Sleep Tips- Not waking up at same time so early!

[shootingstar]

I'm losing sleep because my body seems to wake up at the same old time: 2:30 am. I did have some issues with my bed clock for a few days where I wore my watch to sleep until I got the table clock fixed.

But now my body doesn't easily get out of the habit of waking up at that freakin' hr.

I rarely use a clock alarm to wake me up. My body adjusts to waking up around particular times so that I have enough time to change, etc. and get to work.

So I've tried going to bed earlier..ie. even 9:30-10:00 pm. Forget about going to bed much later, I'm not a night person.

[OakLeaf]

I can't imagine you'd just spontaneously wake up at the same time every night unless there was something extraneous waking you up. Maybe try earplugs or an eye mask - not an ideal way to sleep, but sometimes necessary.

[Crankin]

I wake up at the same time at night, several nights in a row. I go back to sleep, though. My body goes through cycles. The time I wake up varies, but I always wake up at least once. And the time is "exact," like 2:17.
Shooting Star, you might have to force yourself to go to bed later for a few nights, to break the cycle.

[shootingstar]

Often I can go back to sleep if I wake up too early. So maybe I have to go to bed even earlier... Which will be quite early.

Oak: I can train my body to wake up at specific times ...to ie. catch an early train or start a super early bike ride..@4:30 am. I used to leave home for a previous workplace site...@5:15 am. I've been like this for most of my adult life. I rarely need an alarm clock. But do at least need a bed clock.

With some of these annoying too early wake-ups, I get a mild short hot flash for 2-3 min. Which has not been the norm for me but then going into menopause isn't totally smooth either.

It is rare for me to go to bed at ....midnight or so.

[lph]

I struggle with sleep problems sometimes, usually caused by too much stress or too many things to think about. They don't have to be negative things, just my head being busy. I'm usually a light sleeper, but stress will cause me to sleep even lighter, wake up at any disturbance, or wake up at the end of every sleep cycle, if I've understood my sleep theory. It sounds like you may have a sleep cycle that ends about 2:30, and you're having trouble getting into the next one. I believe it's common for one's core temperature to rise a little at the end of a sleep cycle too, so the hot flashes may be "telling" your body to wake up.

Right now we're selling a house which means busy evenings meeting new people and having to remember lots of little details, and I have to sleep with an eye mask and ear plugs every night. Truth be told I'd love to sleep completely alone a night once in a while because I sleep a lot better then, but I haven't had the heart to suggest that to my dh yet :-)

Not having an alarm clock or using a different one can make me sleep worse as well, I can be incredibly sensitive to any subconscious idea that I need to "pay attention" rather than just relax and go to sleep.

[spindizzy]

That is my life..for the last 3 years. Go to bed, fall asleep well and quickly and then wake up at around the same time 0230--315, toss and turn until it's time to get up. It's totally peri-menopause's fault. I have what I consider pretty good "sleep hygiene" habits - no caffeine after noon, eat well, exercise a lot and try not to do it too late, go to bed at the same time, try to wake up at the same time, bedroom is cool and dark, cover my clock, have a fan going for white noise. I rarely watch tv. My only downfall would be computer use before bed, but I don't always do that. I'm planning on getting some Gunnar glasses for computer use in the evening. I do notice that when I get my period- that first night is toally bliss and I get the best sleep.

LPH, don't feel bad about sleeping by yourself either. I do it a lot. My sleep is so miserable -I wake up so easily and DH has myoclonic jerks, snores, rubs his whiskers in his sleep- all which makes my poor sleep even worse. DH totally gets it. Many girlfriends I have spoken to sleep alone (sometimes) as well. I think this is something that is more common than you think, people just don't want to admit it.

[Crankin]

Some foods may be calming, some may upset your GI system, and others (caffeine) will keep you up. A panic attack is a sudden surge of physiological arousal that occurs unexpectedly. Think heart palps, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, tingling in extremities. This is accompanied by psychological symptoms like feeling unreal, feeling trapped and wanting to escape, thinking you're dying or going nuts.
We don't know why this happens, except to say that some people are predisposed to them and it is more common in those who experience other types of anxiety. It also runs in families.

[nuliajuk]

I'm losing sleep because my body seems to wake up at the same old time: 2:30 am. I did have some issues with my bed clock for a few days where I wore my watch to sleep until I got the table clock fixed...

So I've tried going to bed earlier..ie. even 9:30-10:00 pm. Forget about going to bed much later, I'm not a night person.

Delicate question - how old are you? I never had a problem sleeping until my mid-40s when I hit perimenopause. I still wake up in the middle of the night if I'm stressed about something.
Going to bed one hour later actually does seem to reset my body clock somehow when I'm struggling with a long bout of insomnia.
Try valerian as well. I find I can only take it for 3 or 4 nights at a time, because then it starts working a little too well, and I have trouble getting up.

[shootingstar]

Am 53. Interesting reading all the things that people try. Will look into this.