broken sleep

[cocopops]

Hi All, I often wake up in the mid of the night and cant get back to sleep, can anyone suggest something as Im knackered by the time I have to get up...also Im finding that Im often hungry for food during this time and when I finally get up to eat something (normally biscuits) i tend to fall back to sleep.

[bensmum]

Do you have something to eat before you go to bed? If not it might be worth trying that for a while to see if it helps. The usual suggestion is not to lie there trying too hard to get back to sleep as this can make it worse but to get up and do something. The problem is that when you have to go to work the next day you are shattered (as you know from experience). You could also try a herbal remedy to help you sleep - I have never tried these but something like Nytol or Kalms might help.

[cocopops]

Hi bensmum.
Thanks for your response. I normally finish my eve meal between 7-7.30pm and dont usualy eat again unless I wake up in the night for snacks. I usually go to bed at 11pm. This does not happen every night but usually at least twice in a week and its a pain! I have not tried getting up and doing something although I have taken Nytol once or twice !

I may try having a snack just before bed and see if this works.

Thanks again!

[Schutzengel]

Hi, I had the same problem. It's called night-starvation. Since having a Horlicks drink (made with hot milk), just before bed-time the problem has disappeared. It might be worth a try.

[liquidspace]

I had that last night, woke up around 5 and couldnt get back to sleep. Was hungry but didnt get up to eat anything. It's tough when you have to get up for work in the morning. I keep forgetting to make my horlicks!

[BillySugger]

I've had similar problems myself , a couple of slices of marmite on toast an hour or 2 before I crash seems to help .

[jenniferwren]

Hi - middle of the night sleeplessness is the bain of my life. If you read all the help topics on this there are quite a few things to try i.e. do not have caffiene or wine before bed (at least 3 hours), make sure the atmosphere is good in the bedroom, i.e. warm enough, window slightly open. No lights (I even cover the alarm clock so that the light does not disturb me). Have camomile tea before going to bed, there are a couple of other ideas, meditation is good if you can achieve it listen to your breathing and hold your breath for 10 seconds before breathing out, if you concentrate on that one thing, you can clear your mind and probably go off to sleep. Something completely off the wall, instead of counting sheep, think of a primary colour and think of all the things which are that colour, example green - grass, trees, etc.
I wouldn't recommend eating during the night, preferably go to bed not feeling hungry. Good luck, let me know if anything works.

[Aprillove]

I seem to remember learning in my physiology class that our blood sugar is at its lowest between 3 - 4 am. I keep a couple of squares of chocolate by the bed - and justify it to myself on medical grounds.

[cocopops]

Thank you for all of your responses!

I shall def try the horlicks and hot milk and also the suggestions from jennfierwren.

Will let you know how I get on.