Can’t stay asleep

I do 478
Breathe in to count of 4
Hold for count of 7
Breathe out to count of 8
Repeat till you
yawn & fall asleep
Works for me xxxx

I do sympathise as I have had exactly the same problem. So much advice is about getting to sleep but that was never a problem for me. Magnesium supplements are highly recommended but unfortunately didnt make much difference for me. I dont know whether it's an age/ hormonal issue. I remember reading that centuries ago people often used to get up and do chores etc then go back to bed.
I think it all depends what your personal circumstances are.
Until March I was working 12 hour shifts. I had one week working 4 days then 7 off. Before the first shift I would wake up at 3am and feel wide awake. I had to be up at 5.30 so rarely went back to sleep. A very long day indeed! On my days off I think I was aware of using my time to full. I still found I regularly woke up between 2 and 4.
I havent been at work since the end of March and for the first time in years the problem has vastly improved. I'm sure its psychological as theres no pressure to sleep,and if I dont I can catch up in the day. I still wake up at those times but i go back to sleep within minutes and wake up more refreshed.
I know there are lots of theories why it can happen from how your body is functioning at certain times to sleep apnea. There are lots of suggestions for remedies so all you can do is see what helps. I do know that a lot of my friends have experienced the same thing.

Glad I'm not the only one!
I have woken up at between 1.30 and 1.45am just about every night since my son was born 34 years ago!
I have managed to train myself to turn over and go back to sleep, but now I wake up round about 4 am!
I now get up, go downstairs and read for a while before going back to bed and back to sleep.
On the odd nights I do actually manage to sleep through, I'm awake at 5.30 - the time I used to have to wake up when I was at work.

I have the same pattern, watermelon, but dont really see it as a problem. I wake around 2, read the news, do the crossword, then settle down and usually go to sleep till 5 or 6.
When I wake up earlier, I feel really pleased that I have extra time with nothing I ought to be doing, noone wanting anything, and can just read, or do puzzles, or look for a delivery slot and plan my next shop!
I am lucky in that I can catch up in the day if needed.

watermeadow, I've found that painkillers before sleep allow me to stay there a little longer. My back injury has woken me after 3 or 4 hours since 2017.

I don't worry too much about it though. I believe that, in the Middle Ages, it was normal to sleep for four hours, then wake and eat, drink, entertain etc. for some time - before retiring for another four hours!

I too have suffered with this for years and I find reading wakes me up if it's a good book I don't want to put down. For a couple of years now go to bed to listen to radio 4, usually news/book reading and find I fall asleep and if I wake up it's on to do the same lol

I’m just the same, Water meadow’ and, as you say, I’m exhausted come the evening. I’ve tried all the suggestions - no coffee or alcohol after 6pm, no electronic items in the bedroom, bath before bed, heavy curtains. Nothing works, and on the occasions I do have a good night’s sleep I’m ecstatic.

Reading always makes me nod off.a boring book helps better than a thrilling page- turner...??

If I'm desperate I take 500mg of paracetamol which sends me off. Don't do it regularly because it bungs me up and I don't want to get to the point where 500mg is not enough. Also, I put the radio on low which is always set to radio 4, and there are often babbling voices which send me off.

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.

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.

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 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’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!

@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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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