Problem with sleep

[Barrelgal]

I'm 43 and I'm having trouble with getting a good deep sleep and it's effecting my energy levels for working out. I go to bed between 8:3-9pm and then get up at 4:30. I wake up at around 12pm and don't drift back of until around 2-3am. My workouts have been first thing in the morning but I'm switching to lunch time so that I can sleep a little longer.

We don't have any dogs or cats in the bed to wake me up. We have a nice mattress. It's dark, no light, TV, etc on.

I have 1 cup of coffee around 8-9am. That's the only caffine I have all day.

I tried getting some calcium before bed by eating some plain greek yogurt with fruit. That didn't help at all and the results weren't any different than when I have meat/veggies for supper.

I try to consume most of my carbs during breakfast and lunch.

Any ideas?

EDITED TO ADD ---- The docs think I have an autoimmune issues. So, I'm trying to stay as all natural and chemical free as possible. No hormones, no medications, etc.

[thehobbes]

I've been taking melatonin which has helped quite a bit. You have a similar schedule as me (I get up around 4:30-5am, but usually don't get to bed until 10:30pm so not a ton of sleep during the week.) Anyways when I actually do go to sleep I am completely out and don't wake up once until the alarm goes off.

You may have some kind of actual medical thing going on too, so of course consult a doc first. But I really don't have to do anything special to get that deep sleep when I'm on melatonin. I often take pre workouts with a lot of caffeine after 5pm and am eating up utnil 5min before bed. Diet is very carb heavy as well, I get over 300g of carbs a day easy. Ah and I also fall asleep with a tv on and have 3 pets running around and jumping on the bed, srs.

Melatonin or some other kind of sleep aid should do it.

[KwayZee]

As Ham said, melatonin would be a great choice to look into. Though, if you take it for an extended period of time and then stop using it, you might have a few nights of restlessness since your body can become accustomed to the melatonin supplementation.

[CassieCassie]

As Ham said, melatonin would be a great choice to look into. Though, if you take it for an extended period of time and then stop using it, you might have a few nights of restlessness since your body can become accustomed to the melatonin supplementation.

Yes, melatonin works but using it everyday might not be ideal in the long term (your body should be able to produce melatonin on its own).
Try a few caps of Magnesium (or a ZMA supplement) before bed, but most importantly, have some carbs at night! If you are like me, your body need carbs to secreat serotonin. Try it.

[thedomina]

Biggest thing I learned in psychology (of all things) your circadian rythm (tells your body its night night time) is activated by darkness for sleep. So if you are using a computer phone television while laying in bed it is messing up your biological rythm, preventing you from sleep.... it could take a possible hr or so to fall asleep, and if you aren't resting deeply enough you are missing out on that all important REM sleep that we all need to feel refreshed. HTH

[whatevergirl]

Please take a moment to scroll through this thread. It's excellent, and so helpful in fact, that they made it a sticky, here.


http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...0740493&page=1

[EGdance22]

I have the same problem. I used to sleep like a baby, but lately not so much. Im lucky to get 6 restless hours a night. I agree with the above poster on eating carbs before bed. I had a carb refeed yesterday and I have never slept better! I missed the superbowl because I passed out. It was awesome, and I really do think the carbs "relaxed" me.

Other than that, sleeping pills. They work but not ideal every night. Melatonin doesn't do much for me..

[texaschik]

I have always had sleep problems. I can fall asleep but then I wake up frequently and have trouble getting back to sleep. I take magnesium at night before bed and on rough nights I take Sleep Release, an herbal sleep aid. I find it works very well when other herbs for sleep don't. I tried melatonin and Valerian but neither worked for me. I also agree that carbs at night can help a lot. I hope you find something that works for you because nothing is worse than insomnia IMO.

[sglover14]

Melatonin for sure! Good luck!

Also, never stay in bed if you're not sleepy, get up and do something and go back when you feel like you could sleep again.

[toodlepip]

I find melatonin only works if I take it on occasion - as in a couple nights in a row and it doesn't seem that effective. I also notice I often wake middle of the night from it and have crazy dreams.

Sleeping pills don't seem to work for me.

Magnesium citrate helps me a bit.

I disagree with the getting up and doing something though...I figure even if I'm not sleeping chances are I'll drift off again easier if I'm in bed...and also, the body is getting rest.

[whatevergirl]

one of the most valuable pieces of advice when it comes to getting restful sleep, is to keep a set bedtime everynight...even on weekends. now, this is hard. when fridays roll around, for most of us, we have the weekends off...and of course, the tendency to stay up later...go to parties, etc...it just makes it a bit more challenging to hit the hay at the same time you would during your workweek.

but...you should STILL TRY to get up the same time the following morning. that's a toughie, but i will say, when you do try to keep your bedtimes and waking times around the same everyday? you will sleep better, overall. all other things being equal, of course.

many things can 'help,' but this probably is the number one thing someone can do to improve their sleep...albeit, it takes a bit more time to see it play out.

[toodlepip]

Also - should add that I believe it is common for sleep issues to come up for women in the whole early/mid 40s time. Boo.

[srb04e]

Try taking AAEFX zma about 30 min before bed... It helps promote a more restful sleep.
Also try eating some all natural peanut butter or almond butter before bed