I’m waking up so many times in the night!

[Dopplebangerz]

I’m knackered all day, sometimes have a nap but not always. Go to bed and eventually fall asleep, but then I wake up every hour. It’s driving me mad!
I get back to sleep pretty quickly but wake up again. It’s been happening for a couple of weeks now.
What could be causing this and, more importantly, how can I stop it happening?

For those of you struggling with the lying awake clockwatching, I can recommend a little under the pillow speaker. It plugs into the headphone jack on your phone. Download some podcasts and turn off the screen (or flip it face down).

Melatonin tablets help me...I still wake but can get back to sleep more easily! I don’t remember the last time I went to sleep and didn’t wKe until morning...it’s what I fantasise about sometimes!!! A night or two of complete rest! Actually I do remember...it was after I’d had a general anaesthetic...I had a couple of weeks of proper sleep..

Try sleep spray and kalms night tablets.

after I’d had a general anaesthetic...I had a couple of weeks of proper sleep..

Ah yes. I had 3 to 4 weeks of heaven following my major surgery last October.

Off to pop a Nytol now. Hopefully it will kick in around midnight and stop me waking after 20 mins.

Well, that was an interesting night. Woke up an hour after falling asleep. Managed to drop off again. Then spent the rest of the night repeating the pattern.
I used a sleep app for the first time. Very interesting.
I knew I snored, but wow. This thing recorded me(which I didn’t know). I feel violated 😂 turns out I snore like a freight train. Could I be waking myself up snoring??

You could be waking yourself up snoring or have sleep apnoea.

I find that magnesium tablets can help me stay asleep, but they also encourage bowel movements, so I would end up waking early in the morning.

Is sleep apnoea dangerous?

How does the sleep app know which type of sleep you were having? Is it linked to a Fitbit? So interesting!

I have to be really strict about sleep or my insomnia takes over. My personal rules are:

• No caffeine after midday
• must do a heart thumping exercise for at least 30 minutes a day
• Finish eating at least 3 hours before bed
• a blue light blocking app on my phone
• phone plugged in far away from the bed at night
• use an old fashioned alarm clock to tell the time. Looking at my phone to check the time made me much worse.
• use earplugs and an eye mask

If i do all these then usually I can sleep OK. I wish i could be the kind of person who drops off straight away but I'm sadly not.

@HoyaFlower I have gained some weight but I’m also pregnant so don’t know if I can attribute it to the Amitriptyline!

Read something in NYT last week from a doctor saying he is overwhelmed with people with the same issue in these COVID times.

You are not alone.

I second the poster who suggested have something to listen to. It may take your mind off things,

Even my nightly dose of amitriptyline isn't keeping me asleep right now.

It's anxiety that's waking me up, the dreams oh god the terrifying dreams.

I'm waking up later and later, going back to work is going to be tough.

I’m also noticing some bizarre dreams.
I have an Apple Watch so that tracks heart rate, movement etc

I'd get it checked out in case it is sleep apnoea. It can be a real problem.

Basically, with sleep apnoea you keep waking up as you stop and restart breathing, but you don't wake up enough to remember it. This can leave you at risk of other things.

My dad has to wear a CPAP mask every night to force air into his lungs while sleeping. If he doesn't wear his mask, he doesn't get quality sleep and can be massively tired the next day.

Get a sleep study. After feeling pretty wretched for a couple of years, I did and it turned out that I did not sleep longer than ONE minute before my airway closed and I woke up, mostly without realising it. I'm now on CPAP - Google it.

It's possible that you're just not tiring yourself out as much as usual,
Possible you're anxious,
Or depressed
Possible you may have obstructive sleep apnoea.

The exact pattern you list is a might for me without my mask.

Try the calm app, put on a sleep story,
Tomorrow, if you can, try and get a nice sleep routine set up,
Bath, hot chocolate, some time to try and meditate, a dab of lavender on your pillow, then a sleep story as you try to sleep
It's not always helpful, but has at times helped.

To answer your question, untreated sleep apnoea can lead to dangerous health conditions, untreated it can lead to weight gain and associated risks like HIgh BP, but try not to worry about that right now.
I've had it for years, I'm certain, but fairly newly on treatment. I know a lot of people who have probably had it but never had treatment (my SOA was discovered almost by accident)

Interestingly, I learnt when I first went on CPAP therapy that the trips I would make throughout the night were because when you're not getting into the deeper stages of REM your bladder continues filling.

My sleep pattern was all over the place, waking at 4am, sleeping til 9, feeling knackered all day.The only thing helping the past couple of days has been getting out in the fresh air, washing the windows, gardening, and a 45 min walk in the evening.

I can only fall asleep if watching tv or reading. Always wake anytime from 3am. wide awake since then. Menopausal so hot flushes too. I have come and lay on sofa so not to disturb DH as I am fidgeting. Cleaned the kitchen too. Dh has to be up for work at 5.30. I will go back to bed then and watch tv on low which will make me drop off. Luckily as I am wfh I dont need to be up until 9am so set my alarm for then. I normally do drop off then. When working normally I sometimes don't get any sleep from about 3am as I have to be up at 6 and sort dc etc and get ready for work. I would love just to sleep through. I try and walk each day.

I like the idea of the podcasts. Will try that tonight.

I use a pink noise app which blocks out sound. I think I was waking up due to outside noise and it has really helped. Along with doing short yoga videos on YouTube after I finish work.

Fraughtwithgin oh yes ‘get a grip’ that well known helpful piece of advice!

OP when you wake are you worrying about things or ok but feel too alert to sleep?

I’m a worrier, yes.
Slept slightly better last night. Actually had about an hour of ‘deep’ sleep according to my app and was only awake for an hour. Still recorded me snoring a fair few times though!

Amitriptyline fixed my sleeping? I would wake up worrying about whether the toddler would wake up, whether I might need to the toilet soon even though I didn't, whether we would be burgled, literally waking up to just worry and crying as so tired all day. Dr gave me amitriptyline and it stopped the weird worrying and makes me drowsy enough to sleep all night but still awake enough to take care of my son of he wakes up in the night. It would only be worth it if you are waking up with anxiety all night but it did really help me.

I really love a podcast called Sleep With Me. It's just a guy rambling on in a bizarre way for an hour or so, and it puts me to sleep every time. It works much better for me than Calm and similar ones because it's both comforting and boring.