I have been waking about the same times each night - about 2 and 4 o'clock. It is very hard to get back to sleep. Any advice for me. I have tried melatonin to get to sleep, but what about staying to sleep?

I wake up between 3 and 4:20 am every night for a potty trip.
I take a Melatonin - 3mg - almost every night to go to sleep;
about 1 hr before. Rarely have trouble going back to sleep tho.
I think Valerian Root is also supposed to be a help to some.
These days I see to have more trouble waking up before 8am.
I hate to get up that late - for me anyway.
You might also try Lavender drops on your pillow case as a help
for returning to sleep; found at a good HFStore.
Good Luck!

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May you always have..Love to Share, Health to Spare, and Friends that Care!

That's interesting elayne. Why? Because I've been talking to my numerous friends about the same thing. Is it coincidence that we each wake up in the 3 am hour every night? Central Texas area. I think something is happening around that time that wakes us. Like maybe a loud airplane or something. Since we are in a severe drought, it could also be that unusual animals are coming from the countryside to try to get water - like coyotes. Who knows?

The other possibility is that it really is just coincidence. After all, older age means more maintenance (same for houses). Nearly all of my friends are "older age". I quit drinking anything by 8PM. But still I have to get up to empty my bladder - around 3:30. I'm still half asleep; so I don't have your problem - mostly.

Since I am still half asleep, I normally sit on the toilet; so I don't fall over or miss the toilet (another story). Not manly I know; but I don't want to completely wake up.

However just recently, I went to the bathroom to discover a scorpion on the wall. That woke me up sufficiently. I got a shoe; and made a mess on the wall. That's the pleasure of living in TX I suppose. Critters somehow get in the house. Since then, I wake up enough to investigate the area. And now I have elayne's problem.

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- Jim

Harry just wrote a new article about Valerian usage for sleep disorders.

Hi Elayne!

I believe there are time-released melatonin tablets available, although I've never used them.

I use "Sleep Blend" SP-17 by Solaray, and buy it at the Vitamin Cottage. Each capsule contains Valerian, Hops, Skullcap, Passion Flower, Dandelion, Chamomile, Marshmallow and Hawthorn.

I have to get to sleep early for work (get up by 4 AM), and I can't feel "hungover". For me these work great! I do use Melatonin sometimes, but only 1 mg, 3 mgs are too much, don't work any better, and leave me hungover/headachey.

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"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~

Lordy Jim, I remember Scorpions from when I lived in San Antonio
as a small child. We were always warned to be sure to shake out
our shoes before slipping our feet into them. Worked for me!

__________________
May you always have..Love to Share, Health to Spare, and Friends that Care!

Scary! I have never seen a scorpion, let alone one in my own home. If I did that would surely keep me up at nights too.

I do have severe obstructive sleep apnea so I know about sleep deprivation and being unable to sleep. I'm treated now and use a CPAP machine to breathe at night and I sleep better, but I'd prefer not having to use a machine at all.

I have personally used Valerian root to help me sleep. It isn't addictive like most sleeping pills, so it is safe to use - even on a regular basis.

Good luck and definitely do something about your sleeping issue. Your health can really decline without proper sleep.