Problems Sleeping @ Night

Do you take Melatonin when you wake up in the middle of the night?
How many mg. ? I've seen they sell 3 mg 5 mg and 10 mg. so I dont feel bad taking another 3 mg if I need it. lately I've stopped taking it when I go to bed and only take it if I wake in the middle of the night.

Hyland's "Calms Forte" for adults.
Or,
Chamomile tea
Or,
a warm cup of milk
And, no caffeine in the later afternoon.
Or,
deep breathing techniques (look it up online),
Or,
meditate

You need to be able to still your mind... and relax.
Some people can't do that because they think they always have to be doing something and even when trying to sleep, their mind is making a to-do checklist in their heads.

I remembered hearing about this as a normal sleep rhythm, but because we're not used to it, it freaks us out and we fight it. I found this article. Don't know if it'll help, but maybe it'll lessen your stress about it and you can use the hour in a relaxing way - http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/1109-bustin-the-8-hou...

shoot, I had a good long answer and hit the wrong keys at the same time and my entire answer disintegrated!

Stay up a little later, take your melatonin about a half hour before bedtime. Eat some fresh cherries while they are still in season (they really help).

Could you just take an additional melatonin?

This used to happen to me, and the culprit was allergy medicine that had sudefed in it (claritin-D, zyrtec-D, etc). Even if I took the claritin-D in the morning, it's a slow-release formula and the decongestant in it would affect me at night, 14 hours later. It also happens if I have caffeine after 6PM. Make sure you have cut any kind of stimulant like this out of your diet.

Strangely enough, alcohol also does this to me. That doesn't make any sense because it's a depressant, not a stimulant. But it does anyway.

There is a new sleep medicine out that is non-habit forming, silenor. It's actually an antidepressant from the 50's & 60's but at an extremely low dose, 3 mg or 6mg. I took it and it does work, doesn't leave you groggy the next day.

I was going to bed at 10:00 and waking often at 4:00 or 5:00 and staying awake for an hour. Now, I just stay up until 11:00 or 12:00 and I sleep through until morning. As we age, we don't need the same amount of sleep that we used to. I also sleep better with more exercise.

See if your Dr. will check your magnesium levels - low magnesium can really mess up your sleep.

Exercise. A rest inducing night routine, and possibly 3-4 days of some sort of sleep aid to break this wake up cycle. You can re-train yourself to sleep through the night, and then not worry about it.

good luck,
F. B.

This has happened to me for years. I started taking about 1/4 tablet of an antihistamine whenever I wake up at 3:00am. I actually chew the 1/4 tablet so it hits my system fast. That's a very small dose, so it's very safe and it does the job for me. I like Chlortrimeton over Benedryl...it doesn't leave me light headed in the morning.

I used to have this cycle for awhile.
I was stressed but wasn't really aware of it.
I did my best to combat this.
I limit my caffeine intake, didn't drink any alcohol, talked to friends regarding my stress and most importantly tried to workout/exercise more!
That was the only thing that truly made me tired enough to sleep & get into a deep sleep that lasted.
Also, I worked on the problem that was causing me this immense stress.
I finally worked through it and my sleep habits changed for the better!