Why do I wake in the night for two hours EVERY night?

[blindmelons]

Every night for years I wake up in the night and it takes me pretty much exactly 2 hours to get back to sleep. I'm so fed up of it. Used to be 1:30 every night now it's around 3:00.
Anyone else had this issue ? Do you know why I do this? and how have you got over it ?

Sounds just like bogstandard insomnia I’m afraid. There’s no real cure for it. Have you spoken to a doctor?

How many hours sleep do you get?

Do you eat enough? I was finding that eating dinner at six then nothing else till the following day was waking me up. I didn’t feel hungry particularly but I think my body was waking me up to eat. I have a snack now before bed - unsweetened yoghurt or muesli or a slice of toast. It goes help.

Yes, me. Wake up about 3-5am every bloody night.

If you go to bed too early eg 10 to get up at 7, your body doesn’t need so much sleep so you will wake in the night. This happens to me, but I’m so shattered at 10 I can’t stay awake any longer!

Yes me, I wake about 1 then 4, though sometimes with a variation of sleeping through to 3 and then waking at 5 or 6. I also sometimes get off to sleep quickly but then wake again, maybe after 20 mins. It's crap. Mine seemed to start after I took amitriptyline for nerve pain, though I'm wondering whether the menopause is contributing. I think exercise helps a bit. I've tried herbal sleeping tablets but I don't think they made much difference.

Apparently a few hundred years ago this was the norm - there was a first sleep and a second sleep with approx a two hour gap in the middle where people got up and did stuff. Some scientists argue this is healthier and more sensible based on our circadian rhythms. Bloody annoying in today’s society though. Best thing for insomnia is not to stress about it whilst you’re awake. If you know you’ll be awake, can you get up and do something relaxing rather than lie awake? You can give yourself the chance to fall asleep every say, half an hour and if you don’t fall asleep within 15 mins, get up again for 15 mins and don’t worry about it. Easier said than done though.