Insomnia 3 times in last week

[MailMe1]

Hello, I’m at my wits end. I’m early 40s, not currently due on which does cause insomnia, but Fri, Sun and last night I’ve been waking at 2am and not falling asleep til gone 5. I’m up then for the kids from 645.

I was out in the sun yesterday got my 10k steps in. I don’t drink alcohol or caffeine.

i do take 25mg sertaraline. I find my joints ache from the sertaraline hence not upping my dose.

I’m going to sleep from 1030-1130. My youngest struggle ti sleep so I often stay with her in bed from 830-930 before going down and watching a bit of telly.

When I wake my head just whirrs with the million and one things I need to sort from house insurance, car insurance, kids club bills, eldest having friendship issues, so much to do at work I’m so busy… various family issues, health issues of my own: I can’t fall asleep again for ages.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Sounds like peri menopause to me. Or anxiety if it’s not hormonal.

Not sure if you're asking for reasons why it's happening or things to do to get back to sleep, but if it's things to get back to sleep then doing mind puzzles sometimes helps me. Things like, reciting the 13 times tables or the 7 and a third times table, listing towns in England in alphabetical order, thinking of words with 4 syllables in alphabetical order, those kinds of things. Or, give up lying in the dark and read a book or listen to the radio or a podcast.

Joints wise - have u had your vit d tested ?

How old are you? Insomnia is classic peri menopause.

Age 43 thank you for the tools.
should I up my dose for sertaraline? My mum is on 50 she said it helps her sleep better p

Vit D fine in last blood test but I’ll order some Vit D and K today.

Most Brits take / need vit d esp through winter

Yea, at your age ( not 45 yet) I’d up the antidepressants and get a good quality omega 3 for the joints.

I would write down a list of all the things on my mind, so I know they won't be forgotten if I don't think about them overnight.

Deliberately tense up each bit of your body it turn, starting with the feet, ending with acrunxhjng your face up. It's much easier to relax when you've purposefully engaged the muscles than from just tension from stress.

All the usual stuff about regular exercise (not too soon before bed, though,) good diet, avoid caffeine in the evening, and so on. I find a bath before bed can help.

Try not to worry about it. Worrying that you're only getting 5... 4... 3.5h sleep makes it far worse. Try to physically relax in bed, be calm and still - you will then at least be getting some rest, even if it's not as good as deep sleep.

But it's worth considering vitamins and perimenopause, too. Insomnia is common in peri, and early 40s means it could be starting.

Thank you, I really appreciate this advice. Honestly it’s debilitating. I have a huge client meeting at 11 and I’m utterly exhausted. Trying to put on the best face possible and hope it all goes well.

ill look into omega three for joints.
ive ordered some Vit D and K.

i used to use headspace I think it was to sleep or possibly calm. But that was to go to sleep rather than fall back asleep.

also DH was snoring btw loudly but loud enough I could still hear it through earplugs. Moving to the spare room helped a bit.

Oh yes, I can really recommend separate bedrooms!

I really don't want separate bedrooms! Because I love my bed!

If it's the bed you love, maybe he should be in the spare room...

Headspace does help when I get this. It has one for night waking but the sleep stories are good too. Helps you think about something other than the to do list. I am a similar age and suspect mine is peri related but I also wake up now if I drink alcohol (even a little) 😓

I'm having the same problem. For me, it's a combination of anxiety and peri (I'm 48).
I'm on an ssri, I think I don't need to increase the dosage though I am monitoring it. I've been taking utrogestan (progesterone) and it had somewhat helped my sleep in the second half of the cycle, but this cycle my sleep has been awful.
Like you, I walk a lot in order to get some exercise/sunlight, but my brain just doesn't switch off. It's not that I'm overworked, the anxiety makes me less productive than usual, but that my brain just won't stop worrying.

I employ the strategies listed, when this doesn't work, I read my kindle in bed. My DH and I have separate bedrooms, I would highly recommend it as we both have sleep issues and would wake each other up even more if we shared the bed.
I find, for me, I have a week or two of horrible sleep, then it gets better for a few weeks, lulling me into feeling like it's been resolved.

Im going to try this.

Thanks for the advice. I’ve been falling asleep closer to 1130 and waking up at 530. To be honest I’ve run with that the last two days cos it’s a straight run and 6 hours. I’d love to get another hour in if I can. But I know 2 days before my period I’ll get insomnia again.

The is my cycle history I use an Apple watch to follow it. It’s not saying there is anything unusual in my cycle. It’s been like this for years. The only thing is I’ve never had a 29 day gap like December although then it dropped to 21. On the 29 day gap I was abroad in the sun could that have made a difference? I slept so well!

Mine used to be like that 30 day cycle +/- a day, with a 5 day bleed. Now they can vary between 17 days and 65 days with anything from 2 days to 2 weeks of bleeding, although just now, 30 days and counting bleeding, which is truly a joy... it's mostly the only symptom I've had, though. I've had some insomnia, but I think it's been stress more than peri, though who can know for sure?

I’m 43 and it’s been 21-29 days. Doctor has said nothing unusual and prescribed be sertaraline