Insomnia? or a weird bodyclock?

No tips from me I'm afraid. Four hours seems to be the norm for me, I feel exhausted most of the time

Can't give you any help I'm afraid. Despite drinking night time teas, etc. I still manage between 4-5 hours and am permanently tired.

There was a programme on BBC on insomnia fairly recently where a chronic insomniac was recommended to go to bed much later than normal, 1am, and then to wake up much earlier by setting the alarm clock for 6am and gradually over weeks, setting it later. It worked! Google BBC programme on insomnia - sorry don't seem to be able to get the link.

Like Baubles I can only manage about 4 hours at a time. I slept from 3.30 to 7.00 this morning but will go back to bed again now and try for another 3 hours. I have RLS (restless leg syndrome) which keeps me awake if I try to sleep between say 19.00 and 3.00am but allows me to drop off instantaneously in daylight hours. If it fits into your life I think the most natural sleep pattern is late to bed, early to rise and a long siesta in the afternoon. Would suit me but who would look after the DGC?

I often have problems with sleeping (or the lack of!),
Many a time when the hours of darkness drag on, and I am restless, I go and make a brew and get ou my laptop, go back to bed and Google.Helps me.
I sometimes take a sleeping pill, but I regulate them.

I have begun to have a lie down in the afternoon, some days; helps revive my stamina.

The programme was called Goodnight Britain. Read about the participant called Gwen.

All I can say to you all is 'I feel your pain' .

It became a bit of a joke with the DSs when we were all still under one roof, but I do wonder if there is a slightly genetic thing going on too.

My Dad was a bad sleeper, but was a very busy man, and seemed able to cope so long as he had his afternoon snooze on a Sunday.

I have been known to manage for months on 4-5 hours (if I was lucky) with no ill effect, but tended to nod off for an hour in the armchair at weekends.

And DS1, from the age of 0, only managed 4-5 hours in every 24 although a very contented, smiley little chap. He is still the same 32 years later, and has been known to go 3 days with possibly 2-3 hrs sleep, and his eldest boy DGC1, is following the same pattern.

The only saving grace for me these days, being on my own, is that no matter what the hour, I can find something on the TV, or muck about on the laptop doing crosswords or playing games, which help to make my eyes tired, and so help me get a couple more hours later on.

I think my worst problem at the moment is that is half-term. Normally I am on the go from 6.30am to at least 6pm, sometimes 9pm if I'm going on to one of the other PT jobs, so I tend to sleep better on those days, or just pass out, not sure which lol.

But hey, I got another 2 hours early this morning, and am now up and ready to be doing....I do have a busy day ahead today, so maybe I can catch up a bit tonight.
Hope you all get some sleep too

I'm another bad sleeper. In my case it's since I retired. Before that I would have to drag myself out of bed when the alarm went off. I believe it's recognised that you need want less sleep as you get older.
I very often get up about 4am make a cuppa and read. Sometimes I will drop off again but not always.

I am a terrible sleeper. My husband has nicknamed me 'Elvis' because I wander around the house at night making drinks and watching TV, anything to try to help me sleep. I rarely feel tired to be honest. Sometimes I have an afternoon nap for an hour or so which seems to help.

I only sleep about 6 hours a night. I try to be in bed around 10pm on weekdays and get up around 6am. Between those hours I probably wake up a couple of times and lay awake for about half an hour. Although I get up at 6am I'm awake from about 5.15 to 5.30.

I used to sleep the sleep of the dead, hit the pillows and then 8 hours later it was morning time. Then the menopause hit and now it's horizontal hokey cokey, limbs heat up, flop them out until they get too cold, then back in again, seems this "in out in out" goes on all night for me. My husband tells me I do sleep because apparently I also make strange noises now, something else new it's all good! I have also become pillow obsessed I often wake up stiffed necked have tried just one only, memory foam type currently on goose feather at the moment can't say it makes a lot of difference. I know when I do sleep, usually when I particularly want to see something on TV, I slept through a very good, allegedly I don't know cos I'd nodded off, David Tenant drama on Tuesday, will have to get it up on IPlayer now.

BAnanas that is also the only time I am guaranteed to sleep like a log...when there is something on that I really want to watch....never get to the end
The other time is during one of my beloved Grand Prixs (thank god for Sky+), my excuse being I am so caught up in it all, I have passed out from exhaustive concentration lol

Most nights I sleep 2-3 hours and feel lousy all the time. Then for no reason I will sleep 5 hours for a couple of nights, and I get excited, thinking I've cracked the problem, then it's back to the old no sleep again. I've had heart surgery this summer, and I'm sure I would have recovered much quicker if I'd been able to sleep.
BAnanas - I watched David Tennant the other night, and it was horrible and scary. At the end, I thought to myself there's very little on telly for me. I HATE watching violence and crime.

I can join this club. The day after I hit 50 i stopped sleeping. I used to be able to sleep like a log for at least 8 hours. But suddenly that stopped and I only ever sleep a maximum of 2 hours in a row at night. Often I cant drop off to sleep until 3am and then am awake at 5. Ive tried absolutely everything under the sun in the last 7 years bar going to a sleep clinic or being hypnotised.
I dont know how I got through the working day with 30 6 year olds on a couple of hours sleep.
Its slightly easier now im semi retired as I do find I can actually sleep quite deeply for about 3 or 4 hours between about 5 am and 10 am so ive had to adapt my lifestyle to fit!
Apart from hormonal treatment which I cant take due to severe migraine problems ( according to my doctor its not a good thing to take HRT with migraine problems due to stroke risk) i dont think there is an answer and Ive eventually come round to the idea that I will just have to live with it and go with the flow.
Annoying so my partner can sleep for England and is in a deep sleep within 2 minutes of getting into bed.

PS I realise in my case it must be a menopausal thing. Maybe it will pass, like things passed when one went through puberty and eventually gets back to "normal" or maybe that is wishful thinking

Gratefulgran, I would be beside myself with joy if I had 6 hours sleep in a night!

storynanny it's interesting that you mention being able to sleep deeply between 5am and 10am, as I have found they are the best times for me too, along with 5pm - 10pm! Sadly I can only indulge in that during school holidays, and then only on the days when I'm not GC minding or doing respite for a pupil, so maybe once or twice.
As for the 6 hours sleep, I think I worded that wrong...I'm in bed for 6 hours, asleep for some of it, but wake a lot, cursing the alarm clock when I see it's only an hour since I last looked.
Last night was a prime example, went to bed at 10pm, been to the loo 3 times, changed channel on telly twice (have tried without TV but can't bear the silence), watched 3,4 and 5am go by, and finally gave up at 6am.
Hey Ho!

Thank goodness for my tablet PC I say

I sleep quite well, but maybe once a week I wake up and that's it. Like now. I am so sorry for those of you who are like this all the time, and especially those who work! I used to be up round about now, ready to hit the road at six...at least going back to bed is an option now!

My head just won't switch off and I've been awake since 4am. Nuisance. Guess it's learned behaviour or refusal to relax?

Just registering that I am awake

I felt pleased just now when I checked my alarm clock to see I'd made it through to 5 am.

I usually manage 4 hours proper sleep from when I turn out the light but then like Grateful, watch the hours go by slowly on the alarm clock. I've tried not having it in the room but then worry about what time it is!

Has anyone read about the theory that our body clocks are set to have two sleeps in the night, with a break in the middle. There are references to it being a common thing, in some literature.

Yes I've heard of that. Seems it was a common idea in Samuel Pepys' day.

I often think of it for comfort when insomnia hits.

Off for my second sleep now (hopefully).

I tried a second sleep to no avail. Am now creeping about the house as we've got visitors.
If I wake up my sister in law she'll start talking and won't stop till midnight. ....