Sleep Week - post to win prizes! ?

I sleep very well, in fact if they were giving out gold medals for sleep I would have one.

Over the past 15mths my sleep pattern has changed drastically where once I could go to bed read for a short while and not wake unless I needed the bathroom (I have a weak bladder).

Now I am awake every couple of hours with my mind in overdrive,I have the bedroom dark and never have on the TV I live in a quiet cul-de-sac so no traffic noise.I just can't switch off for some reason even I try to not drink after 6.30pm but it does not work I still need the bathroom.

I have tried lavender pillow sprays and make sure my linen is pure cotton and my quilt is light weight all year.

I have not slept through the night since having my children 40 years ago. I have found during lockdown that I am going to bed later and later 2am I have started to get up by 9am at the latest. I often get up to use the loo in the night and do not go back to sleep easily. Also having a hubbie who snores doesn't help.

I generally sleep well with not much difficulty in falling asleep or indeed, sustaining sleep. I enjoy good sleep even, as I do, after savouring a cup of strong barista coffee (a 'must' every evening!) and watching TV - the News at 10, Newsnight or something cultural on BBC4 - generally assumed to deter sleep. However, there are those dreaded spells - episodes lasting a few nights in a row when I wake up at about 2:15 am and then remain awake literally for hours! I never can gauge what leads to these unwelcome episodes or how I should deal with or indeed deter them. Any ideas or comments, anyone?

The menopause has really affected my sleep. Waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat is not great. Hopefully it will be over soon and I can go back to sleeping well.

I have always been a light sleeper, but as I have got older I find I have no trouble dropping off but wake more during the night and find it harder to get back to sleep.

I haven't had a decent night's sleep for more years than I remember. I absolutely have to drink a lot of water during the day and evening, which means my body has decided for itself that I have to pee every 2 to 2 1/2 hours throughout the day and night. I try to be able to find the space for a nap in the day, but the constant waking and having to get up is very wearing, and doesn't leave me feeling raring to go when it's time to get up in the morning. Sometimes I'm even too tired to easily GET to sleep, which sounds a bit topsy-turvey: for those times I find that if I play my favourite music, I'm almost always asleep before the final track.

I go through phases of good sleep and then may have a few nights of poor sleep. I do try and not nod off during the day after a bad night or it perpetuates the problem. I have camomile tea at night and no tea/ coffee after 3.00pm.

I wake up so early. I try to do deep breathing before going to sleep. I have a silk pillow case & sleep sprays. Nothing works to keep me asleep though. I have had throat cancer & this hasn’t help because my throat is always so dry. I wake up & sip water.

I'm normally in bed at 12 and up about 10.15.It takes about one and a half hours to actually get to sleep and then during the night I wake up about 3 or 4 times having around an hour to an hour and a half's' sleep in between. I obviously need a stronger strength of Amitriptyline

I generally sleep well, but think I am suffering a bit from lockdown fatigue and it’s affecting my sleep. Every few weeks I have a night where I just can’t get to sleep, I was awake until 3:30 on Sunday morning. I think there is a straightforward solution though, it is getting my life back post lockdown. My 1st dose of vaccine tomorrow will the first step along that path.

I sleep badly as well. Trips to the loo, but the worst thing is my feet and legs become burning hot and I have to remove the bedclothes until I am cold. My Dr prescribed magnesium tablets so I will see how it goes.

My sleep problems began when I was in the process of splitting from my ex husband. He was having an affair with someone he met on the internet so not local. I agreed to ket him stay in the house as if I'd kicked him out we'd have had to sell the house to get our own homes. He agreed to move into the spare room but not until he got a new bed as he wouldn't sleep on a sofa bed. I knew if I moved in there I'd lose my bedroom and ensuite, so I started falling asleep in the chair downstairs. By the time he'd kitted himself out with a new bed and moved to the spare room I'd got out of the habit of going to bed properly. Eventually the woman moved closer and he moved out but my sleep patterns have never recovered. We've been divorced for years but I still sleep downstairs on the sofa more often than I go to bed. Lockdown hasn't helped and retirement too, so I don't need a routine so much. I end up napping during the day if I've not slept properly at night. I do go to bed if my daughter comes to stay as she nags me about it but of course she can't come to stay at the moment!

There's not a massive amount of sleep happening around these parts! With three teenagers in the house and one with special needs. I'm an incredibly light sleeper, going through the menopause to boot, and my husband is a loud-snoring starfish! We chose some time ago to sleep separately and I've never looked back. My room is cool, fragranced with lavendar, with clean cotton bedding and no light. I still struggle, even with every step taken to help things I'm lucky if I get 4 hours broken sleep ... but more recently found a CBD infused drink (Three Dots) which taste great and are very calming and I swear that they're conducive to a good night's sleep. Since using these I can get 6 to 8 hours unbroken and I'm definitely a better person for it! I'm trying to just use them 2 or 3 nights a week, but they make such a massive difference, I might just have to up the ante!!

I find it really easy to go to sleep but often wake around 4.30. Then I usually resort to variations on counting sheep to get myself sleepy again but if that fails I'll read for a bit. My husband seems to manage to sleep all night even after a post lunch siesta and dozing through the evening to!

I have bi-polar disorder and menopausal night sweats so I sleep badly - 4 hours at a stretch is good. I wake at around 2 feeling great and very wide awake so since retirement I’ve just gone along with this early wakening, and start my day - no noisy hoovering though! Makes for a difficult evening socially as I’m knackered, but not worrying about needing enough sleep for work means I’m generally more relaxed so it’s ok. It is difficult in the winter but I have a SAD light and that helps a lot.

Really looking forward to this. I used to sleep wonderfully until I started having major problems with my bladder a few years ago. They were eventually sorted, but my sleep was forever wrecked.

What destroys me the most is the constant waking up - I feel like I've won the lottery if I get about 3 hours in one go. Waking up every 1-2 hours is very normal. Sometimes it can then take hours to get back to sleep - especially if allergies then kick in and I start sneezing!

I find dropping off to sleep difficult and I wake often. i read an article about there being documental evidence that in Victorian times two sleeps were the norm. So when i wake up now, I get up and do something, have a cup of tea and back to bed for the second sleep. I have stopped worrying about it - think it helps.

I used to be able to sleep for England but not since the menopause. I get panic attacks in the night and my thoughts turn to trepidation. It’s horrible.

My tip for getting to sleep is to listen to a podcast or some sleep music. It works wonders.

I have never been a great sleeper, but the last couple of weeks I have really been struggling as I’m having horrendous pain in my left knee, and it’s waking me up 2-3 times a night. It worries me that I can’t sleep as we’re told poor sleep means poor health. I so would love to sleep through the whole night without waking up at all! I also wish I could fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, but no such luck. Just before Christmas I spent £50 on some sleeping remedies which you spray on your pillow from M&S, but alas it was a waste of money, nothing has changed. I won’t do that again in a hurry?

I fo have one tip that helps me. I read once that people sometimes can’t get off to sleep because their eyes are moving about. The article suggested closing your eyes and then focusing both your eyes on an imaginary point about an inch away from the end of your nose. It worked for me!
I gave up on ever having a full night’s sleep again almost 10 years ago now, thanks to bladder issues. My bathroom is downstairs and this was a big issue when I first moved in, but someone who was aware if my problem gave me a camping toilet which I use overnight to save me trailing downstairs. On a good night I get up 2-3 times, on a bad night, it can be up to 8 times. I usually end up falling asleep at some point during the day! I do worry about my continually broken sleep, as I often read about the negative health effects of too little sleep. I don’t think that there’s much more that can be done medically at the moment, but breakthroughs are made all the time, so I live in hope.
During the night, I can usually get back to sleep after a ‘visit’ as long as they are not too frequent, but it is more difficult in the summer when the sun rises so early.

I use wax earplugs (from Boots the chemist) you warm them in your fingures and then they mould to your ears and muffle sounds so I get a good nights sleep. They say single use but I do re-use them. and they are very comfortable.

I have a history of poor sleep - as a general rule I am lucky if I can sleep more than 2 - 3 hours at any one time and consider myself fortunate if I am able to drop off again before the alarm goes off! I have tried almost everything to improve my sleep pattern to no avail. From alternative supplements, ensuring regular bedtime routines, exercise, healthy eating, mindfulness/meditation etc. I stopped wearing my fitbit at night as I become obsessive with checking how much sleep I was getting or not getting. I am aware I have a stressful job and here's hoping that when I retire from work my sleeping pattern will improve.

I often wake because of night sweats and then can’t get back to sleep. Also my husband snores and that interrupts my sleep as well. I often feel very tired the next day but try not to nap in case it makes non sleeping worse.

As soon as I get into bed I feel wide awake! I struggle to fall asleep - 20 minutes up to 2 hrs. I feel little aches, niggles, mild discomforts, can’t find a good position etc. Wake up at least 3 times during night. Often feel tired in the morning. Never wake up feeling bright or refreshed.
Have tried new bed, different bedding, herbal aids, not drinking at night, eating earlier etc etc.
Nothing changes!