Frequent waking in middle of the night - positive help only please

[Confused687]

Can anyone give me some tips on not waking up in the middle of the night? I think it's called Sleep Maintenance Insomnia. I fall asleep fine but then wake at 1am, 2am, 3am, etc. This morning I woke at 2.30am and was awake until 5.30am when I fell back to sleep for an hour.

There's nothing waking me up - no noises etc - I don't drink alcohol which I know is a stimulant, or coffee, in fact I don't drink anything after 7pm so I don't wake needing a wee. I don't use laptops, phones close to bed time and I don't watch adrenalin pumping TV shows before bed...

Please only post with positive help and success stories, any doom and gloom will push me over the edge. :(

I'm feeling pretty low, it's been going on for weeks.

Do you have a kindle?

I read when I wake at night. I make sure I'm reading a book I can get engrossed in and if I can't get straight back to sleep then I read. Ok, it doesn't necessarily help me sleep but it takes my mind of my insomnia.

I've started to look at the time I'm awake in the night as "me" time so I don't get stressed. I also go to bed ridiculously early to get my hours in.

I also go to bed ridiculously early to get my hours in
Yes I do that too. Even on a night where I wake up 3 or 4 times or for 3 or 4 hours I can still clock up sleep this way.
In my case it dates back to having DS1 in 1996. I never recovered from the months of being woken every 2 hours.

saw a neurologist today and i have to do a sleep study ,to see what my brain is doing when im sleeping (or supposed to be sleeping)

I have problems falling asleep rather than staying asleep, but have had the waking up problem in the past.

Melatonin is good - definitely try this! You can order from eBay.com
You could ask your doctor for zolpidem instead of the zoplicone - it is another light sleeping tablet and you don't get the bad taste with it.
I think - but haven't double checked - that benzodiazepines are not always best for sleep because although they make you relax, they mean that you don't sleep so deeply.

Listening to audio books helps me - I always play the sample before I buy to see if the person has a relaxing voice! Mostly I find male voices more relaxing! You can also buy guided relaxation programmes which I sometimes find helpful. I have a few to choose from as I find that if I listen to the same one all the time it doesn't work so well.

Great news - well for me anyway and I hope it will help some of you!

I only woke once last night (in the last few weeks I've woken on average 3-4 times). I took nothing. I have made a concerted effort in the last week or so to stress less and worry less (about money, jobs, house, children, exams, etc...). Make a list of things that are worrying you, even silly little things. Then in day time work through just one small thing on one worry at a time, one a day even. Also, I sort of accepted that I was going to wake up and that I would be ok. So I stressed less about it.

It might not work for you but I have definitely seen a link between worry and stress and night waking.

For everyone still suffering I just wanted you to have a ray of hope. x

has anyone mentioned valerian root yet? I met a woman who has not slept properly for 5 years and she swears it will do the trick. A friend of my dd's has used it for years and also swears by it.

I have suffered from night-time waking (rather than problems getting to sleep) on and off for years now. I had already been checked for diabetes, thyroid problems and adrenal fatigue by my GP. When I recently complained, yet again, about my lack of sleep, a friend suggested that I might be Vitamin D deficient (I was already taking Magnesium supplements). She said that I needed to take supplements with oil e.g. oily fish or salad dressing to maximise the absorption. I've been taking them for about 2 weeks now and I do not know myself - my sleep is vastly improved and with it my memory (I really was starting to worry about early-onset dementia). I suggest that you give it a go and see if you experience any improvement.

It does sound stress related then? I suffered the same problem, stress from work was waking me at 4am and I was unable to get back to sleep. It's a vicious circle.

My solution was to change jobs! However, that's not practical advice.

Any way to reduce the stress in the day? Meditation/exercise? I have heard wonderful things about melatonin, so may be width trying that to break the initial cycle, get some rest and then look at long term solutions?

Whoops, thought there was only one page. I see you have identified stress as the cause and your sleep has improved. Great news, it really is the key.