Early waking

[Summertimeblahness]

Will anything help me to sleep in later than 4am??

antihis tablets

have you got into a bad habit?
can you just go to bed later?

No..you are an early bird! Embrace the morning peace and go to bed earlier. (Or that's what I try and do as I have the same problem).

Magnesium might help? But otherwise I think you are stuck.

HRT

Yeah going through this, not every night but it’s frustrating. I take magnesium before bed. If i wake early enough and can’t drop off i’ll take an anti histamine.. Chlorphenomine ( piriton drowsy) I find if i take it when i go to bed it doesn’t always help keep me asleep long enough

It’s nothing to do with being an early bird, it’s due to hormone levels being all over the place.

I’m certainly not ready to have 4/5 hours a night sleep. i can’t speak for @Summertimeblahness but going to bed
earlier/later doesn’t solve it.

There are things to help though! It’s not very helpful to tell someone they are stuck.

Sorry should have put that obviously this isn’t through choice! I

do embrace it but every now and then I would love to not wake at 4!

I have not got into bad habits. I have a good night routine and already take magnesium.

@MikeRafone and @Snarf23 would I be groggy then when I get up at 7 for work?

Wrong side of the bed this morning?

Yes sorry. I worded my original post badly. I meant to convey the impression that as I have the same problem I just try and tell myself I'm an early bird so I don't get too stressed about it and try and look on the bright side. (Eg peace in the morning before everyone else gets up).

I am the world's greatest poor sleeper and have been for many years. Magnesium helps (glycenate) but probably not to lengthen your sleep. Don't eat carbs, sugary food or drink alcohol before bed as your sugar levels drop in the night which might wake you up early.

Are you on HRT as the progesterone might help. But otherwise it's just one of those annoying things I think women have to go through along with the myriad of other annoying things!

I'll preface this by saying I am perimenopausal but this is my most bothersome symptom.

I am similar to @Snarf23 ; I take magnesium before bed and, in the week before my period, also a French tablet Euphytose (melatonin and valerian). Then, if I still wake up and it's early enough, I take an antihistamine.

This mostly works so that I get 5/7 nights acceptable sleep on average - alas, not last night, as I woke myself up coughing on multiple occasions.

phenergen available over the counter is good

@Thoughtsonstuff I’m not as other than the early waking I’m fine at the moment.

I tend to get up and exercise.

I’ll try the diet advice, thanks.

I’ll try an antihistamine, thank you.

I am going through the same! I wake at 3.30 to 4.30 every day (and I have done since 2018). (I had to get up early to travel to Leeds and/or London each day for work) No way around it in my experience. My body clock is just used to it! Though i feel groggy and snappy! I have tried staying up till 10 but by 8.30 I fall asleep on the sofa watching the soaps!

Id take the antihistamine at around 5pm to start with and see how you get on through the night. You can then alter the timing of taking the tablet back to 4pm or later at 6pm

if you can get out of the habit of waking at 4am and get some constant night time routine going and set you alarm for 6.45 - hopefully you'll be waking up and be fresh by 7am

Thank you @MikeRafone , I’ll try that.

Tonight I’m going for a nytol as I can wfh tomorrow and have a horrid cold so just want a decent sleep.

I find it sets me up for a while - then it all slips back agin and I take a couple of nights of antihistamine and im back on track - id not take them every night, unless you suffer with pollen

I listen to yoga nidra sleep meditation to get me back off if I wake at 4am - I like a woman called Ally Boothroyd - I take phenegin too at times. Horlicks has worked too. Good luck.

If you (like me) can drop off to sleep easily enough, but wake very early (like me), you could try what has worked for me.

Instead of taking the magnesium (glycinate) at bed time, I take it when I wake up too early or at the dreaded 3am time. Usually works, but it can take a little while. If I'm still awake an hour later which is quite rare, I pop a quarter - yes that's half of one paracetemol tablet and that usually knocks me out on top of the magnesium. I take an Aldi fizzy multivitamin in a small amount of water at bedtime - it contains magnesium too, and off I go!

To be fair I still get the very occasional wakey wakey and nothing works, but in general, the above ritual works most of the time for me anyway. I think we have to experiment with different things. I am unable to take anti histamines, I wish I could!

Ear plugs? 😁
Birds start screaming their heads off at 4 am waking me up.

@LegalAlienated I’m not being woken by sounds particularly, just ping and I’m awake.

@vandelier I’ll try that! I don’t always drop off ok but worth a shot.

@KTSl1964 thanks, I use headspace to go to sleep but will look at that too.

@MikeRafone that’s what I think that I need, a reset!

Try white or brown noise. It helps my brain to switch off enough to let me drift off

Thanks @Puppylucky

Could you try a glass of milk at bedtime?
Get out of bed when realise you can't get back to sleep. Do something dull like a jigsaw and only go back to bed when really tired. Hope it sorts out soon.

When I was in peri I took high strength B3.