Can’t stay asleep

I go to bed at 10, wake around midnight every night, go to the loo, have a small oatcake in bed and fall asleep again with the radio on talk, very quietly so I have to concentrate. I wake up around 5. 30 every day. I am still happy with the quality of sleep and have plenty of energy. I never read in bed. The days of sleeping all through vanished a very long time ago. I just accept it as it is and realise that it is the primal cycle of 2 sleeps

When I worked I used to sleep badly . I had to be up at 5.15 am and would find myself saying in my head ‘ if I fall asleep now I’ll have 5 hours sleep’. If I fall asleep now I’ll have 4 hours sleep etc. Then it all changed . I was told to think of a really boring word and imagine myself writing it down repeatedly. It had to have no connection to anything and I had to keep my mind on the word . I used the word THE and in my head I kept writing on a blackboard. My mind tried to drag my thoughts to other things but I wouldn’t let it . It worked every time . I only got to write a small number of times and I was asleep within minutes every night . Please give it a try x x

Hicaz46 I do the same Qatar!

I’m the same. I use sleep stories on the calm app via ear plugs. I don’t stay asleep, I keep having to start a new story throughout the night but it does help me to drift off as it calms my mind and stops me thinking of other things. It’s £34.99 a year for unlimited stories but you can get some for free. Won’t work for everyone but may be worth a try xx

Oh wow Katyj ! Do you mind me asking where you got the Phenergen tablets from? They are marvellous but I thought that they had been banned years ago?
Am I right? They are the ones for prickly heat or any v itchy bites or chicken pox in children?
They work a dream for my insomnia! and you’re right - just 3 days to break the no sleep cycle and then you’re fine for at least 6 months!
I’m so grateful to you for reminding me!
Good old GN so much kinder, more uplifting and helpful than those sharp mouthed MNetters!

Hi, Neva. I got mine from a small local chemist but i think you’ll get them from Boots. Yes Gransnet is great at jogging the old memory. Hope they work for you i wouldn’t be without them. Good luck ?

There is a programme on the internet called Sleepio. It’s a 6 week course that you do online and it worked for me. Worth giving it a try.

Hi,
Funny that you say this because up until a few months ago I had the same issue. I tried all sorts of things from trying different teas and herbal recipes and even getting a sleeping mask. I also stopped using any blue screen devices at night because I heard that it can interfere with getting good sleep.
I finally gave in and got melatonin tablets (vitaminexpress.org/uk/melatonin-supplements) and I'm glad I made the decision. I have been able to get uninterrupted sleep for the most part. And I also feel like I wake up feeling refreshed and there's just this energy that lets me have a kind of headstart to my day. If you have tried other options then I think you should definitely look into getting melatonin because it really helps.

I thought melotonin capsules we'ren't available in the UK? I tried to get hold of some before, but I'll have to give it another go! I'm trying CBD oil at the moment without much luck, my sister has had good luck with that, but she's always been less of a cynic about treatments anyway, so I think it's as much of a Placebo as anything... In the winter I have good luck with my weighted blanket, you can get them very cheaply now, I have one I got off amazon and another one for my sofa, I think it's this one this knitted one my daughter bought it for me so I'm not so sure; I think it helps me to relax more. Nothing beats a really boring book though