Help me stop waking up at 3am every night

[iliketurtles1]

It’s killing me! My mood has been terrible the last few weeks and I think it’s because I’m not fully sleeping.

I often go to bed and I’m pretty awake at night, but I’ll always fall asleep fine. No issues there. But for a month or two now, I’ve woken up at 3am EVERY NIGHT. I’ll wake up feeling fine, and I’ll usually get back to sleep, but it’s scary how on-time it is every night.

I’ve never ever had issues with sleep.

The worst part is, I’m now waking up before work feeling like I’ve got a hangover and I’m so beyond tired in the mornings.

I looked it up and it could be to do with cortisol. I’ve tried taking a magnesium fizzy capsule before bed, even a square of dark chocolate, but nothing is working.

I went to the gp and he’s testing my cortisol but other than that he’s not been very helpful.

I’m getting so sick and tired of feeling like I’ve been hit by a bus every morning 😭

Perhaps it’s some ‘folk memory’ thing.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220107-the-lost-medieval-habit-of-biphasic-sleep

Had this for at least 2 years, thought it was peri-menopause so fairly resigned to it, I was reaching the age and considering HRT etc.

Touch wood, I sleep through pretty consistently for the past 18 months or so.

Yoga helped me deal with stress massively. That wasn't why I started going, but I almost immediately began to sleep better.

Also, really try not to get into the habit of getting up for a pee in the night. I did not realise but it shrinks your bladder capacity and trains your brain to need the loo. To the extent it will wake you up. And you might not know why you woke up, but you will probably go to the loo in an effort to go back to sleep. This is a definite medical thing, who knew?! Good news is it can be overcome. In the end it probably took me about 3 really torturous nights holding on (incredible how much is in the mind), then a week were it got easier and easier. They say 2 weeks, I think it was just under for me. Incredible. Now I almost never need to go to the loo during the night and I do not restrict when I have my last drink of water. And I definitely try not to go to the loo out of boredom, on the odd occasion I do wake up, as I know where that got me last time! It spirals worse, but is possible to spiral better with conscious effort.

A cool bedroom. Cotton sleep wear.

A To-do List. Write things down so not swirling round your head all night. Make a decision on those things that have been hanging around for months/years, even if the decision is to park it completely for x months before reviewing again or to speak to somebody about it. Any decision is correct, as long as you put your health as no. 1 & you just keep making them as best you can. Not easy when you are sleep deprived, but I truely hope you sleep through soon).

All best.

Our ancestors didn't sleep through but had breaks through darkness. It was a natural alert system. If you understand that it might help.

Mentally check for danger picture wolves etc then turn over and relax

Of fecking hell

😂😂😂😂

Also mid 20s OP and it keeps happening to me!

My advice, shrug, turn over, Satan is not looking for a new hand maiden