Waking up in the middle of the night - every night!

[Anonymous]

I have no problems falling asleep. However, every night, like clockwork I wake up between 2 and 3. I can't get back to sleep so I'm awake a couple hours or more before finally being able to fall back to sleep. Any ideas or suggestions?

[Anonymous]

No suggestions but I'm the total opposite. I can never fall asleep but once I do I have no problem staying asleep. Hence why I'm posting at 3am.

[Anonymous]

I was woken up by my 6 year old. She immediately fell back asleep. Me--here I am! Ugh.

Op---do you wake up to pee? If so, try drinking more water in the morning and less at night. Are you hot/cold? Check if your thermostat changes at a certain time, hence the regular wake-up.

[Anonymous]

You need to see an M.D.

[Anonymous]

How old are you OP? I found that when I hit my mid-forties (I'm almost 48), I began having short episodes of insomnia where I'd wake for a period in the middle of the night.

[Anonymous]

^^ meant to add! and I've read it's hormonal.

[Anonymous]

I do the exact same thing. So annoying.

[Anonymous]

Do you drink alcohol before bed? If so, the alcohol metabolizes and then the sugar crash when it's all out of your system can wake you up (or something like that, I'm not a doctor but I know my doctor told me this, more or less).

[Anonymous]

I've heard that age has something to do with it. I'm in my mid-forties and yes…there is a anthropological theory I read somewhere where they think it has to do with the protection of the group. If the middle-agers wake up in the night, they are more likely to hear danger. Then they drift back to sleep.

As a tangent, looking at natural selection under the idea of what helps the group or family explains a few behaviors or conditions. Menopause, for one! Also the sensory-sensitive individuals on one side of the bell curve, and the sensory-non-sensitive individuals on the other side--this has been documented in horses and other animals who hang out in groups. The theory is that sensory-sensitive animals are quicker to find prey or detect predators, and the sensory-non-sensative animals are quicker to jump in to defend the group or jump on that prey animal.

Oh, also left-handers as being better at warfare (because all are used to fighting right-handers) and also color-blindness in men--they can see the shape of the animal through color-camoflauge…better to have one of them in the group of hunters, but not all of them.

Ok yes I know I have no cites; these are just theories I've read, and I'm just doing a quick ramble because I think it's interesting!

[Anonymous]

I fall asleep right away and wake up ten minutes later. This happens every single night. I usually fall back asleep in 15 minutes or so but its really odd. Its like I get a ten minute pre-sleep. Whats that about?

[Anonymous]

OP, what have you tried so far? Regular exercise, cutting out caffeine (or cutting it out after a certain time), moving your bedtime?

I hear it's normal to be awake for a while in the middle of the night, especially if you're going to bed early. (By "I hear" I mean "It was on NPR" -- this is DC, after all. )

Also, falling asleep right away can mean that you're overtired. Then you wake up once you're somewhat rested, and you have trouble going back to sleep.

I find that getting up to pee is actually helpful -- I get up, do something that makes me more comfortable, and go back to sleep pretty quickly. Nights when I just wake up, I am awake for much longer while I run through my list of things to worry about, including "Why can't I sleep?"

[Anonymous]

Hormones. Are you perimenipausal? When I wake up, I immediately take 1/2 a Benadryl. I'm up for hours otherwise.

[Anonymous]

This is me every night and has been for the past few years. I'll be 40 next year. I wake up between 2-4 every morning. I usually have to pee and even cutting off liquids at dinnertime doesn't seem to work. Sometimes I am up for an hour or two so maybe I will invest in some Benadryl.

[Anonymous]

I've had periods like that. I listen to the radio by my bed -- there are interesting shows from around the globe on at that hour.

OP, try taking calcium whenever you eat or drink and see if that works. Report back to let us know. It works for me.

[Anonymous]

I have been like this for 20 years. Started with the birth of DC1.