magnesium, in particular the nutrition geeks one (magnesium glycinate 3 in 1). Been taking it for a few weeks now and it’s made a real difference- I do still often rouse in the early hours but now seem to have no problems drifting straight back off again. Bliss