Current Events > Can anybody here knowledgeable about sleep problems help me out here?

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For about the past month, I've been waking up about an hour (sometimes longer) before my alarm is set to go off and I struggle to go back to sleep. This has been happening every day for the last month. I usually go to bed anywhere between 1 AM and 2 AM. I set my alarm for 9:15 AM since my work shift starts at 10:30 AM. One thing I've been having to do during this span is wake up at around 6:25 AM to make sure my niece gets on the bus for school and then lock the door before I go back to bed for a couple more hours. Problem is, I struggle to go back to sleep and when I do manage to go back to sleep, I'm still waking up earlier than I want to and the struggle to keep sleeping continues. On days where I don't have to worry about making sure she gets on the bus and even on days where I'm off work, I keep waking up an hour or two before my alarm goes off and again, I struggle to fall asleep. It doesn't matter what the situation is, I can't seem to go back to bed.

One thing that I keep doing after waking up earlier than intended is having to go to the bathroom. Even on days where I don't drink many liquids (I usually drink pop, water, and milk), I still find myself going to the bathroom. Before I had this sleep problem, if I ever had to go to the bathroom, it would be in the middle of the night, not an hour or two before I'm supposed to wake up.

Another thing: I've had days where I wake up early even without needing to take a piss. I don't know why it happens, but it does. It's not always a bladder problem.

To anyone who has had sleep problems like with what I'm experiencing, what should I do to fix this? I know my situation is a bit weird and complicated, but I'd really like to fix this so it doesn't keep happening. It's having a negative impact on my performance during the day and it needs to stop. Please help.

Seems a little bit of "mind over matter" and anxiety. Your internal clock is used to waking up at those times.

When you're sleeping, the urge to piss is subdued. When you wake up, it quickly builds up.

There isn't much you can do outside sleeping pills combined with sleeping earlier, which will likely affect you getting up altogether. As long as you have to check on your niece, you'll have this issue.

Nonetheless, if it's really affecting you severely, I'd see the appropriate doctor.

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I have tried sleeping pills (melatonin to be exact) along with sleeping earlier. Neither thing seemed to help. I've thought about seeing a doctor, but I'm afraid they'll tell me the same thing you just told me, which is to try a sleeping pill along with going to bed earlier than usual.

You could try an adult weighted blanket. They're fairly cheap on Amazon.

Also, not to sound weird, but sleeping with a stuffed animal might help as well.

I'm no expert, but is going to sleep earlier an option? That way you get enough sleep, and going back to bed is a bonus.

If you go back and sleep, free nap. If not, you're rested and get bonus free time

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Have you tried sleep hygiene? Avoiding blue light toward bedtime, only using the space your use to sleep for sleep, avoiding food for a couple hours before bed-- it's a laundry list, but you can look the topic up.

I've always had trouble sleeping. These days if I wake up early, I just get some stuff done.

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Steffenfield posted...

You could try an adult weighted blanket. They're fairly cheap on Amazon.

Also, not to sound weird, but sleeping with a stuffed animal might help as well.

Never heard of that before. I'll have to look into this.

And as embarrassing as it is, yes, I actually have tried sleeping with a Pokemon plushie (Sobble), but I'm still getting the same result every time.

powerman1426 posted...

I'm no expert, but is going to sleep earlier an option? That way you get enough sleep, and going back to bed is a bonus.

If you go back and sleep, free nap. If not, you're rested and get bonus free time

Even though I've tried it before, I might have to do this more often. It might be my best bet.

If you have to wake up at 6:25 you should probably start going to bed three hours earlier and just starting your day when you see your niece off. You'll get the proper amount of sleep and the same amount of free time. One thing I found helpful is to just go to bed at the same time every day, and once I wake up in the morning I just stay up without even trying to go back to sleep.

I've never gotten much effect from melatonin, but a benadryl will knock me right out, I only used it to consistently sleep at the same time for about 2 weeks tho.

You'll probably also want to start limiting your caffeine and sugar in the evening, and alcohol too if you use that.
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vigorm0rtis posted...

Have you tried sleep hygiene? Avoiding blue light toward bedtime, only using the space your use to sleep for sleep, avoiding food for a couple hours before bed-- it's a laundry list, but you can look the topic up.

I've always had trouble sleeping. These days if I wake up early, I just get some stuff done.

The blue light thing might be a reason why I'm struggling with sleep and staying asleep. I've been hooked on Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled ever since the game came out and that game has a loading screen that's eye-searing blue and it lasts a long time because the load times are obnoxiously long. I've tried looking away at it, but it's like the blue is etched into my mind.

As for food, I'll admit, I like eating a small snack a couple of hours before I sleep. I can't help it, I like to eat (without overdoing it of course).

Cheeze_E_Breath posted...

Even though I've tried it before, I might have to do this more often. It might be my best bet.

Might take a couple days to adjust to getting to sleep earlier, but if you don't have any underlying sleep problems, it's definitely worth trying.

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DespondentDeity posted...

You'll probably also want to start limiting your caffeine and sugar in the evening, and alcohol too if you use that.

This is also good advice. I don't have anything with caffeine or sugar past early afternoon

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How long are you staying awake for at 6:25?

Youre most likely just straight up fucking your bodys sleep rhythm by getting up and about and then trying to go back to sleep for 2 hours

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thronedfire2 posted...

How long are you staying awake for at 6:25?

Youre most likely just straight up fucking your bodys sleep rhythm by getting up and about and then trying to go back to sleep for 2 hours

I'm usually up for about 10 minutes before I hit the bed again. I'll usually sleep for about 5 hours, wake up to make sure my niece gets on the bus, and then try to get another 2.75 hours of sleep in.

powerman1426 posted...

DespondentDeity posted...

You'll probably also want to start limiting your caffeine and sugar in the evening, and alcohol too if you use that.

This is also good advice. I don't have anything with caffeine or sugar past early afternoon

I'll admit, whenever I come home from work, I almost immediately open up a can of pop. I only have one, but I'll reconsider this and I might just start my day with one instead of having one much later in the day.

Also, I don't drink alcohol. Thought I'd get that out of the way.

Cheeze_E_Breath posted...

One thing that I keep doing after waking up earlier than intended is having to go to the bathroom. Even on days where I don't drink many liquids (I usually drink pop, water, and milk), I still find myself going to the bathroom. Before I had this sleep problem, if I ever had to go to the bathroom, it would be in the middle of the night, not an hour or two before I'm supposed to wake up.

Cheeze_E_Breath posted...

As for food, I'll admit, I like eating a small snack a couple of hours before I sleep. I can't help it,

Cheeze_E_Breath posted...

I'll admit, whenever I come home from work, I almost immediately open up a can of pop. I only have one, but I'll reconsider this and I might just start my day with one instead of having one much later in the day.

Diabetes?

MelzezDoor posted...

Cheeze_E_Breath posted...

One thing that I keep doing after waking up earlier than intended is having to go to the bathroom. Even on days where I don't drink many liquids (I usually drink pop, water, and milk), I still find myself going to the bathroom. Before I had this sleep problem, if I ever had to go to the bathroom, it would be in the middle of the night, not an hour or two before I'm supposed to wake up.

Cheeze_E_Breath posted...

As for food, I'll admit, I like eating a small snack a couple of hours before I sleep. I can't help it,

Cheeze_E_Breath posted...

I'll admit, whenever I come home from work, I almost immediately open up a can of pop. I only have one, but I'll reconsider this and I might just start my day with one instead of having one much later in the day.

Diabetes?

No. I don't have diabetes. Or at least I don't think I have it. No doctor has said anything to me about having diabetes.

I don't have any advice to solve your problem, but maybe try troubleshooting with a sleep app that analyzes your sleep motion?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid.sleep&hl=en_US

If worst comes to worst, I'd say try to ask your doctor for a potential sleep study.

Are you feeling tired at all or unusually throughout the day? I doubt you have sleep apnea but who knows. If it's that much of a concern for you it's best to go get tested with a sleep study. The need to pee after waking up that's just a natural thing. It's related to ADH/Vasopressin. At night you secrete more of it so you withhold liquid and then the levels drop as you wake up causing you to want to pee https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8630515.


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Today I'm gonna try some of the suggestions mentioned in this topic. I'm hoping it helps. Sleeping with a stuffed animal doesn't seem to help (I'm sorry Sobble! D: ), but maybe combining it with the suggestions will help.