Difficulty sleeping through the night

Posted by Rod @rek, Apr 11 6:57am

I just found this group and I don't see my issue in the threads. I simply have trouble sleeping at night. I'll lay in bed for an hour or so and then get up and sit for a while, perhaps have a warm glass of milk, and go back to bed. The next time I get up will usually be in a couple of hours and I'll realize that I must have slept during some of that time but it doesn't seem like it. I'll either get up and read or just go back and lay down again and keep cycling this way. I have a sleep tracker on my watch which I know is not accurate but I believe it can indicate trends. It rarely shows more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep, almost none deep REM. Lately it hasn't been able to record any sleep at all. The funny thing is that I don't feel super tired during the day (yet). This has been going on for a month now. Before that, I had taken small puffs of marijuana at night which just did the trick, but I know that putting smoke in my lungs is not a desirable solution, so I visited a sleep coach at the Rochester Mayo last month and was given a method of preparation and diet to follow as well as being encouraged to keep a log. I expected difficulty to begin with because I had been using weed for a couple of years. Things just never improved though. I'm pretty sure I don't have sleep apnea. My wife doesn't notice me snoring or gasping. No wonder. I'm not really sleeping most of the time. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I just don't need much sleep anymore at the age of 76. That just doesn't make sense to me.
I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this kind of problem. I've tried off the shelf sleep aids including hops and valerian and some other elixirs but have noticed absolutely no difference with them. If anyone had a similar issue, how do you approach it? Maybe it's a non-issue and we are supposed to have this occur in our later years.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Sleep Health Support Group.

con123 | @con123 | Apr 12 9:59am

In reply to @cindisue "con123, if you don't mind me asking, what strength of Lunesta do you take? I tried..." + (show)

I take 2mg at bedtime. Helps most with stopping my brain from overthinking so much.

con123 | @con123 | Apr 12 10:03am

In reply to @rek "Thanks for the comments. Yes, I am really happy to be off the grass. While on..." + (show)

Not completely sure, since I've just started it a few weeks ago. I will certainly discuss with my sleep doctor at my follow-up. We were just trying to get me sleeping again, and she wanted me to go ahead and just take it every night at bedtime for now. And it is working. I get what you are saying about gummies - I was cutting mine in 4 pieces and that was good. I think if I took a whole gummy, I'd be comatose! Low dose THC (7mg or less) was good for me.

Rod | @rek | Apr 12 10:03am

No long term effects?

meg8 | @meg8 | Apr 12 10:21am

My pulmonary doc has me taking 3mg of melatonin at night. It helps me most nights unless I am having pain. I would not try this without asking the doc. It could interfere with some other meds that you might be taking. And, also, your doc knows your whole situation.

fukunishi | @fukunishi | Aug 9 8:11am

I had been difficult sleep enough for a long time.I wake up at midnight around 2 or 3 am.I fall in sleep at daytime.I am 69 years old. Is it the cause of age?I try to do exercise at daytime.

noteworthy | @noteworthy | Aug 9 8:46am

In reply to @fukunishi "I had been difficult sleep enough for a long time.I wake up at midnight around 2..." + (show)

my doctor put me on zaleplon, I still get up to pee twice per night.

Justin McClanahan, Moderator | @JustinMcClanahan | Aug 9 10:53am

In reply to @fukunishi "I had been difficult sleep enough for a long time.I wake up at midnight around 2..." + (show)

Hello @fukunishi, I combined your discussion with an existing discussion titled, "Difficulty sleeping through the night" - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/difficulty-sleeping-through-the-night/.

I moved your topic so you could meet other members talking about difficulty sleeping at night and how they are managing it. @rek, @con123 and @meg8 are a few members who have recently shared how they are trying to get better sleep at night.

@fukunishi - what sort of strategies have you tried to combat your inability sleep at night?

leemoore13 | @leemoore13 | Aug 10 5:15am

In reply to @noteworthy "my doctor put me on zaleplon, I still get up to pee twice per night." + (show)

I was also waking to pee but was put on tablet called Betmiga....there are several alternatives I think. It helped but I also need to stop drinking any fluids after 7....there are also some excellent sleep hypnosis soundtracks on YouTube.....I find Nicholas Wright's titled Deep Sleep Hypnosis to fall asleep fast particularly good..
Good luck!

noteworthy | @noteworthy | Aug 10 11:56am

lee moore13
Thanks Lee I will look it up.

csherman66 | @csherman66 | Aug 11 12:00am

You mentioned that smoking a few hits of weed helped but dont want to be smoking and negatively affecting your lungs.

Have you thought about taking gummies? One of the responders to people having problems getting a night's worth of sleep, mentioned: " I get what you are saying about gummies - I was cutting mine in 4 pieces and that was good. I think if I took a whole gummy, I'd be comatose! Low dose THC (7mg or less) was good for me." Worth a try.