sleep issues - also, best device for tracking sleep?

[lust2hart]

Since mid-January I have been having trouble staying asleep. I fall asleep fine, around 10pm, but wake up at 2 or 3 and can't get back to sleep. This happens at least 5 nights at week. Last night, it was 1:30. 

Usually when I wake up, I am very awake, like I've had a full night of sleep. This is what happened last night - I woke up to use the bathroom and thought that based on how awake I felt it would be like 3:30/4, and maybe I'd just stay up - but then I saw that it was only 1:30 and it's just so frustrating because I know I need more than 3-4 hours of sleep. 

So then I just lay in bed and can't fall back asleep. I'm not stressed, my mind is not racing. I described it to DH this morning as that my thoughts are like a butterfly - flitting around, but not rushing. It's a very similar brain pattern to what happens when I dream - like, the thoughts aren't connected, they jump around from topic to topic, they don't land on a particular subject that I'm then ruminating on. In a lot of ways, it seems like I *am* actually sleeping, but it's the absolute lightest sleep you could imagine - when my thoughts are flitting around like that, it's very easy for my conscious mind to step in and wake me back up. 

Does anyone have any ideas for me on how I can fall back asleep? Every so often I chew a melatonin gummy or two but that doesn't seem to help - last night I had two at about 9:00. I have a white noise machine going. I try to stay comfortable from a hot/cold perspective but DH and I widely differ on what's "comfortable" so that could be part of it - but that has been an issue forever and I don't know why it would all of a sudden be causing these sleep issues. 

I'm going to try not drinking anything after 8:00 for a few days, wondering if maybe if I can just stay asleep that will help (vs. having to get up to go to the bathroom). Any other thoughts? 

Oh, and then also - does anyone have a recommendation for a device to track sleep? Seems like a smart watch is the way I'd have to go; is there anything else? 

[joy]

When this happens to me, I put on a podcast. Soft, melodic talking offers a place for my brain to focus instead of my own thoughts.

Some people will say that talking will keep them awake. Honestly, it quiets my brain enough that it can find sleep again. I usually go back to sleep within 30 minutes as opposed to the 1-2 hours if I just lie awake and wait.

You can try music or biaurnal beats. But, for me, that doesn’t stop my thoughts. I just listen to the music AND my thoughts. Ha.

EDIT: Yes, my thoughts are the same as yours. I’m not stressed or nervous. My mind is just kind of talking to itself.

[doggielover]

Have you tried talking to your primary care about it and getting a prescription for a sleep aid? I have the opposite problem in that I don't fall asleep until usually 2 or 3 in the morning and can sometimes stay awake despite sleep aids.

If I find I can't get back to sleep after laying here for 30 minutes I'll get up and go in the other room because you dwell on not being able to get back to sleep so you end up staying awake and stressing over it (even if you don't think you do).

My fitbit tracks my sleep for me which isn't always accurate but it's good to see the average for me

[mortomo]

I've had that issue for a couple of years now. Mine is most likely hormonal (old) as I wake up extremely hot. It's usually between midnight and 3 a.m. and I rarely am able to fall back to sleep.

I started taking Mighty Night by HUM Nutrition for the skin benefits (it also has valerian root in it to help with sleep). That really helps with me falling back to sleep most nights. Some nights I don't even wake up during that time (or don't remember if I do). I feel like it has made a difference. I also don't feel groggy in the morning like I do with melatonin. Maybe just try valerian root and see if that helps.

I use my Samsung Active 2 watch to track my sleep.

[spindle92]

I have always been a bad sleeper but the last 2 weeks have been horrible.
I am only averaging 4-5 hours of sleep a night with like 6 wakeups.
My Fitbit tracks everything for me and I really like it.

I've had 3 sleep studies done and they cannot find anything "wrong" with me. Medications don't do squat.
so I just want to say I am commiserating with you and when you find a solution, please let me know.

[dochas]

For me it's hormonal. The last bout went on for weeks. In desperation on the weekend I started taking half a Tylenol PM when I would wake up at 3. That did help, but I couldn't do that when I have to be up early. Just as an FYI, it had nothing to do with caffeine or alcohol. Giving up or having a cutoff point had no effect. I have made my own sleep a priority now. I sleep alone whenever possible, demand that my husband does not wake me up and that everyone be quiet when I can actually sleep late on the weekend. For the last few weeks I have been sleeping 8 hours or close to it every night and it's amazing what that feels like when you go weeks getting 5 hours or less.

[msmerymac]

CBD oil? How is your blue light exposure?

[mustardseed2007]

I just started taking melatonin which helps with my middle of then night wake ups but also when I wake up I feel a big groggy, at least at first. And very thirsty.
I think I do have pretty active dreams too which I understand is a side effect.

[lust2hart]

Thanks, all. Last week I had some blood drawn to do a hormone check for another issue - I'm interested to see if anything comes up that could potentially explain what's going on with this.

I could probably make some changes to my bedtime routine, like staying away from screens earlier in the evening, but I'm not sure if that really matters to my issue since I fall asleep okay. I'll definitely talk to my doctor when I have the followup on the hormone tests.

[underwaterrhymes]

Wow.

I had to check to make sure I didn’t write this.

I don’t have any tips (but will be reading all of the responses closely) and send you some similarly sleep deprived hugs. It’s rough.

[Vespasia]

I wake up at 3:30 most nights and sometimes I can't get to sleep for hours. I've noticed that it is way worse the week or so before my period so I think it's hormonal. CBD oil and melatonin help with general sleep issues that I have had all my life but don't seem to touch this. I took an OTC sleeping pill 2 nights ago which then left me mildly tired and groggy the next day.

I wear a Garmin Vivoactive4s and I can tell you that it is absolute crap for sleep tracking, so don't buy that! I like it otherwise but unless I am physically up and moving it generally thinks I am asleep. I don't think the stress tracking is very accurate either.

[mrssandro]

I sleep usually between 6-7 at night during the week. I can't function well with only 5 hours I have learned.

I use the fitbit app for tracking sleep. It really does a good job.

[scout8]

I wake up many times during the night, but most of the time I can fall back asleep pretty quickly. My issue is usually falling asleep initially. The biggest thing that helps me is to never look at the clock. That way I don't get as anxious about the fact that I'm not sleeping which just makes the insomnia even worse.

[k3am]

I'm a really terrible sleeper. Tracking my sleep was actually the worst thing ever.. even when I THOUGHT I was getting a decent night sleep, the tracker would tell me it was a terrible night's sleep, which helped.. nothing.

Good sleep hygiene helps - dim lights for an hour or two before you're going to sleep, cutting off all intense exercise, caffeine, and technology for a few hours before bed, and cutting out alcohol as a whole. The thing that works best for me is THC/CBD though.. it's basically the best way to ensure a good night's sleep, and it doesn't feel like the disjointed sleep I get from prescribed sleep aids.

[mrspez07]

I think mine is hormonal, because I definitely have nights where I sleep better than others thru the month. I also started wearing earplugs or putting them in after awakening, they deaden the noises of other sleepers in my house, including the dog. I think my deepest sleep is until about 2, then I’m more prone to waking to those sounds.
Also, when I do wake, instead of the wandering mind similar to yours (which always seems to be about my current thoughts/to-do list), I make myself think of something from the past, like how many ways I set up my childhood bedroom, the number of classrooms I was in in my elementary/JR high/ high school bldg. stores at the mall I worked, etc. I can’t actually remember all of those, but it gives me something to methodically focus my mind on and walk through that isn’t hard, but also isn’t current things I have to resolve.

[jorja]

I don’t know what it is about them, but the Calm sleep stories have been life changing for me.

I work night shift and my sleep patterns are a mess. I have tried literally everything under the sun, and this is the most effective thing.

[trytobearunner34]

This exact thing has been an issue for me the last few years. The solution for me is to listen to episodes of The Office (a super familiar show to me for which I have seen each episode a zillion times).

I play it through my phone so I can turn off the screen and play the sound only. I usually fall back to sleep by the end of a single episode, though some nights it may take 2-3.

Not a great solution I know, but I have found it to be helpful. Hope you find a solution soon!

[lust2hart]

Apr 30, 2021 11:59:29 GMT -5 artichokie said:

If you are a terrible sleeper like I am, the worst thing you can do is to wear a sleep tracker. You’ll get anxious about how you’re NOT sleeping by having it confirm it for you.

The best thing I can recommend is this app called Nothing Much Happens. Short stores read by a woman where nothing much happens. The woman’s voice is amazingly soothing.

Yeah I had been thinking about that! 

[sapphireblue]

For me, being a lifelong terrible sleeper, the sleep tracker isn't bad at all, I love mine! I don't have a smart watch, just a simple Fitbit Inspire I think it's called.

It does not make me anxious (I do have anxiety, but this doesn't increase it) and I like knowing it wasn't just in my head.

It helps me to not feel guilty if I feel tired, because I can look at my tracker and say, "Well, of course I am feeling tired, I only had 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night."

[RoxMonster]

I know it's not for everyone, but listening to ASMR videos on YouTube helps me fall asleep every single time. I started listening to them at night prior to going to bed, while I was on the couch, to help calm my mind after the day and ease my anxiety. At the beginning of the pandemic, it was the only thing that could take my mind off all my anxiety about it.

Now they just make me fall asleep usually 5-10 min in.

[whattheheck]

Sleep meditations worked wonders for my son.