Waking up during the night

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Gilly889
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:30 am
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by Gilly889 on Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:01 pm

Waking up during the night

I wake up a couple of times during the night always around the same times (within 5-10mins). Sometimes I go back to sleep, or visit the loo, then go back to sleep. Sometimes thoughts creep in my head, and I can't go back to sleep.
I generally go to bed about 10-10.30, and wake sometimes around 1am, wake again at 3am, then again around 5am. Sometimes, I cant get back to sleep if I wake up, and might be awake from say 1am or 3am until gone 6 in the morning, laying awake for anything from one to five hours.
I would really love to be able to sleep right through the night. I used to when I was younger, I could sleep on a clothes line, not any more. I'm 63.
Anybody got any tips or ideas on getting a good, full nights sleep?
Anybody got any explanation as to why I always wake up at the same times?

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Dr Neil Stanley
Posts: 36
Joined: Thu Nov 28, 2019 11:44 am
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by Dr Neil Stanley on Fri Jan 24, 2020 12:33 pm

Re: Waking up during the night

Unfortunately part of natural ageing is that our sleep becomes lighter and more easily disturbed and when we are disturbed there is little 'sleep pressure' to make us fall asleep again. If you are disturbed during the night and don't fall back to sleep within approx 20 minutes the advice is to stop trying to sleep and either turn the light on and read, if that is possible or get up go to another room and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again. You wake up preferentially in your dreaming sleep which occurs approx every 90 minutes or so hence why you wake at apporx. the same time each night.
Dr Neil Stanley
Independent Freelance Sleep Expert

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... tanley.php

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