Waking up all night

I don’t want to take medication for sleep because I have a 3 year old and I have to at least be able to wake up if need be but something has got to change. I try to do everything I can to get better sleep. I stopped drinking caffeine after 10am every day, (and only one 16oz bottle a day), I turn the lights off, I turn all the TV’s and the radio off, I typically avoid foods with high sugar, I take a long shower and lay down for a while trying to clear my mind but nothing works.

I fall asleep with ease, once I roll over to sleep within 3 minutes I’m fully asleep. The problem is staying asleep. I go to bed at 9:30. I’ll be awake again at 11, then at 12:30 then again at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, then 5. I end up staying awake at 5, tired of fighting to get sleep. I don’t need to be up until 6 but I get so tired of trying to sleep.

I can’t take sleeping meds, I have a 3 year old and I already have a strange sleeping pattern. Alarms (including the fire alarm), knocking on doors and such don’t wake me up but her saying my name, even if it’s not yelling and she’s in the other room, that will wake me up. I can’t be on meds that will stop her from waking me up if she ever needed to.

It’s a really strange pattern… I just need help figuring out how to stay asleep without meds… I need sleep, it’s driving me bonkers!!!!!

It sounds like you may be a little hyper-attenuated to your daughter maybe needing to wake you and fearing you won't wake?

Do you nap at all during the day? I would cut that out if you do and I would try going to sleep just a little later, maybe 10:30-11 (since you get up at 5 instead of 6 anyway). I do not know what your day is like but I would try to make it as active as possible, see if you cannot use up a bit more energy so you are genuinely, physically tired when you go to bed.

I have heard that you should turn the clock around so you cannot see it; that looking at it when you wake just makes things worse, winds your head up.