How well do you sleep? Q&A with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Pre menopause I could sleep all night and feel rested, now getting to sleep is just the first hurdle.

I use guided sleep meditation and audio books but this means using an earpiece in the hope of not disturbing my husband. This can be uncomfortable and cause a sore ear.
causes
Having constant night sweats that involves throwing off and on the sheet and/or quilt unfortunately disturbs my husband.

When I eventually go to sleep my husband will often get up for a loo visit and because I sleep so lightly, I am then woken with no hope of returning to sleeping for at least an hour or more.
To top it all I also suffer from night time acid reflux.
So by morning instead of being rested and refreshed, I feel I have gone a few rounds in the boxing ring.

After several disturbed nights and when the exhaustion is too much to bare, I resort to Piriton antihistamine tablets and decamp to the spare room.

What is the optimum length of sleep per night? I have always slept for no more than 5 hours, but it doesn't worry me, I just get up between 4 and 5 am, have a long soak in the bath with a book, then a walk. I am never sleepy during the day and feel alert. Can this really be harmful or just a healthy normal pattern for me?

I’ve had sleeping problems for over ten years. Spent a fortune on alternative remedies, tried acupuncture, hypnotherapy etc. Seen my doctor several times - who gave me no help.

It did start with a period of extreme stress. Several periods if I’m honest. But having tried everything I can think of. Now I accept. This is me. Some days I can function and some days I can’t. I have to live with it.

I’ve never heard of him but love the name Chatterjee and would be happy to read him.

I know I am stressed as we have had serious illness in our immediate family. My sleep pattern is generally poor and I wake frequently in the night, sometimes getting little more than 90 minutes sleep in one go which worries me. I do not need to get up in the night but have tinnitus and use a radio and have become very knowledgeable on the BBC world service output.
I have never been able to nap during the day, which is truly annoying but I still cope. Will this fragmented sleep pattern damage my health? Any advice gratefully received.

My sleep pattern was disrupted when I had chemo over 23 years ago and it has never returned to "normal". I am lucky if I get 2/3 hours sleep and often have nights when I literally don't sleep at all. I tried sleeping pills years ago but they didn't work, I have a herbal tea 30 minutes before I go to bed, don't use phone or laptop in the bedroom, have tried relaxation and hypnosis CDs but nothing helps.

Hot flushes/chills wake me regularly throughout the night. I'm exhausted. They're exacerbated by stress for sure. And I am a worrier.
HRT is an issue as I am progesterone intolerant and have migraines.
In also have cervical spondylitis which presents with awful pain that shoots down my arm, and up over my head into my eye socket. It doesn't happen often, but right now it's been going on for over 2 weeks and is also stopping me sleep, stressing me out and probably making menopausal symptoms worse.
I'm a mess!

I'm exactly the same as previous poster Nonnie. I have tried everything (apart from sleeping tablets - I don't want to go down that route if I can help it) but it seems to be getting worse - now I have about one evening a week when I'm still awake at 2 or 3 am. Every other evening I just seem to doze, waking every couple of hours. I never feel like I've had a deep sleep. I'm not stressed about anything and I try to get out in the fresh air every day. This has been going on for years and now I read in the papers that it can damage your health so I am seriously concerned.

I may be beyond help! I have a bedtime routine, dark curtains, no devices after 9pm, bedroom not too warm, no coffee after lunch, no daytime naps, no alcohol and now not even watching the news before bed. What else can I do?

Doc prescribed Zopadine for every other night and also an anti-histamine for the other nights. Sleeping pill works so I get a bout 6 hours every other night, a-h didn't work so I stopped. I have pillow sprays, take a herbal pill from Holland and Barrett and have been taking magnesium for a month.