Waking up at night and light sleep? Feeling tired in the morning?

[MonicaMone]

Is there anyone here who sleeps poorly and wakes up during the night? What helped you? I know the common answers will be physical activity and magnesium, but that doesn’t help. I’m physically active, I put my phone away an hour before bed, and I still sleep poorly and wake up at night. Does anyone have any life hacks?

I’ve got a 15% discount code because I’ve been ordering from them for years, so give it a try. I think it should still be active: off15vk3

I will thank you! x x

Ha, it would be the last thing to help, I promise you! 😄

I do perennially suffer it, and the best thing for me is routine - exactly the same head down and wake up times, even if I don't sleep. I have to resist the phone or laptop when I wake. Telling myself 'it's fine, you don't need to sleep, no pressure - just lie here in the dark and rest and bathe yourself in loving thoughts'...

I also 'go the alphabet restaurant' and think of every food that I can starting with A, then with B, and so on... Bores me into sleep!

Oh, where were you with that information earlier :\

@Gribouille You see, falling asleep isn’t really the problem for me. As I said, it’s staying asleep that I struggle with. About twenty years ago, I read a book that gave some advice on how to fall asleep more quickly. The idea was not to think about the future before bed, but about the past instead — memories from when you were little, involving people you loved. That helps calm you down and makes you sleepy. You should avoid thinking about the future because one thought leads to another and then you never fall asleep.
Unfortunately, I usually wake up for the first time at around 2 am, then fall asleep again and wake up around 4, and sometimes again at 5. So my sleep is very broken, and it leaves me feeling completely exhausted.

That’s very strange. I also wake up once during the night to go to the toilet, but two or three times does seem a bit excessive. Do you wake up because you need to pee, or is it something else that wakes you?

No, it’s not because I need the toilet ,, maybe the first time, but not after that. I just wake up on my own, and then my brain switches on. Suddenly, I start thinking about all sorts of things, and I struggle to fall asleep again, if I manage to at all.

Then definitely try melatonin.

will do

ladies, I saw this topic come up ,, how do you deal with sleep paralysis? Does it scare you half to death every time it happens? Have you found any tricks to prevent it?

It usually happens to me when I sleep on my back and when I’m absolutely exhausted. It doesn’t scare me as much as it did the first few times, though, because I realise what’s happening and just stay calm until it passes.

Have considered trying melatonin, interesting reading people's experiences. Sometimes I can't fall asleep, or wake up at 3 or 4 and then can't get back to sleep

I’ve had more than 50 episodes in my life so far, and every single time I’m terrified. It’s awful. I haven’t managed to find a clear explanation online for why it happens, but from reading about it, I can see that many people have experienced it. A friend of mine even said she had an out-of-body experience connected to sleep paralysis.

I have enormous sleep problems that impact my life so much. Takes me ages to fall
asleep, then I’m up after 4 hrs and either can’t go back to sleep or sleep really shallow. Started with peri in my 40’s but I’m now late 50’s, post hysterectomy and on HRT. Melatonin doesn’t work if you take it long term. I take magnesium glycerate annd sometimes Nitol/sleeping pills when I’m desperate as I think it’s better to sleep than not to, but I make sure I don’t take the often enough to get addicted.

I am now 75 and have been a light sleeper, waking throughout the night most nights and awake after 5/6 hours since perimenopause. A friend and a sister in law are exactly the same. We have tried many of the suggestions here. HRT helps with many symptoms but not sleep, for us.

Which weighted blanked do you recommend? Any specific brand?

Does a lack of sleep affect your quality of life at that age?

HRT worked for me but I can’t take it now as I’ve had breast cancer. Melatonin, works for getting to sleep - I’m interested in the melatonin patches. I’ve also done a lot of mental work getting myself to point where when I wake up I listen to books I’ve already read - no plot line stress as I know what happens. I have convinced myself I enjoy lying, warm and calm in my soft bed relaxing - this actually does help. Even if I’m not asleep I am relaxed and happy. This has taken a lot of mental effort but I believe it now and feel rested even if not fully refreshed. This takes the pressure off and I am more likely to sleep.
I frequently wake 4 or 5 times a night but can go back to sleep well or just relax in bed.
Physical things like warm baths, magnesium, Trip gummies, no phones all help a little bit as well.

Sometimes it can be due to a fluctuation in blood sugar. I occasionally eat an apple when I wake up in the middle of the night and it does help. Maybe not the best thing for your teeth though!

Anti depressants at bedtime were the only thing that worked for me. I was waking in the night & unable to get back to sleep for hours sometimes. If I do wake in the night I take a Rescue Remedy Night Melt and an anti histamine from Lidl

I think I have learnt to function with less, and fragmented, sleep, as I did 43 years earlier with twins who never slept well or at the same time as each other. I am very active and socialise. We have 4 grandsons, 5-8 years old, in school holidays. Of course, I’m not doing my professional full on job… I do yawn and have some days, usually after less than 5 hours sleep, where I keep saying that I’m tired. Mainly, I’m ok and don’t nap. My husband sleeps 7-9 hours, without waking and naps!