Insomnia

[kenmbz]

I fall asleep easily while reading, but wake up multiple times and it takes me a looong time to go to sleep.
3-4am seems to be a pretty standard time for me to wake up no matter what time I go to sleep.
It's rare that I am sleeping when the alarm clock goes off.
I don't drink any coffee past 12 and does not seem to matter if I have a glass of wine or a drink with dinner.
Tried eating earlier etc. no change.

Not sure what to do, sometimes get leg pains, which does not help.

 

[5030]

Our pup tends to wake me up when he gets on the bed and 'makes room for himself' which is usually part of my pillow. Good cuddler and don't fart either.

 

[MossRoad]

About 8 years ago I got put on a night shift of 7pm to 3am. I'd get home at 3:20 and be in bed by 3:30. For some reason, I was almost always able to squeeze my eyes shut and tell myself to go to sleep. POOF! I was out until about 10:00am. That job ended 3 years later, and I've probably only had a couple dozen long night's sleep in the past 4.5 years. My wife is nice enough to let me sleep in on weekends if I'm out, but most times I'm up before 6:30am clock or no clock.

 

[5030]

One form of irritation for me is my renter next door. He has a Dodge diesel pickup with a straight pipe on it and when he comes by out front on the road, it wakes me up. Sounds like a big vacuum cleaner. I've nicknamed him 'Hoover'. I even call him that when I talk to him. I don't usually sleep that late as a rule but if I do, he always wakes me up.

 

[MossRoad]

We have two cats. The little guy will come to bed with me if it's after 1:00am and sleep all night. If I get up to go to the bathroom, he'll hop off the bed in front of me, walk me to the bathroom, then go have a snack from their food bowl down the hall. When I come out, he follows me back to bed and curls up by my chest. Sleeps all night.

The other cat, however, is nuts. She'll come on the bed and make little mrrp noises in your face for no apparent reason and walk all over us. If you try to pet her, she slinks away. You roll over and she's back in your ear. I'll throw a pillow at her and she'll leave for 2 minutes, then back again. Only way she'll leave is if a car goes by on the road and she sees the headlights. Then she runs to the living room and chases the reflections on the wall. Did I say she's nuts?

 

[MossRoad]

Kinda funny what wakes people up.

We live near two rail lines and an airport, but it's someone playing soft music somewhere outside that will wake me up, not the trains or jets.

 

[tradosaurus]

After another sleepless night, I woke up to this thread. How appropriate.

My father has a notoriously difficult time sleeping at night, and I'm afraid I've inherited it. For me, I think it's correlated with stress. I have NO problem falling asleep at night (usually out in 5 minutes). The problem is I wake up at night after 2-4 hours of sleep, and then have slept enough that I'm somewhat rested/awake and then it takes me 2-3 hours to fall back asleep. Usually the problem is I can't turn my brain off. I get thinking about things I need to do for work, etc. and it snowballs from there.

Counterintuitive to some of the other suggestions, I find watching a show actually help, as it distracts my mind enough to where my body starts to relax and I can get back to sleep.

Regardless the reason, it's no fun. I know that about once every 2-3 months, I'll get a solid 8 hours of sleep without waking up once at night. It's absolutely amazing how much better I feel after those nights of sleep.

 

[Oaktree]

Does anyone wake from sleep in the very early morning darkness to a profound quite?

Laying perfectly still, the only sound, almost inaudible, is your own breath?

Not in the summer. There's a flock of crows around here that start squawking loudly at first hint of light.

Could it be that I'm not the only person who can't stand the stuff?

Don't drink a lot of soda anymore, but Mt. Dew (and Moxie, which these days is unobtainium) are about it. Mostly water or tea.

 

[pmsmechanic]

The best thing I did for getting a good night's sleep was to install a cheep digital clock high up on the wall in the bedroom. If I wake up and think it's time to get up I can lift my head and see what time it is....... 1:30!! It's way to early to get up. Just think sleepy thoughts and go back to sleep. Works awesome for me.

 

[Cougsfan]

We have two cats. The little guy will come to bed with me if it's after 1:00am and sleep all night. If I get up to go to the bathroom, he'll hop off the bed in front of me, walk me to the bathroom, then go have a snack from their food bowl down the hall. When I come out, he follows me back to bed and curls up by my chest. Sleeps all night.

The other cat, however, is nuts. She'll come on the bed and make little mrrp noises in your face for no apparent reason and walk all over us. If you try to pet her, she slinks away. You roll over and she's back in your ear. I'll throw a pillow at her and she'll leave for 2 minutes, then back again. Only way she'll leave is if a car goes by on the road and she sees the headlights. Then she runs to the living room and chases the reflections on the wall. Did I say she's nuts?

Cats are indeed the weirdest animals. They do have different individual personalities, but do have one thing in common: their minds work in a totally different way than that of humans.