For the last 3 months I have been waking up every single morning at between 4 and 6 and I am exhausted. What can I do about it?

[HerBeatitude]

I don't have any problems getting to sleep, but I wake up far too early and spend the rest of the day tired. I haven't had a good night's sleep for at least 3 months. It's not because I need to go to the loo and it's not because the room isn't dark enough - at 4am it's still dark outside anyway.

I look and feel dreadful, tired and slightly desperate now...

Has anyone else had this and how did you cure it?

I have become a terrible sleeper over the last year (stress with DS2 being ill) though I am getting better now.
Do you have a source of stress that may be causing it?

Also, do you clock-check when you wake? It's hard, but turn the clock round/away from you so you can only check the time when the DC wake up.
Set an alarm if you need to reassure yourself about waking in time for school/work.

You could always try the 'wake to sleep' plan on yourself?
Set alarm for 3am, wake up, turn it off, and try and get back to sleep, you should be in a different pattern of sleep by 4am.

Also, try and learn some relaxation techniques, whatever works from counting sheep (doesn't so it for me) to physically tensing and relaxing each muscle from the toes up.

Make sure nothing else can wind you up, pillows, duvet, etc. Good luck.

I got some herbal remedy from Boots. Quiet LIfe, I think. I'm sleeping better now

It doesn't solve the problem but I would recommend sleeping tablets for either breaking the cycle or at least getting a few nights decent sleep. It's torturous. I am a bad sleeper and go though phases of this, and now I have pregnancy insomnia and nothing I can do about it!

A friend today though said lavender oil on the pillow really does help you get back to sleep.

Also - if you don't want sleeping tablets, try Night Nurse liquid - on a night before a day you don't have to do anything, take just a quarter of half dose first, it knocks me out.

Are you feeling worried or anxious about anything? That is a classic time for stress hormones to wake you up.

What helps me is to turn the clock around, so I'm not counting down the hours til getting up.

Also if I am awake and worrying to write the worries down in a book and think to myself that I'll sort them later (really works).

I'll go and have a milky drink and read for 10 mins, then settle again.

When really knackered, I'll self medicate on nytol for a few nights, to try and reset patterns.

Agree with lavender oil etc.

Good Luck- insomnia can be really debilitating.

Thanks, a few good ideas here, will try them.

What's nytol?

Diphenhydramine (I think). It's an antihistamine type drug that helps sleep. Can buy from boots as nytol or own brand also available in Tesco. They also do a herbal version which is good.

Forgive me if it's a personal question, but could you be depressed? I believe that early-morning waking is a key symptom.

Me too. I wake usually for a couple of hours around 4 ish it is depressing especially as finally the children have stopped waking me up. I know why it is though I have got myself very stressed out about potentially changing my daughters school to a village just a mile outside our small town and really I think I don't want to and I am dragging out the decision and it is causing my ridiculous worry.

My sympathies .
I agree it will be stress thats at the root of this type of sleep/waking. I have this when Im working too hard and I stress myself out very easily.

I only recently realised -after many years of this happening when stressed -that my habit of self medicating with a good old glass or several of wine in order to wind down sufficiently in the evening was the cause of waking so early.

I stopped drinking completely a few weeks back and am loving the feeling of waking at the proper time after a full nights sleep.
I also try to get to bed a bit earlier than I used to so that, if I was to wake, then it would be early enough for me to get back to sleep for a few hours.

I do hope that some of the suggestions posted on this thread will help you get back to a normal sleep pattern.

I don't think it is stress as I don't really have any stress in my life. Except that my DS is changing schools this Sept, and i did think maybe it was that - that until the beginning of March, we hadn't heard whether he'd got into his first choice school and i did wonder if I was unconsciously worried about that. But now I know and he has and we're both really happy with the school, so there's no stress there. And I don't think there's any subliminal stress going on...

I hardly ever drink alcohol and I've tried to make sure that I don't drink tea or coffee after 6. I've also recently started running again and swimming a lot, plus yoga as I thought maybe strenuous exercise would make me tired and not wake up, but that doesn't seem to be working either. Will definitely try that Nytol stuff now I know it's non-prescription...

Hi just catching up. How have your last couple of nights been?

If you don't feel stressed, I wonder if you've ended up with an ingrained habit of early morning waking.

If nytol doesn't reset things, I would try getting up at the time you wake for a few days (make sure you don't have to drive), but go to bed at the same time. You often end up so tired, you sleep through. If that seems too hardcore, then just get up for an hour instead of lying there.

Good Luck- let us know how it goes.