whats this - Sleep Disorders Message Board

bluetooth · 12-08-2004, 12:59 AM

for ages now i wake up 4 am every morning and find it hard to go back to sleep although i eventually manage too
i dont sleep through the day
ive tried taking sleeping tablets
i dunno if this is important but i wake up often with a sore throat too?

Uff-Da! · 12-08-2004, 07:17 AM

You lucky dog! You manage to get back to sleep again. This morning I woke up at 4. At 5 I finally decided I may as well get up. That is what happens almost every day. On rare occasions I can get back to sleep if I eat first, but most nights I am only able to get four or five hours of sleep before I awaken, and then am unable to return to sleep. Thankfully, I'm retired so I finally decided that my body would prefer to live on a 12-hour-day schedule. So that's what I usually do now. Sleep four or five hours at night. Then take a three hour nap later in the day. I know the usual advise is NOT to take daytime naps if you want to sleep at night, but I tried that many many times and it didn't work. I just can't go on day after day with only four or five hours sleep.

My doctor suggested that she refer me to a sleep clinic, but I declined. If I were still working, it would be different, but this works for me. Regardless of how little I drink in the evening, my bladder is going to wake me up after four or five hours. And once awake after more than two hours sleep, I simply can't get back to sleep again at least 95% of the time unless I've been up a minimum of four more hours. So what is the point in going to a sleep clinic? It would cost me a bundle and they'd try to push some more meds on me. No thanks!

Have you tried getting more exercise in the afternoon? That might help you sleep longer.

bluetooth · 12-08-2004, 10:29 AM

umm.. well i havent no lol
i remember one example of when i decided to go walk home from college and it took me 30 mins and i dont recall having a sleep afterwards, but then i went to bed at 11, and woke up for 3 mins and went back to sleep
ive tried not sleeping during the day, and most things except the exercise part. even if i dont sleep during the day, ill still wake up. its totally uneccesary

!

Uff-Da! · 12-08-2004, 12:38 PM

Exercise used to help me some when I was younger. Now it doesn't matter all that much. Once the bladder call comes, I'm awake. And the bladder call comes every night. Well, I think I made it seven straight hours of sleep twice in the past year.

You might try exercise several hours before you go to bed. I don't think you'd even have to make it 30 minutes, if you did some vigorous exercise. On those rare occasions I get up the ambition to exercise, I just put a polka CD in the player and dance around the house. That way I don't have to go out in the cold and rain, either. Too bad I don't get the ambition more often. For me, it might not help that much with the sleep, but it could improve my health otherwise.

bluetooth · 12-08-2004, 02:24 PM

I might try the exercise about 5 in the evening or earlier, just some dancing to music around the house, one of my favourites! and i dont have go outside, good point
I get ambition, im on a campaign of loosing weight so itll be useful for two things!

thanks