At what point in your life did you start sleeping badly? ?

I was a bad sleeper as a child, and was taken to the doctor about it when I was 11. I can’t remember what, if anything, was done. It did improve in my teens, but then became a great problem when I got my first job, after university. I have never slept well since then.

36 years ago when I was first pregnant was the last time I slept through the night. I've learnt over the years not to worry about it. I've tried everything imaginable, nothing works. On a good night I sleep for 4 hours before I first wake up but on a bad night it can be just an hour. Sleep,awake,sleep,awake,sleep,awake. That's my night.

I started having insomnia when my job became very stressful. Due to the workload, I used to wake up at about three, toss and turn, then decide to get up and work. This continued for years until I burnt out. My husband encouraged me to take early retirement and my sleep improved almost immediately.
I still get the occasional restless night but find that if I read a book on the iPad, I usually go back to sleep.

Probably when I went into peri-menopause, I think...mid forties. It was a time of major stress and change for a number of reasons and the peri menopause just added to the mix! Now at nearly 69, I have all the time in the world to sleep, very few responsibilities ...but still can’t manage quite enough! ?

mine started when we moved house when I was about 7 yrs old. Every night in my bedroom a man was hanging with a noose around his neck, swinging by his neck watching me. I told my parents, and even told my teacher at school. Parents moved me to a different bedroom and put my younger sister in the haunted room, so I then could not sleep knowing he was still there and may scare my little sister, so I would creep into her room, even while he watched me, and carry her into my bed every night. Even now I sleep with my eyes open, which gives people quite a fright as they think I am dead too! Anyway by the time I was 12 I could go to the library on my own and I did some local history research, and true enough, a guy had commited suicide in our house by hanging, and I knew it was in the alcove in my room. It was not my imagination because at age 7 I had not watched any horror films or books did not even know what a ghost was. Only worked it out when I was older. So I blame a ghost for my bad sleep habits!

Sleeping deteriorated in my late 50s. Have phases of ok sleep and then a cluster of sleepless nights.

After working 24 hour sleep in shifts in a care home for teenagers for 8 years I can't get to sleep before 2am. Probably because our busiest time was between 10pm and 2am. Once asleep though I do sleep for 7/8 hours. Have tried several ways to sleep earlier but I can't change it.

If sleeping badly means waking in the course of the night, then the answer is when I was born.

As a child I never needed the amount of sleep my parents thought necessary.

As an adult five to six hours has usually been enough. I wake once or twice a night practically every night, and if I don't, I wake in the morning with a stinking headache.

According to my mum I never slept well, even as a baby I would lie awake playing with my fingers whilst lying in my pram, and twirling them around above my head. I still lie awake at night, eye's won't close, and think 'well at least I'm resting' but it takes about 2hrs for me to 'drop off'.
I've learned not to let it worry me, I'm 83.

Seven years ago I developed a cough, it disturbed my sleep, I've had every test imaginable to find the cause but the only thing so far is COPD. It flares up , I put up with bad sleep for a couple of months then I take a course of steroids which gives me a week or so of undisturbed sleep and then it starts again, so now I am constantly living with disturbed sleep.

Since we retired early. Never had a problem sleeping while I was working but now, and especially now, money worries stop me sleeping...

Menopause! it's got a lot to answer for never had any problems before that.

I had always slept well, usually about 8 hours a night until I had chemotherapy for breast cancer. That finished 7 years ago but my disrupted sleep continues - usually I now get about 5 hours if I am lucky; very occasionally 6 or 7!

When my son was born nearly 35 years ago! Thankfully he only ever woke up once in the night - either round about 1am or at about 4am. I still wake up at 1am even now!
I also used to have to get up at 5.30am when I was at work. I still wake up at that time several years later!

In my thirties it got a lot worse. Stress of working full time, two young children, relationship problems.

I never slept well. As a toddler I would stay up till I fell asleep. Sometimes I can’t sleep at all. I will sometimes fall asleep but wake up and can’t go back. It’s like I’ve lost the switch. My son also has trouble sleeping as so two of his children.

My sleep pattern started when I had children - the 3 hour cycle of feeding never seemed to have left my body - and the fact you always kept 'one ear open' listening out for them. I do sleep a little better - but have 3- 4 hour bursts of sleep between waking.

I started sleeping badly, definitely after having children. Patterns developed from less sleep, broken nights, becoming an extremely light sleeper. This just went on for years before I was able to break the pattern once the children all left home. It took years, but fortunately, I had never resorted to sleeping pills so at least I didn't have that pattern to break also.

Since menopause ( about 13 years ago) I’ve suffered from poor sleep. The pandemic has not helped and neither has the fact that my husband was diagnosed with a very serious illness last year. I’m usually too hot, my bunion aches, my joints ache, my ears get sore, I sometimes can’t get off to sleep as mind too active. I get up to the loo once or twice. I toss and turn all night and I now often dread bedtime!

I was a sickly child and have vivid memories of trying to sleep on my father's (hairy) chest. He would drift off to sleep and I would still be wide awake - I would then prod the poor man awake again.

I have always been a poor sleeper and think that it may be hereditary. My mother slept badly as does my sister, although she resorts to sleeping pills (in the USA).

Our two daughters are chalk and cheese with regards to sleeping and I am positive that one has inherited my sleep genes (terrible) and the other, my husband's, whose head hits the pillow and almost instantly is in Dreamland. I hate them both!

I always loved my sleep until 2 years ago after an illness & during it, I just was unable to sleep. So as to avoid waking my husband I used to go down & watch tv into the early hours. After I recovered I had to retrain myself to sleep again. Now I only drink herbal teas with camomile in after say 6pm, try & do something active in the day & yoga. I spray the room with a mix of lavender oil & rosemary

I have always slept poorly, even as a child.

In my late sixties, following being diagnosed with Bells Palsy I became very restless at night, possibly because I had to sleep with my right eye tape shut for a number of months and thereafter seemed unable to revert to my former fairly undisturbed sleep routine and now in my seventies, the situation has worsened by needing frequent nightly loo visits.

Definitely sleep worse since the menopause - normally about 6 hours a night rather than the 8 I use to have. I have tried everything from blackout curtains to hot milk and warm baths. I do find, however, that CBD oil helps.

My poor sleeping pattern began when my husband started snoring, compounded by allowing our pet to get on the bed.

If I'm allowed peace and quiet, I wouldn't have a problem getting a full night's sleep.