Waking up through the night

I have suffered from Restless Leg syndrome for many years. Eventually the doctor prescribed 2 x Pramipexole at bed time = bliss and a sound sleep every night. Now the prescription has been reduced to 1 pill per night because one of my other medications is not compatible with the pramipexole. Now I experience the jumping legs and arms every other night or when seated on a long journey. The worst time ever was an overnight transatlantic flight from Canada hours and hours when we were ordered to sit with seatbelts on (due to misbehaviour of a junior football team)

The good thing is that most of us I assume are retired, so there is no stress about having to get up early.

I have now decided to use the time to my advantage and perhaps sort out the menu for the week, shopping, banking balance answer E-mails and even going onto GN as my head is pretty clear at that time of night.

I had a similar problem and started using a weighted blanket which worked for me. I think you just have to try different things to find what works best for you. I do sympathise though I found it so frustrating and was constantly feeling tired.

I have had this problem for a while and posted about it a few weeks ago. I will say my stress situation has improved a bit and my mind is less noisy, one thing I picked up from the GN responses was the CALM App, i now use this to get me back to sleep, I find it really works, I have not yet managed to stay awake to hear the end of any of the sleep stories Sometimes just some of the sounds available are enough. I hope you find something that works for you.

I've been like this some nights since I lost my husband 18 months ago. When I wake up in the early hours I use the Audible app on my phone and listen to a podcast or a book read by someone with a soothing voice, my favourite is Steven Fry. I set the timer for 30 mins and I'm rarely still awake when it turns off.

Have you tried goint to bed an hour later than you used to?

If you wake up during the night, either you don't need as much sleep as usual, or else there is an external factor wakening you, or some unacknowleged worries.

Have you neighbours who have changed their routine? Maybe working shifts and leaving for work at a time that wakens you, as they drive off? Any sounds in the night that you react to? A smoke alarm "churpping" because its battery will soon need replacing?

Or is there something worrying you?

I have never, ever slept " through "..even as a youngster. It used to bother me but I appreciate it's my normal rhythm.
I found it helpful when I read about the concept of the" Second sleep "
In Medieval ( and presumably, other eras too ) people did not expect to stay asleep all night.
They expected to wake in the early hours. After all ,they probably went to bed at sunset.
When they woke they took the opportunity to eat , work , read , make love etc etc.
They then returned to bed for their " second sleep "
I found understanding this helpful.
I have been known to scrub the kitchen floor before going back to bed for my second sleep.

iF it is about 3 or 4 am then if I need the loo I go, and back to bed light off and start counting backwards from 1000 in threes. It is good as quite boring and stops me thinking of things to worry about.The other thing I do is have a notebook and pen by the bed, so that if there is something worrying me it is written down and then can let it leave my mind until the morning.

When I am wide awake I just accept it and usually read for a while . Then when I start to feel weary I switch the light off and hope for the best. I take a sip of water if I need it but dont make a drink or have anything to eat before 6am. So I am trying to keep to a sensible pattern and not let my body get used to midnight feasts!! If I have had a few bad nghts, I tend to fall asleep sometime in the afternoon, which annoys me as I miss things and dont know how it happens so cannot use that toget to sleep at other times. After 5am I give in and get up!!

This is so interesting and very reassuring! I like the idea of not stressing about it. Does anyone find that red wine helps or hinders sleep? What about warm milk with a splash of whisky?

25Avalon

Welcome to the club. That is the prime time to wake up.
I’ve tried counting and am now proficient at counting to 1,000 forwards and even backwards at a fast rate😂 Thinking of a name of something such as flowers for every letter of the alphabet keeps me awake working on letters I can’t think of a flower for😂 Some of my friends take magnesium supplements which they swear by for a good night’s sleep. I haven’t tried it yet as I’ve not had so many episodes of waking up in the night. It depends what I’ve been doing in the day.

I take Magnesium Citrate, 1 hour before bed. It gives me a good night's sleep. It also makes me regular and not constipated.

I go to bed between 10.30 and 11.30.
I usually have a whisky before bed. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I might try magnesium.

PamelaJ1 Avorstatin have me terrible nightmares

I've heard of the medieval idea of the "Second Sleep" too and find that thought reassuring on any "difficult" nights.

Other things - keeping a lightweight novel type book by my bedside in case I decide to read for a while. Getting up and making myself a hot milky drink (heated milk with a bit of cacao or carob in my case and I sprinkle a bit of nutmeg on top - as that's supposed to be soporific). Occasionally I figure maybe it means I've not eaten enough and, if that's the case then I'll have say a slice of toast with my milky drink.

Also it's helpful to keep a notebook and biro by my bed - in case I get useful ideas or something and then I can get it off my mind by writing it down to clear my mind and make sure I don't forget it by the morning.

It does help to know that most days I'm able to get up in the morning when I decide I will (being retired) and so there's not the same mental pressure of "gotta get back to sleep - as I've got work again tomorrow and must be okay for that").

I read recently that waking up in the night around the same time could be due to a change in blood pressure

Sorry, not blood pressure
Change in blood sugar (as in low)

Yes, that's exactly when I wake up too, usually to go to the loo, and I've started to listen to the radio now as I'm often awake for a couple of hours. I do gradually drift off again and usually sleep very well for three hours or so.
I think that it makes it worse if you worry about waking, apparently in times past it was normal to wake up in the night, perhaps have a snack, and then go back to bed again.

As madeleine45 said, having a notebook by the bed to jot things down does seem to clear any anxious thoughts. I used to do it when I was still working, so that I could be sure not to forget something I'd thought about doing the next day.

I go through phases of it. To break the phase I take a phenergan tablet. Only need it for the one night and it just breaks the cycle. Still wake up to visit bathroom but get back to sleep very quickly.

Don't be tempted to go to bed earlier to make up for it - that just shifts your whole circadian cycle earlier.

Same here. I tried magnesium tablets, but they exacerbated my IBS. So I tried a magnesium skin spray (also has camomile and lavender) It’s taken about a month, but I do find it’s helping. I still wake, loo visit usually 🥴. But am able to return to sleep. Or I listen to a podcast, to stop my brain over clocking!

I too wake up at 3/4 oclock nearly every night. I go to bed between 10-10.30.
It all started when I had a kitten, he’s more settled now.
If something/someone upsets me I lay awake for hours thinking over things!
Also like many others trips to the loo don’t help.
I used to get up at 6am every morning when I worked but now find it difficult to get up before 8.30. Frustrating!!
I’ve never found a solution!!

Me too! I actually think it’s because my body temperature drops so I’ve added a blanket to the end of the bed. I don’t actually feel cold but it’s made a difference.

wlu7 and luluaugust I think I should phone my surgery.

Me too . I just put boom radio on low and wait until I start drifting off again.

Are you tired during the day, op?

I tend to go through different patterns of sleep. They seem to change every 6 weeks or so.
I am currently in the pattern you describe.

Another reassuring chat amongst friends here. I wake for the bathroom at least twice. 3 am the classic witching hour where any wake hour worries seem so much worse.
I’m good at the old relax every muscle thing, been known to count back from 100.
I find a blanket or throw on the duvet helps me back to sleep . The idea of 6 or 7 hours uninterrupted sleep really is LUXORY