Last night was the first time in a long time that I woke up in the middle of the night — and couldn’t go back to sleep. Anxious about a problem, it had already been a struggle for me to fall asleep. The same worries gnawed at me as I lay awake staring at the ceiling. I heard our puppy whining through the open bedroom door. I brought her to the bathroom at 3:20am. Back in bed it was a battle to fall asleep again. Basically it was a horrible night. And I didn’t know how to handle it.
In a December 2008 Ladies Home Journal article about the challenges of falling back to sleep, Janis Graham suggests eliminating disturbances that could potentially wake you. In my case, I should have shut the bedroom door and restricted the puppy’s water intake so she didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night. Graham recommends avoiding alcohol because although it makes you fall asleep faster, it can cause you to wake up a few you hours later and it makes it harder to fall back asleep. Finally, the article mentions Zaleplon, a generic form of Sonata. This prescription medication takes less than 30 minutes to kick in and lasts about 4 hours. It typically does not cause daytime sleepiness.
The National Sleep Foundation has a few more suggestions:
- The weather is getting warmer, but that doesn’t mean your bedroom should. A hot sleep environment leads to wakefulness and/or light sleep. Do your best to keep it cool.
- Limit beverage intake so you don’t have to get up to urinate.
- If you do get up in the night, limit your exposure to light. Too much light will make your body think it’s time to wake up.
- If you don’t fall asleep in 15-20 minutes, try to do something relaxing. Listen to music or read a book. Avoid watching the clock and return to bed only when you finally feel sleepy.
I may also try an Advil PM if nothing else works. As always, I would love to hear how you get back to sleep in the middle of the night!
By Emily S.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I am an early riser and am really ready for bed by 9:00 pm. There are many times that I wake up 3:00, fall back to sleep until 4:00, fall back to sleep until 5:00, same old routine almost every night. I usually work 10 hours a day but try to leave it at work. Can you suggest anything? I am a breast cancer survivor of 2 years so have to be careful of what I take. Tylenol PM usually works.
Even mild over-the-counter remedies such as Tylenol PM can lead to a dependency, although I’ve used such remedies myself once in a while. Have you tried cutting back on fluid intake several hours before bed? This has worked for me very well. What about a notepad and pen next to your bed? After I did that, I would occasionally think of something important for the next day, jot down a note, then immediately relax again and not worry about forgetting the “important” thing.
I have been going to sleep easily usually around 10 and then waking at 3:30 and being wide awake, unable to fall back to sleep.
What to do.
Maybe a specific stress event causes you to wake up. Do you have a long list of things “to do” that exists only in your head? If so, try writing down all the “list” items, and that way you’ve recorded the stressful items, leaving you more free to sleep through the night without worrying you will forget something important. Maybe you took a nap too late in the day? Perhaps you ate late in the evening. There are many reasons why you might awaken. Let us know.