Does anyone else wake up at the same time every night?

Sends me crazy. 3am on the dot.

How do you break out of it?

I am thinking someone is nicking my bikes at this time most nights, and you’ve got toilet stops, but surely there must be a solution?

Check your heating system. Most of them run the pump once a day to stop it seizing.

Mine used to wake me up at 4am every day until I figured out how to change it.

Flaperon – possibly the most informative thing on the Internet today 🙂

Would explain last weeks 2am escapade
It would not explain the three flashes of light in rapid succession in the hallway though – proper freaked me out 😯

surely there must be a solution?

Used to do this with our kids.
Just before you go to sleep,lick your finger and write the time that you want to wake up at (6,7,etc) three times on your forehead.
Subliminally your brain will store this like an alarm clock and will bypass the 3am wake up.
or
Stay awake until 2am 🙂

I will try that tonight!

Just before you go to sleep,lick your finger and write the time that you want to wake up at (6,7,etc) three times on your forehead.

Narrows eyes in your general direction.

Just accept that it’s part of your current sleep cycle, don’t stress about it and go back to sleep. Worked for me.

three flashes of light in rapid succession in the hallway

I’ve seen this from some compact flourescent bulbs. I’m assuming a capacitor inside has almost enough juice to ignite the tube & some external EMF (radio waves, cosmic radiation) pushes that over the edge.

Half of one of these sorts me out

go to bed later.

go to bed later.

Now that does work to an extent- but I’m an early bird and need to be up at six.

Just accept that it’s part of your current sleep cycle, don’t stress about it and go back to sleep. Worked for me.

Good advice, but it can be hard to get back off.

It would not explain the three flashes of light in rapid succession in the hallway though – proper freaked me out

Had the same one night recently. Fookin scary. Think it’s the fluorescent light bulbs that do it. Hopefully. 😯

There seems to be some evidence that we may naturally have two sleeps per night, with a period of restful wakefulness in between. So maybe don’t worry about it. http://theconversation.com/did-we-used-to-have-two-sleeps-rather-than-one-should-we-again-57806

Or, if you sleep with your phone on and beside your bed, check that it’s not receiving a regular alert at 3am (I get NY Times news for example) that will light up screen.

Does anyone else wake up at the same time every night?

Sends me crazy. 3am on the dot.

Had a whole week of that the other week, just stopped at quickly as it started. Was right PITA.

This morning work up at 6am feeling bright as a daisy, an hour before the alarm clock. Feel like shit now…

I sleep better if I’ve not had any alcohol. Often a G&T or a beer in the evening and I’ll wake at 3-4

Listened to a R4 prog a few years ago about the way we used to sleep. Apparently it was normal to get up at a out the time you describe and pop round to visit the neighbours for a glass of mead.

Then you’d happily go back to bed after an hour or so.

Since my wife and child moved out (I’m joining them soon, not an stw meltdown moment) I’ve been going to bed at 8pm, getting up for a few hours at about 3am, then waking feeling refreshed at 8am.

Perhaps not practical but feels natural. Have almost given up coffee too!

If you’re getting up to pee try cutting down on salty food – I’ve heard that can have an effect.

I seem to be very sensitive to light – I’ve been sleeping through a lot more often (and, even better, getting back to sleep quickly when i do wake up an pee) since we added a light blocking roller blind behind our curtains.

Eye masks a good alternative – these from eBay are cheap and comfortable. I’ve been taking them camping and makes a huge difference – was sleeping till 8am at a festival recently. Used to never get any sleep after first light in a tent

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3D-Soft-Padded-Blindfold-Blackout-Eye-Mask-Travel-Rest-Sleep-Aid-Shade-Cover-/292150796556?_trksid=p2349526.m2548.l4275

I suffer, about two nights a week. 3am for me too.. not sure why either, though the boiler does kick in to heat the hot water up so maybe its that.
Fairly religiously head to bed at about 10pm, 20 mins watching some comedic thing or other then sleep..

Some mornings after the 3am wake are worse than others, so too mid afternoons. I’ve tried those herbal sleep tablets, and the non herbal ones too and they’ve helped a little but i really don’t want to take pills for what is a pretty essential human need.

So i just get on with it..

I sleep better if I’ve not had any alcohol.

True. Booze does send me off but then wakes me up later. But I don’t most days.

Some good bits and pieces there everyone. Moving the phone away is good one but my CCTV is on it! I don’t doubt phones are a real problem with this sort of thing. God knows what they are putting into your brain!

There was a program on BBC with one of them doctors like Horizon. He was an insomniac. He started taking prebiotics with his coffee in the morning and it improved his sleep. I thought I’d give it a go too and it worked a treat. Also magnesium citrate an hour before bed. Both available from amazon

There seems to be some evidence that we may naturally have two sleeps per night, with a period of restful wakefulness in between. So maybe don’t worry about it.

That’s interesting. Only trouble is sometimes you can’t get back to sleep as your brain starts filling up.

All seems normal – some people are better at shutting off than others I guess.

This is the episode The truth about sleep
More info

Knock one out?
Can’t believe nobody suggested that yet. 🙂

Historian A. Roger Ekirch describes how households at this time retired a couple of hours after dusk, woke a few hours later for one to two hours, and then had a second sleep until dawn.

During this waking period, people would relax, ponder their dreams or have sex. Some would engage in activities like sewing, chopping wood or reading, relying on the light of the moon or oil lamps.

I may run some of those ideas past my OH this weekend.”I am just off out to chop some wood,when I return and you are finished pondering your dreams,how about we… “

Oh,and chopping wood by moonlight,what could possibly go wrong 🙂

eat lettuce

Go to bed earlier, then you can have epic night rides at 3am before going to work as per normal!

I’d go with Benp1’s suggestion, 3am night rides would be awesome, the world would be dead!

cut down salt intake?

cut down salt intake?

Why?

Increase salt intake, preferably with some cheese before bed.

As a shift worker of some seventeen years, I feel I’m qualified to advise here. The biggest issue is your brain. Stop thinking about it! That’ll sort it. Just honestly don’t worry about it and all will be well. You’ll either a) not wake up at 3am, o more likely, and this is the trick b) wake up at 3am but just shrug, turn over and be snoozing again immediately. The fact you even know it’s 3am means you are worrying too much about it, don’t look at that clock, and especially DON’T look at the phone!!! Just shrug and go back to sleep. My own sleep habits are proof that it doesn’t need to be dark, it doesn’t have to be quiet, you just have to be a bit tired, and not worried about it.

I wake up most nights

A combination of reading on a paper white kindle and or this relaxation routine means it snot a big deal

https://soundcloud.com/mentalhealthfoundation/sleep-relaxation-mp3-mental

Go to bed earlier, then you can have epic night rides at 3am before going to work as per normal!

I like that. Did cross my mind in summer.

The fact you even know it’s 3am means you are worrying too much about it, don’t look at that clock, and especially DON’T look at the phone!!!

Very good points. I always look at the clock, that could create a pattern and the phone, bad boy.

i wake at 3am every day when im at work.

its because the generator runs out of diesel and the AC goes off soon as the noise stops i wake up – rather irritating.

now i just accept it

Multiple causes ….and perhaps you need to experiment with a few

Perhaps the hardest being if you are stressed and worrying about something.

As said, if you stress about sleeping that itself becomes another stress….so looking at the alarm clock/phone is bad…

Just get up for an hour… or two and get “stuff done” accept it..

Go to bed later but set the alarm when you need to be up and just force it for 1-2 weeks.

TBH I almost came on at 3am to post on this thread but then I just watched some Netflix for an hour…
At the moment I know that work stress is the biggest cause but I’ve also had times when it’s just patterns because I’ve been working shifts or going to bed early…

The only common thing is worrying about it never helps… only makes it worse.

TBH I almost came on at 3am to post on this thread but then I just watched some Netflix for an hour…

Don’t you think watching Netflix at that time would then set up you up each night?

I often woke up at 3, and had a pain somewhere, it used to be my shoulder, these days its more the hip.
I didnt feel it when I went to bed but by 3am it stopped me sleeping.
Ibuprofen or painkillers and I’m back to sleep in half an hour

Waking up during the night is normal, getting back to sleep can be the problem. It might be a placebo but I find popping a paracetamol when I wake up helps calm my mind down. If it’s noise I keep some earplugs by the bed. Worst case if I can’t stop thinking of stuff I watch 30 mins of mindless tv then go back to bed (no phones or tv in the bedroom) ie find something that helps switch your mind off.

Try alternate nostril breathing before going to bed or if you wake up

Great Reasons To Start Alternate Nostril Breathing:

Really