# Sleep and Dreams > Sleep and Health >  >  Issues with randomly waking up.

## Jayme

I am a high school student, so I have to wake up rather early. I usually get to bed around 9-11, and have my alarm set to 6:30.

For the past few months the same thing has been happening over and over; I will randomly wake up between 5 and 6 (Sometimes even 4 - if it happens before 4 I fall back asleep, but it happens again and I can't sleep), and will be unable to get to sleep again even if I'm still very tired and groggy. My body wont let me get comfortable or stay still. A few times I fall asleep just before my alarm goes off, and to be honest this really bothers me.

I do not eat an hour before bed (Or any time after 6-7 PM), I just drink a bit of water (Before someone says something, I don't wake up because I have to pee).

I find it annoying. Anything I can do? I've tried simply telling myself I'll sleep until my alarm goes off and going to bed earlier. I can't get any sort of sleeping pills, not only because of money but because my mom would never allow it. 

Anyway, help? I'd love to be able to sleep as much as I want.

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## melanieb

Let's see if we can get some people to respond to this, bump!

You wouldn't want sleeping pills. They breed side effects.

Melatonin might help; cheap, over-the-counter, and no side effects.

What intrigues me is that you are consistently waking around the same time every day. That would suggest something biological/metabolic.

My first guess would be something hormonal, mainly because of your age and gender, but there are so many factors that can affect this and without exploring more of your habits it would be hard to pinpoint.

Possibilities for cause:

-You have simply had enough sleep by the time you wake up, at least as far as your body is concerned.
-Your hormones are regulated/unregulated.
-Your metabolic patterns are ready for you to be awake.
-Your sleep cycle is ready for you to get off the rollercoaster.
-You are hot/cold while sleeping.


That's not anywhere close to all the possible causes for waking.

You could try varying your diet, or try using a white noise source to relax your mind during that awful hour of sleeplessness. Down here in Texas I find the air conditioner is wonderfully relaxing. In Canada, perhaps try a white noise app for your phone or computer, or a fan.

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## Highlander

Would there be anything on your mind, like anything related to your studies, exams, etc?
Sometimes if my mind is full of unresolved tasks from the day then usually it takes longer for me to sleep. I even may wake at odd times during the night.

If so, a relaxation exercise might help?

As Melanie B has pointed out there can be many causes. However anxiety is one of the commonest reasons.

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## Tit

I'm 17 and suffer from the same thing. It's especially bad if I try to initiate sleep paralysis; then I can't get back to sleep for like an hour and a half. Its like I feel kind of hot or uncomfortable and tossing and turning is the only way to relieve the discomfort.

Do you lift weights? I seem to get it on the same nights that I've exercised, often with twitches or big spasms in the worked muscles.

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## melanieb

Try working out earlier in the evening. It may help with sleep.


Sleep Paralysis occurs while you are asleep in REM. It will occur without your efforts. It prevents you from moving around while you sleep.


I might suggest eating some bananas for your muscles. Potassium seems to help with spasms.

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## RebelSeven

I don't have much to add to what has been said, but here is some information on micro-awakenings, normal actions of the sleeping mind. Maybe you are just too aware when they happen?





> In all sleepers, sleep is punctuated by micro-awakenings, which occur about 15 times per hour and last a few seconds. They allow the brain to check if the body is not cold, if there is enough air, if there is no noise threatening and if regulation of physiological functions are done. These phenomena are accompanied by a slight increase in brain activity, heart rate, breathing and muscle tone. The micro-awakenings are sufficiently short not to be realized by the subject.



(P.S. Long live Bolin!)

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## Jayme

Just some info - 

I went vegan for 2 months, so most of my diet was vegetables and fruits and legumes and stuff. I made sure to have lots of protein as well (Had to stop for personal reasons). 

I sleep with a fan, but turn it away from me if it's a cold night. I do work out. It may just be something on my mind..

A few nights ago though, I went to bed at 11 and woke up at 2. I was up until 5, and I get up for school at 5:50. Between 5 and 5:50 I was barely asleep, it was awful. I may just try Melatonin O.o

I completely forgot about this thread..it's still happening, by the way =/

But it's gotten worse.

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## Skalm

I know the feeling. It doesn't happen as much as it does for you it seems, but when it does happen it sucks.
Miss out on sleep and my dreams  :Sad: 

Just not a good time

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## melanieb

Since the sleep disruption has gotten worse and it's clearly causing trouble for your waking life it's time to let your parents know how it's affecting you. A visit to the doctor might be in order. A metabolic panel and a couple of tests might rule out something physiological, or alert you to some as yet undiagnosed condition.

Does it seem stronger around particular times of the month?

Does it have any regularity?

Are there other symptoms?

A doctor would ask these questions to rule out various causes. I'm hoping you've been paying attention to what happens and when. Writing down a list can help.

The same would go for anxiety, which was mentioned earlier in the thread. If you have worries on your mind during the day they can become significant during the night.

Either way, if it's causing persistent trouble it may be time to seek help outside of DreamViews.

I hope you find rest soon, and keep us updated!

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## SuperSonicFan

From the sound of it I might say this was actually a pretty healthy thing to have happening if you consider the sleep patterns the body goes through at night, and you could probably use it to your advantage!
Bear with me...

From my personal research, it seems that the body sleeps in REM cycles of roughly 90 minutes. I believe a REM cycle consists of deep sleep w/o dreams, then shifts to sleep w/ dreams, then shifts to wakefullness for a couple of mins beofre starting the next cycle. I believe the body is built to wake up after each cycle and most people actually do this, you are just one of the 'lucky' or 'unfortunate' ones (depeding on your point of view) that actually wakes up enough to remember it. Basically, this means that you have established a very good sleep pattern for your body to be able to wake you all the way up. Now here is how I believe you could embrace that power and use it for your advantage!

Use it to work on WILD's or just enter the dream state. I know that I personally feel much more rested if I am able to have some good dreams. I think it means that my REM cycles weren't interrupted and my sleep pattern was stable for the night. I used to be SO TIRED before I started researching dreams but I never remember waking up at night. Now, I look foward to waking up about 3 times a night and I actually do feel much more rested because I am able to have more dreams and a better sleep pattern.

I don't know if this is really the problem but I guess it is worth a shot to try and use your body's natural sleep pattern to your advantage. Hope this helps.   :smiley:

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## WarBenifit156

This happened to me very many times during last school year. I would always wake up between 4-5:30 and it was kinda annoying because I go to bed at midnight almost every night  :Sad:

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## dutchraptor

Maybe you can use this to your advantage by trying to Deild. If it works you would 1)have a lucid dream 2) lose no sleep. Good luck

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