Why do I keep waking up at 3am every morning?

Question

For the past two weeks I have been waking at 3 unable to get back to sleep. It makes me tired the rest of the day. Any ideas on how to get back to a normal sleep cycle?

Answer 1

You have something that is bothering you that needs to be resolved.

Usually, this kind of pattern is known to pre-date depression, so do take care of it.

I am assuming here that you did not change the time when you go to sleep by say 3 to 5 hours earlier. This would make you wake up at around 3 as your body would be rested.

When this happened to me, I took a herb based sleeping pill (nightol) just before sleeping for a couple of days, and this cut the habit and I started sleeping ok after that. But if this goes on, go see your gp and tell him about it.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

So much depends on your age. If your a young person, 25-30 let's say, try relaxation techniques when you wake up at 3:00 am. Deep breathing, tensing and relaxing your neck, shoulders...etc. move your way down your body, all while staying in bed lying down. Tense up a certain area for 10 to 15 seconds and release it. If your older than 35, it could be hormonal. Talk to you doctor about it. Waking up in the middle of the night on a regular basis has been linked to peri-menopausal women. Check out some books on the subject. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Since this has been happening to me for over a year now, and I had just heard of 2 other people I know who said the same thing has been happening to them, I was amazed to see how many others are going thru this. I suppose being awake would be good to pray for someone, but it is so hard getting back to sleep in time to get enough rest before HAVING to wake up for work. Also, I guess the time zones across the U.S. don't seem to make a difference. SO strange.

Answer 4

Try some relaxation before you sleep, leave the computer an hour before you go to sleep ( As the light from the screen can cause disruption ) and have a warm bath and a warm drink of milk. I'm sure you can find more useful information off google but that's what i know :-) Good luck!

Answer 5

I personally wake up at 4am every morning but I do go to bed by 8 or 9prm. I take Melatonin which is a supplement you can purchase at Wal-mart very cheap. Melatonin is naturally produced in your body but as we age it decreases. Take 1 tab about 1hr before bed. It will help you fall into a restful sleep with no morning grogginess.

Answer 6

i have problems sleeping at night too, i usually don't fall asleep until 8am. if i fall asleep too early (around 10 or 11) i wake up around 12 and won't be able to go back to sleep. i finally saw a doctor and he said OTC sleeping pills are horrible (they made me drowsy for about 2 days and i wouldn't wake up to my alarm) so he gave me lunesta and it's amazing! I can sleep all through the night and feel great in the morning.

Answer 7

Get an exercise before dinner, watch a "feel good" TV show before going to bed and don't think of any worries or sources of anxieties since you won't solve them tonight but only tomorrow when you wake up.

Answer 8

Try going to bed earlier, or later, to change the wake up time. If that doesn't work, try some over the counter sleep aid. They work pretty well for me.

Good luck.

Answer 9

do stressful exercise, jog for miles .. make yourself so tired than you will sure drop dead on the bed ... drink a glass or warm milk before you sleep ...

Answer 10

try to clear your mind from thoughts before going to bid