I’ve been a horrible sleeper since childhood. I’m not sure I’ve ever gone a whole night without waking and very rarely with only one time waking up. In fact, I wake up 4 or 5 times during a normal night and find it very hard to fall back asleep every time. After decades of this, I’ve found the best way to deal with it. One of my biggest problems is that when I wake up, my mind starts to churn (that old monkey brain). What I do now (after a preemptive pee) is grab my phone, which is set to night mode and play one of two engaging but non-stimulating games. One is word based and one number based, so if one doesn’t keep my mind from wandering, the other probably will. After 5 minutes or so I’m ready to try sleeping again. If I don’t drop off within 10 minutes, I repeat.
I resisted doing this for a long time since conventional wisdom says no screens, but this has helped me so much, and much more than reading. The 2 games are solitaire and Wordscapes.
I’ve never found a medication that both works and does not have serious short-term or long-term side-effects. I do use them, but I know they are affecting my speech.
So this has been an interesting past few nights. I ended up staying up much later than usual, and instead of waking in the 3-4 am range, I awakened at 6 (as usual). One morning I got up, but only had had around 4.5 hrs of sleep. So this morning I went back to sleep (weird dreams and all) and got up around 8. But I found that it feels like I’ve lost the morning. When I get up between 6-7, I have coffee, read my emails, watch the morning news, and after an hour or so, its still nice and early. This morning it felt like I’d lost a chunk of the morning, as its now almost 10!!
Why did my kid have to tell me that he’s leaving Bonaroo tonight? wide awake
I’m at CDG airport in Paris, waiting for my flight home. I may be joining this thread for the next week.
@jym26 this past week I have changed to going to sleep later, like 1 am. That way I can at least make it to 6. When I go to bed at 11 I wake 4-4:30.
It’s 3:38. Going to try to get some sleep. Too many things whirring through my head.
I’m awake when I want to be asleep. Why?!?!
Up at 5 but off to the airport.
@Youdon_tsay where are you?
Drove solo from GA to MD today. Fourteen hours with stops and a nap. Got home at 10 pm, and it’s 5:17 am now and I’m still on adrenaline.
So much to get done.
Having a bad spell with sleep, partly due to pain. Maybe 11 to 4 or so each night. Ugh.
I’m here, but now it’s after 6. When I am up in the middle of the night, I try not to go online other than do the Spelling Bee. 
I’m at Genius so will try to go back to sleep.
I’m dragging today. Should have gone on this thread when awake with a Barn owl outside our window screeching every few minutes all night. Should post for our dog, too. She was freaked out by it and spent the night under the window on the rug.
@Youdon_tsay I should have popped in again! I was up til 6:30. Have just assumed a major leadership position at my synagogue and my stress level is skyrocketing. So many ‘surprises’ keep popping up.
Have been in a different time zone - always messes with sleep.
Air conditioner noises in adjoining apartments/houses are keeping me awake. I have tinnitus and hyperacusis and need a cabin in the woods!
ACK! We got home from the airport quite late last night. The CD alarm clock I haven’t used in years, but used before we left a week ago b/c we had an early flight, went off at 5 am this morning!!! And I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off so apparently hit snooze and it went off again 5 min later!!! NOOOO!!
Wide awake. Ugh
I was awake from 2-3 but didn’t come on here. Started the Spelling Bee instead. Thankfully, I mostly slept through to 8:30. Sleep app says I slept 7 hours and 6 minutes, but it was more than that.
Have been up til 3 most nights for most of this month. Synagogue stuff has been all-consuming, and more disturbing than I expected. I quilt in the wee hours for stress relief. Or play Snood.
I’ve been up since 2:30 (now 3:30). Don’t know why. We have guests coming tomorrow to stay with us for a week here at the cabin. I have a lot to do tomorrow before they arrive and need my sleep. My mind isn’t racing. I’m just awake. So frustrating.