Can’t stay asleep

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

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.

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, 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 ?

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!

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

Hicaz46 I do the same Qatar!

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

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

I go to bed 2am, get up at 9am. No afternoon naps.

These stories are so familiar to me. i usually fall asleep ok but wake about 1 am then it's just catnaps.
About once a week I sleep for about 6 hrs and the next day I'm like a new person. Instead of being an old misery.
My husband sleeps like a log 11pm to 6 am and at once is bright and jolly
I've tried melatonin and like other drugs I found the effect gradually disappears.
I might try phenergan.

I have the same problem, wake up about every two hours but this week tried the Clipper Sleep Easy tea and the first night slept for 5 hours! I was so pleased. The second night only 3 hours but I think I had the tea too close to bedtime and needed the loo. It's worth a try.
By the way the doctor gave me Phenergan which does work but gave me a 'hangover' and I didn't want to become too dependent on them.

Phenergan tablets can be taken to aid sleep.
They are antihistamines, only available from behind the counter at Boots.
Well worth a try.

I also wake early. It’s like an alarm clock going of in my head.
Ping!! It’s 6am every morning and that’s it.
When I get too bored, I listen to the radio for a while before going downstairs to make a cuppa.

Welcome to the menopause.
This is now my mode of sleeping too.
Dammned annoying, and a waste of time being wide awake at stupid o'clock, knowing that l will struggle like stink to get up in the morning for work.

I don't know if anyone else has suggested it (no time to read through all the replies!), but I find this very good for getting me to sleep at the start, and also for getting back to sleep after waking. www.doyogawithme.com/content/yoga-nidra-sleep

Icaz46 - Qatar! I have the same problem and try the same distractions suggested here but, sometimes, nothing seems to work.

watermeadow I keep a packet of Phenergan 25mg in the house. It's for travel sickness and short term treatment of sleeplessness. When I get desperate for a full night's uninterrupted sleep I take one tablet about half an hour before bed and I can be pretty certain of getting a full night's sleep. Sometimes I use for a couple of nights and it seems to reset my sleeping habit. Maybe worth a try?

Gypsyqueen what you are practising is a form of transcendental meditation. When you learn TM you are given a mantra which you repeat in your mind and silence all other thoughts. It's not supposed to be used as a sleep aid ?
although it works very well for that as you've discovered.

This has become an ongoing problem for me too. I suggest a good model sound machine for beside your bed. It has been wonderful for tuning out odd noises at night that draw me out of light sleep. I also do relaxation exercises, read spiritual literature and pray for loved ones and the world until I fall asleep. Sometimes nothing works, especially on full moons it seems, I can only sleep badly for about four hours a night.
Saturday nights I take a break from trying, drink a few glasses of wine on "Movie Night" and don't worry about insomnia or much of anything else, lol. Good luck, I think it is not uncommon to have these issues.

@Phloembundle I don’t like to debunk but feel I have to. Paracetamol doesn’t, and never has, helped anyone to sleep. It relieves pain (allegedly) and reduces fever but that’s all. It must be the placebo effect for you but I would hate to think others will read this and take unnecessary medication that is mild but does affect the liver. I would recommend Melatonin, it’s the substance that makes us sleepy and is a natural substance that can even be given to children. I buy it online from the US.

I’ve had this problem for ages, dating back ten years or so after a number of family difficulties. I always need the loo several times. Like others I have tried going to bed at different times, to no avail, though I do find the first sleep before midnight more restful.

My GP did prescribe a short course of melatonin which really helped. This can be prescribed for the over 60”s (!). I am trying to accept my sleep pattern, but it is difficult, especially as I still work and get very sleepy during the afternoon.

But you are not alone and I shall think of all you ladies when I am awake during the night!

I was prescribed sleeping tablets for 25 years by the doctor. After a couple of years I found they were not working too well, but by then was addicted and kept on taking them. Doctor still prescribed them along with my other medication. Finally I decided that as they were no longer working I would try going without them for a few nights. I slept just as well without them, and decided to just give up. I have never taken sleeping pills since. Sometimes I do have a really bad night, but hey ho, so do millions of other people.
I feel OK in the morning after a nice cup of coffee.

I get up, have tea and toast, walk the dog around the garden, watch TV, listen to radio or read etc. until I actually feel really tired again. Sometimes that's four hours later!

I’m the same. Fall asleep about 11.30 then wake a couple of hours later convinced it must be morning. I usually wake up a few times after that with stiff legs which physiotherapist says is due to drop in BP at night. So I get up, visit the bathroom and try to stretch my legs. I then fall asleep in the evening when I’m reading or watching tv. Drives me mad because I had no problems at all when I was younger.

If i can't get back to sleep i get up and wander around the house then maybe sit in bed and read for a few minutes. I think it helps to break whatever chain of thought you were having that kind of gets stuck.