Waking Up at 2:30 AM & 3:30 AM Lately? (hot flashes, depression, doctor)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
For 2 yrs now, I've had no reason to go to bed or wake up at a certain time, so I could wake up & go to bed whenever I felt like it...no alarms anymore. I generally go to bed anytime from 11pm - 1am & wake up anytime between 7am & 8am.
I'd say in just the past week, one day I woke up at 2:30am, but I did go to sleep at 10pm that night, which is considered early for me. This morning, I woke up at 3:30pm, so I stayed up for about 15 min, then laid back down, but after another 15-20 min, I didn't feel like staying in bed anymore, so I've been up again. I think I went to bed at 11pm last night.
I've never woken up at these extreme early times before & I don't like it. I've never had sleeping issues in my entire life. The last thing I always do before going to bed is either watch TV or be on the computer, in which it's been that way all my life. I've never been the type to take a bath or drink warm milk, etc. before bed.
Is there anything I can do to prevent a habit of waking up at these odd hours?
Get into daily routines, on some manner of schedule. So for instance - breakfast no earlier than 8am, no later than 9am (not including prep time if you make it from scratch). Whatever else you do that day, schedule 1 hour of exercise at some point after breakfast, and before 2pm. If you go grocery shopping once a week, do it the same day and window of time each week. Schedule library visits before doctors' appointments, not after them. Join a club that meets the same time every day/week. If you're a member of a gym, schedule training sessions in advance (even if you aren't meeting with an actual person who's a trainer).
Make SURE to get physical exercise every day. Even if you're disabled - unless you're paralyzed from the neck down, there are physical exercises you can do. Avoid anything with caffeine in it after 2PM, including coffee, tea, soda, chocolate. Also, if you're consuming a lot of sugar during the day, cut back on it. However much it is - reduce it. If you have a donut in the morning and a cup of coffee with 2 sugars, and then dessert for dinner, skip the dinner dessert. Or have something else that is unsweetened (meaning - no artificial sweeteners, or any other kind of added sweetener) for your morning snack.
Have a bedtime routine as well, and try to get to bed approximately the same time every night (doesn't have to be exactly 11, or 10 - between the two is good, but after 11 not good).
Lastly, if you find no relief from this, you might consider a fairly harmless form of depression, possibly from the two years of not having any reason to get up at a certain time in the morning. Not likely that meds or even supplements will be necessary, but just knowing if that's the cause of it can sometimes be enough to snap you out of it
I know that you have always been doing this - watching TV and doing computer before bed (I do too)
but maybe try not using a screen and seeing if it helps. Everything I read/hear says that using a screen before bed is a cause of insomnia, altho why it would suddenly kick in for you at this time, I have no idea.
Did anything happen recently in your life - to make you anxious?
I would not suggest an anti-depressant, as any anti-depressant has side effects, and you may find yourself worse off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forever Blue
For 2 yrs now, I've had no reason to go to bed or wake up at a certain time, so I could wake up & go to bed whenever I felt like it...no alarms anymore. I generally go to bed anytime from 11pm - 1am & wake up anytime between 7am & 8am.
I'd say in just the past week, one day I woke up at 2:30am, but I did go to sleep at 10pm that night, which is considered early for me. This morning, I woke up at 3:30pm, so I stayed up for about 15 min, then laid back down, but after another 15-20 min, I didn't feel like staying in bed anymore, so I've been up again. I think I went to bed at 11pm last night.
I've never woken up at these extreme early times before & I don't like it. I've never had sleeping issues in my entire life. The last thing I always do before going to bed is either watch TV or be on the computer, in which it's been that way all my life. I've never been the type to take a bath or drink warm milk, etc. before bed.
Is there anything I can do to prevent a habit of waking up at these odd hours?
I've been waking up a couple of hours early and I'm fairly certain my problem is due to depression. I'm only getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night now, except that 2 days a week I'll manage to sleep 9 or 10 hours.
You might try taking melatonin and see if it helps you. It works really well for me when I'm not depressed.
OP back. Thanks so far guys. I understand everyone's logic for saying what you did. Routines, I know, are good. I'm a planner by nature anyway. And it's not that I have no reason to get up everyday. I do work a few jobs, just recently graduated from grad school for the second time & have no worries about landing a career because I'm in a very high in-demand field, am overall a happy person who enjoys life, & am in a long-term, committed romantic relationship, & believe in & pray to God all the time who has blessed me constantly throughout my life.
AnonChick, what exactly is the reason for going to the library BEFORE a doctor's visit? I can more understand going to the library AFTER the doctor's because whatever concerns/worries were felt at the doctor's could hopefully help calm any nerves in the placidity of a library.
99% of the time, I sleep fully, straight through the entire night.
Hmm, never had any level of depression in my life. I don't know much about it either. Maybe it's my body hinting that I need more of a stable & better quality work routine. I've successfully had very flexible jobs for the last 2 years now, but I do know that I need a career with much more stability, longevity, benefits, retirement options, etc.
On the other hand, if I had no specific schedule of when to get up or go to sleep, BUT money was no object in my life, I'm sure I'd sleep a bit more soundly!
OP back. Thanks so far guys. I understand everyone's logic for saying what you did. Routines, I know, are good. I'm a planner by nature anyway. And it's not that I have no reason to get up everyday. I do work a few jobs, just recently graduated from grad school for the second time & have no worries about landing a career because I'm in a very high in-demand field, am overall a happy person who enjoys life, & am in a long-term, committed romantic relationship, & believe in & pray to God all the time who has blessed me constantly throughout my life.
AnonChick, what exactly is the reason for going to the library BEFORE a doctor's visit? I can more understand going to the library AFTER the doctor's because whatever concerns/worries were felt at the doctor's could hopefully help calm any nerves in the placidity of a library.
99% of the time, I sleep fully, straight through the entire night.
Hmm, never had any level of depression in my life. I don't know much about it either. Maybe it's my body hinting that I need more of a stable & better quality work routine. I've successfully had very flexible jobs for the last 2 years now, but I do know that I need a career with much more stability, longevity, benefits, retirement options, etc.
On the other hand, if I had no specific schedule of when to get up or go to sleep, BUT money was no object in my life, I'm sure I'd sleep a bit more soundly!
If 99% of the time you sleep straight through, I don't think you have a problem.
Sometimes for no reason you wake up in the middle of the night. OK, when that happens, don't view it as a problem. View it as an opportunity to get up out of bed, maybe drink a little chamomile tea, and read something you've been looking forward to reading.
Sounds like you are pretty well balanced young person. Everyone at certain times has a sleep issue small or large....mine hit me after a supposed fibro dx at age 61, I use sleep remedies and sleep good...I'm 78 soon. I have my sleep remedy posted here in alternatives.
To avoid these waking issues, I recommend not being a woman over age 40 something. That's my PSA for the day
Also, avoid hot flashes. They're evil and will wake you up at all hours of the night.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
