Cannot sleep at night

[Fluidmosaic]

I've always been a night owl but I can't do it any longer. Every night go to bed at around 11pm and lie there for 3 or 4 hours tossing and turning. Absolutely wide awake. Yet i can't wake up in a morning and at 5pm I can fall asleep on the sofa in seconds with noise and people around me. It makes no sense.
I suspect I'm in perimenopause so this is making it worse. But why do I not feel tired at night?! It's like my brain just won't shut off. But when I'm working in the day it's the opposite and I can't get anything productive done. 😭

I feel your pain, OP. I'm wide awake right now and have a business call at 9 am and an in-person meeting later in the day. I tried eating a fairly heavy meal, after restricting calories all week and having insomnia for the past 2 weeks (thinking calorie restriction was the issue) but here I am...awake, again.

I have been an insomniac for years but, I'm 47 now and things are worse than ever before and I just can't seem to catch a break.

I've done sleep hygiene, Snoozeband, reduced caffeine, only drink every other weekend, wear an eyemask and earplugs, keep the room cool, have a fan on, go to bed when tired, get up when not sleeping etc.

Last night had honey and milk. Nothing works.

My gynaecologist suggested melatonin gummies but I found out they are not legal in the UK and who knows if they'd even work.

No suggestions but you do have my sympathy.

That afternoon crash on the sofa while you're wide awake at 11pm does sound like your body clock has properly flipped, rather than you just being a night owl. It might be worth jotting down bedtime, the time you actually drop off, when the sofa crashes happen, and any hot flushes or energy dips against where you are in your cycle, even a rough note on paper for a few weeks. A couple of weeks of that pattern written down gives your GP something concrete to look at rather than just "I can't sleep," and makes it much easier to tell if this is perimenopause driving things or something separate that needs its own look.

Poor sleep is one of the first symptoms to appear in perimenopause. HRT will help a lot and will work within a week. Refuse synthetic progestogen. Only accept utrogestan with oestrogen gel or patches.