Alternative medicine or naturopathy for good sleep?

Question

The first "sleep" from about 11.00pm 2.30 am is fine. Wake up because have to pee. "Second sleep" frpm 2.30 am to 6.00 am difficult. Either difficult to fall sleep or disturbed sleep.

Answer 1

well try peein b4 u go to sleep.try sum lavender oil on ya pilow

Answer 2

Try to get into a routine regarding sleep. Many people suffer from disturbed sleep patterns because they do not maintain a routine. One of the worst things you can do is have a long lie in over the weekend, you actually end up with a form of jetlag on Monday morning.

Don't have the bedroom too warm and try to make sure it is as dark as possible. You might want to try turning the mattress over regularly if you don't and if it is more than 8 - 10 years old even replace it.

If you are having to get up every night to pee try to limit your fluid intake for the hour before bed but don't get dehydrated. Keeping a small glass of water by the bed if you do wake up thirsty is a good idea. If you still have to get up (which is perfectly natural so don't worry) try to not switch on the bathroom light. This actually resets your body and may result in the difficulty getting back to sleep, just make sure the seat is down before you go to bed and sit down in the dark. A quick wash of the hands and go straight back to bed and lie down. You should find you fall back to sleep quite quickly. If you don't drop off don't lie there thinking, get up and make yourself a cup of warm milk or hot chocolate. Try to keep the lighting low if you can. Sit in a comfy chair, drink your drink and relax, when you feel sleepy again go back to bed.

One thing to remember is a full sleep cycle is 90 minutes long, you may well rouse after that 90 minutes or perhaps after 3 hrs. Some people get on fine with 4 sleep cycles (6hrs) others need 1 more or less and a few rare folk can live quite happily with only 2.

If this disurbed sleep is causing you problems with work, relationships, driving etc then please seek qualified medical advice.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

I wouldn't personally mess around too much with taking melatonin. Def. not long-term.

It seems your pee session disturbs your sleep so maybe you could try not turning the lights on when you go or alternatively pissing into a bottle near the bed (if that doesn't upset your partner!).

Other than that - you could try to increase exercise in the daytime but not the evening. Forget the alcohol (as another person recommended) - it will reduce REM sleep.

If you are waking early say 0400-0600 when you don't need to - that is a classic sign of depression :(

It seems that the pee sessions are what is messing your sleep up - so sort that out and see what happens.

Answer 4

You can take this supplement called Melatonin to support sleep I always thought supplements like that were a total joke, but this stuff really works. It will help you fall asleep (usually about 1-1.5 hrs after taking it) and let you sleep through the night. it is a synthetic hormone, which is naturally found in the body, and some people don't have enough.

It can be bought and any health food store, supermarket, or pharmacy.


usually start with between 1-3 mg, adjust dose as needed, and speak to your doctor before starting any medication

Answer 5

Don't drink anything after 5:30 pm. Try walking around the block
before bedtime or some type of exercise like sex.

Answer 6

There are a lot of great articles and information on how stress can effect sleep at ( http://www.reducingstress.net ). there are also many tips for solving the problem. Also, there is also a link to the stresseraser which is a great biofeedback device that can help you get to sleep.

Answer 7

neither of them.just peace of mind.

Answer 8

Whiskey nightcap.