Why do I keep waking up at 330 or 4am??

[Doryhunky]

This has been going on for months and I am exhausted. I fall asleep relatively easily. But every day I wake up by 4am. I get back to sleep around 530am but have to be up an hour later.
I also ache all over in the mornings and am very down. My mom improves during the day if I keep busy.

How old are you? Sounds like menopause starting?

I have been on hrt for awhile and usually it sorts this out but it doesn’t seem to have kicked in this time!

Mom should read mood

Early morning waking is a sign of depression.Maybe a course of medication might help.

Do you drink evenings? As you sober up it's common to wake apparently, can't recall if its a blood sugar thing or some other reason.

Also read somewhere that we get a cortisol surge at around that time to start getting us ready for the day...not sure what you'd do about that if that were the issue tho.

I was going to ask if you drank alcohol at all. I can't drink at all any more (am also menopausal). My sleep was too disrupted.

I get this too, tho sometimes even earlier. And I can lie awake for a good 3 or 4 hours. It's utterly exhausting and frustrating. Wish I knew what caused it. Very rare to get a proper night's sleep now.

This happens to me if i drink any alcohol

This happens to me often.
I never drink alcohol.

It's a real pain.

Terminal Insomnia. I can get back to sleep after about 90-120 minutes. But it's boring as heck in meantime.

I was like this too but worked out it was because my body temperature drops around that time so was cold. I didn’t actually feel cold but putting a heavier duvet has worked!

V typical waking time for the menopause.

I'm usually awake by 3am or 3:30am. Mine has been caused by my Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is pretty bad. I'm usually needing painkillers by that time. Even on mornings when I don't need them, I'm awake and don't get back to sleep.

I go with it now, but it's not ideal. It leads to very long days, but it's very frustrating.

If you’re on HRT it’s a sign the dose needs to be tweaked. If you’re someone privately, asks for Melachron.

That should be if you’re seeing someone privately, (Ie. not an NHS doctor), ask for melachron.

Thank you! I hardly drink (and don’t really miss it!) as hrt usually works I will try topping up. It may be because I am cold but I am also getting night flushes so kicking off the duvet!!

I am like this too, post menopause, no HRT. I had insomnia while going through puberty.
What (mostly) works for me is variations on alphabet games. So ,while in bed with eyes closed and trying to fall asleep again, play a game of A to Z with a topic , eg states of America, countries of the world, fruits , vegetables, towns in England etc. For me , it works more often than not. I will wake up later and can’t remember where I got up to.
Sometimes counting helps, eg in prime numbers.
It sounds counter intuitive, keeping your brain active, but I fall asleep quicker than just lying there.