Insomnia

I listen to a faily boring podcast and have the volume on low and set the sleep timer to 30mins that usually does the trick for me !

my problem is I wake up 4-7 times a night. Don't have too much trouble getting back to sleep but never feel properly rested in the morning.

I am the same. My friend has the same problem but instead lying in bed tossing and turning, she gets out of bed and does her ironing …..

Yes! often awake at 3 am, seems a very common affliction once we get to a certain age. Last resort, I put ear buds in and listen to a podcast or something on Audible. Once upon a time before the menopause, I hit the pillows and that was it until 7 am, those were the days

Tuinoma

Same here. If i wake up before 4am i make a cup of sleepy tea and watch 'Gone Fishing' on iPlayer. Usually works for me.
Good luck.

I think ‘gone fishing’ would make the most dedicated insomniac into a Rip Van Winkle, 😂 Sorry, I’m not making light of it, as I am a sufferer myself, although not as bad as many on here.
Bluebell is right - if you can avoid worrying about it, so much the better. I read somewhere that your body will get as much sleep as it needs over time, even if you think it’s not enough.
I find that if I can carry on with my life, and tiredness doesn’t stop me doing anything day to day, then I tend not to worry. Easier said than done, I know.

I agree, sleep masks essential 👍

I recommend sleep headphones. They are basically eye masks with small flat headphones built in, so you can lie on your side and listen to whatever you like with the full benefit of stereo and without waking your partner if you have one. They also block the light, or you can adjust them so your eyes aren't covered if you prefer to be able to see in the dark.

The best are made by Snoozeband, but they are expensive, so I recommend getting a cheap pair (they start at about £15 on Amazon) to see if you like the concept before investing £120 or so on a fancier one. The cheap one can always go in a hospital bag if you keep one packed 'just in case'.

They are rechargeable, and you bluetooth them to your phone (which is very easy to do - you just press a button), then you can play music, stories or hypnosis tracks from there. I use sleep hypnosis or things like rain/beach/river sounds (these are built in to some models), and it really does work. I was staying at my son's house on Friday and forgot to pack one, and I really noticed the difference.

Gerd is a silent awakener for many people, the acid quietly slides up the oesophagus and awakens. Two things to try, make a sloping nest of pillows so that the acid cannot so easily slide up, the slope has to be from waist to head. Also eat lightly for the last meal and have it very much earlier than you think. Many people don`t have enough acid to quickly digest a meal before bed

I first had gerd from age 40 and always cope with it, it does seldom rear its ugly head but I always know why if it does

I have struggled for years with waking up between 2 and 3 am but have finally sorted it and have been getting much better sleep for quite a while, between 6 and 7 hours, still with a wee break at 3.

My old bose radio has been a Godsend, it has a remote and I keep it about 10 feet from my bed. It has a timer and one push of that turns it off after 15 minutes. The downside is that this bose has a light, it does dim with darkness but not enough. Last night I covered the light completely but checked that the remote still worked. Last night I finally slept a full 8 hours with a 2 minute wee break at 3

What wakes me at 3 is not wanting a wee but a feeling of heaviness, my internal organs and the force of gravity. Getting up at 3 settles those organs, I raise my pillows and go back to sleep

No other electrical appliance on in my bedroom and especially nothing at my bedside, my phone is always downstairs

My last meal? usually light like soup and a lactobacillus yoghurt that I make, with nuts and berries. All finished by 3.30 pm and that is it, no more food no snacks, breakfast is around 7am

I wake three or four times a night, needing a wee (what a strange expression that is). I have an Alexa thingy which acts as my bedside clock etc. I find that asking it to ‘play BBC World Service’ works a treat.

I do not sleep well at all, but a lot of it is waking up in pain, due to my back and knees. So even turning over in my sleep can wake me and lately have had a lot of wretched cramp, which means that I am wide awake and have no chance to go back to sleep when cramp sets in. Even when it stops hurting it can still have sort of judders under the skin, which is a warning to take care of how I move or it starts again.!

So what I have worked out for myself so far is this. If I am awake before 6am, I try to just have sips of water, but dont make a hot drink or eat anything, because once you get into that habit of a drink at 4am or whatever, then even when there is no pain your body has learnt to wake up for a drink!! Absolutely infuriating to wake up for nothing!! I always have books by my bed and now have Alexa, can snuggle down on cold days and have beloved radio 3 on, which helps to blank miserable thoughts of lack of sleep. I try very hard to not look at the computer or my phone for about an hour before going to bed, to hopefully encourage me to sleep better. Then I have varying books around but always have old favourites such as the No 1 Ladies detective agency, which is pleasant to read and quite soothing, and keeps the mind off the problems and worries. If however I feel wide awake I accept it and get up, put my dressing gown on and slippers, and wrap up in a fleece and then either read until I feel a bit more sleepy and get back to bed, or if I feel that I just wont get back to sleep , accept the inevitable and try not to feel annoyed about it. So then to make the most of it I either collect my swimming things and go to Thirsk to be one of the first people in there and help my back with some swimming, or if it is a weekday, get dressed and sort out a shopping list and go off and be in and out before anyone else is up and around. If my back is really bad I will be on here reading posts and writing about things and putting my two pennorth of comments in , which allows me the illusion that I chose to get up so early not just have no option. Now I have found you I know that at least there are quite a few of us prowling about in the dark and we can greet each other at whatever crazy time of day it is now. I have not thought of magnesium and will try and read up about it and see if it doesnt have any bad effects on all the flipping tablets I have to take, especially my diabetic stuff. Whether it is actually something to do with the actual magnesium or whether it is a placebo who knows . Watch this space!

I regularly wake at 03.00 am. I accept that is how it is and have a routine as follows.

Get up look out of the window and think ‘Am I the only one awake ?’ Go downstairs and make a cuppa which I take back to bed. Read my Kindle for about an hour, then settle back down and turn on the app on my iPhone my son told me about called Insight Time, yes an odd name. It’s an odd site to navigate, especially as I don’t pay for it. I then navigate to find an Andrew Johnson half hour sleep talk down, he is Scottish and has a very calming voice/accent. I get snug in bed with one ear phone in my ear and 9 times out of 10 I fall asleep to his dulcet tone. I then sleep for 2 to 3 hours. I did this last night. This I have been doing for the last couple of years and accept it is the new norm.

I also have a half hour sleep in the day.

I've been taking magnesium for over two weeks. I'm getting to sleep more quickly and although I'm still waking in the night to use the loo, I'm going back to sleep within 15-30 mins. Now I'm sleeping better I'm doing more exercise, so I think it all helps

Hope the magnesium helps Sally, please report back. Your shoulder will improve it just takes a while when we’re a bit older.
I’ve got Sciatica at the moment, not too bad but i’m uncomfortable. Here’s hoping you get back to full fitness asap.

Thanks. I have just bought some magnesium as a last resort! I haven’t slept properly since my shoulder arthritis and subsequent replacement. It is better compared to those early days of intense pain when I was waking at least every two hours, so perhaps there is hope on the horizon. I am age 70 if that is relevant and fairly fit and active in other ways. Perhaps when I am allowed to swim again things will improve. Fingers crossed. Unfortunately not swimming has made me put on half a stone, having lost five stone which is also depressing. My eating pattern has not changed and I am very careful in what I eat.

I was awake at 4 this morning, it’s been usual for many years. To avoid disturbing Mr C I used to get up, go downstairs settle on the sofa and read. Sometimes I’d nod off. Now with books galore available on my iPad I stay in bed and read, sometimes email friends, play word games or research. I think BlueBelle is right, no point worrying about it. I tell myself it doesn’t matter, I’m relaxed and resting.

I agree with you utbb. My sleep pattern tends to be 5 hours at night, 3-4 o’clock waking, 30 minute nap after lunch if I can.
Hate it, but I’m still,ok.

I’m awake at 4am every day now since the clocks changed. I can’t stay awake after 9pm either. I feel sleepy after lunch but don’t nap as it makes me feel sick.
Has anyone tried magnesium glycinate I’m tempted to give it a try.

I’ve been awake since about 3am.
It is my new normal, I’ve tried not having an afternoon nap but I am so shattered by about 7pm that I just give in to an hour or so about 2.
I just accept now that my sleep pattern has altered and work round it.
I think it is just age related.

Same here. If i wake up before 4am i make a cup of sleepy tea and watch 'Gone Fishing' on iPlayer. Usually works for me.
Good luck.

I often wake at 3 or 4 am I find the best way is not to fight it not to worry about it just accept it as it is and embrace it I use it to play word games or sudukos and that often makes me tired and I nod off again for anther hour or two
If you worry about it or try to find ways to change it it makes it firmer and more important in your brain and more likely to be come a habit
It’s a myth that we need 7/8 hours sleep each night
It’s because you're trying everything and worrying about it that it’s become entrenched