The process of sleep in not so 'long' space gives the brain a chance to relax in moments.

Rather than use "broken' to describe the sleep pattern, try using a 'comfort' zone to relax in when the feelings are overwhelming your brain ability to reset.

It's a balancing act, and you're working on it! You're not alone, and keep at it!

I wake up at least twice a night to pee. Sometimes this is hormonal for some of us post menopausal women. I agree with Mid not to label sleep as broken or anything negative. Waking up to pee is actually considered "normal" or even just waking up in the night is "normal". But culturally we say must have 8 hours straight through. That is a myth.

I think trying this new time to take your meds is something good to try. I take a med for low thyroid and I've known a few people who take it at night and then can't sleep. So I've realized how I schedule some of my meds makes a huge difference in my sleep.

Glad to hear you've had a couple days of longer sleep. A part time job could help get into a schedule so to speak. And it gives our minds something to focus on other than our sleep problems or other problems. We are also usually out among other human beings so that can be a benefit.

Thanks mid and hasty! My therapist says that when I wake up in the middle of the night, I am looking for meaning in my life. I take thyroid medicine too and have since my early 20s. I take it in the morning.

I don't know what's normal or not for how much sleep to get. I hardly get any sleep, and yet I hear you're "supposed to" get 8 hours. I haven't slept 8 straight hours since I was... a kid, maybe?? (Many decades ago)

You mentioned coffee... so try to watch out how late you take in your caffeine. That keeps me up, for sure!

Your body will tell you if you need more sleep. Maybe you can take a nap. I wouldn't worry too much about it. The more we worry, the harder it is to sleep - a real Catch 22.

You're going to be fine :-)

Thanks Girl! I do take naps, sometimes on and off all day. This morning I woke up a few times to use the bathroom and eventually woke up at 5 a.m. My cat snuggled with me last night. I love that feeling.

I suppose it could be possible that a person wakes up looking for meaning. Humans do need a purpose in life and our later stages of life seem to include that search for purpose and meaning in our lives. But I'll throw out some other possibilities. Sleep is something that is being researched more and more. Our brains are full of hormones and chemicals that regulate stuff such as sleep, mood, etc.

Women of menopause age and the lack of estrogen affects sleep cycles.

Taking medicine at the wrong time affects sleep cycles.

Some medications like reflux meds can cause insomnia.

Bladder issues and needing to go to the bathroom.

Pain of any kind waking us up.

Old mattress that needs to be replaced because it is no longer good enough for good sleep. Old pillows.

Being too cold, or too hot.

Noise and lights. (Get blackout curtains, no blue light devices in the bedroom, use a quiet air cleaner or fan to have "white noise", animals out of the bedroom at night.)

Too much computer or phone or even TVs right before bed. Idea is the blue light disrupts our melatonin production. Get off devices at least one hour before time one wants to go to sleep.

Not going outside in the morning to let the bright sunlight increase our melatonin production.

Changes in the brain due to aging with lowered production of serotonin and melatonin.

Stress, anxiety, emotional pain.

Aging and needing less sleep than in earlier stages of life.

Patterns of sleep and the idea that the brain needs two hours to get back to sleepy, according to a researcher I read. This means we wake up and typically can't go back to sleep for two hours as our brain processes. Then around two hours later, we are ready for more sleep. I find this happens to me a lot when I wake up with physical pain or emotional stuff like anxiety, fears, etc. I have things I do to switch the brain off the emotional stuff like listening to an interesting podcast or late night radio show, reading a book (a paper type book, not a blue light screen device), getting up and walking around the living room, up the stairs slowly, eating a few pretzels or a banana. Not fretting about being awake is my most helpful thing to do but sometimes I still fret for a while.

This is stuff I have learned from my own sleep issues. I have figured out some things that help me and use them one by one when I am having sleep disturbance.

Thanks hasty! You made me think about being older. I don't work but I'm looking for part-time employment, I don't have kids so no grandchildren, I live alone and haven't had a boyfriend since 1998, my best friend isn't around as much as she used to be. I used to love visiting my niece when she was little. Now she's 17. So I have a lot of voids. I thank God for my friend who I work out with. We have a great routine that she came up with. I never sweat so much! Have a good day! We are going to have rain today but we just had 5 nice days so I can't complain.

Physical activity in the morning helps with the natural production of melatonin in the body. Especially when you see the sunlight first thing in the morning it triggers a release of melatonin which helps you sleep at night. Another helpful sleep aid would be meditation or practicing mindfulness before bed. This has been shown to help people fall asleep and stay asleep for longer.

This must be such a frustrating experience with wanting to sleep and not having the ability to. I understand how hard and stressful it must be to have tasks to do and activities to complete and not having the energy to do them. I hope that you are able to get good quality sleep soon, and find ways that will help with this. Hopefully things will get better soon!

Oh gosh, I totally feel your pain! I was an insomniac in my early 20s for years. Once I got on a "sleep schedule" it helped. I also did a sleep study. I felt I had good sleep that night at the hospital, and I woke up 90 times that night. I only remember a few. For myself I learned later it was hormones. Now I have a kid. I wake up to pee and I wake up because of my kid. Then I wake up to noises in the house.

From what I have read about sleep, different ages of life we require more or less. But that is also not to be followed. And to follow more your body.

I am like you, if I get good sleep I feel to tired to do dishes and laundry. Or one day it's giving me energy to do everything. I also have a toddler, and their energy is through the roof. Ugh.

If you are looking for a part time job. Does that mean you are not working or work full time?

Thanks Goldie! I am not working. I went for a job interview last Tuesday but I guess I didn't get it. I didn't really want it. I'd rather have a desk job, like a receptionist or data entry clerk. I am doing much better with sleep and having energy. I didn't get out of bed until 6:40 this morning. I was tired though but my snack at 4 p.m. was peanut butter on celery and it gave me some energy. Let me backtrack. I am on disability and have been out of work since January 2019. I got an attorney for my disability case because of something that Sylvia Browne's son said to someone calling in about her husband's application for disability. He said they needed to get an attorney. So the law firm that I had been working for referred me to an attorney who specializes in social security disability. Most of the jobs that I have been interested in require too many hours, thus too much pay. I think I can only make $1,470 a month. I have a hard time standing in one position for any length of time and I loss my confidence in my ability to not make mistakes years ago.