I think for us of a certain age waking up in the middle of the night is just the way it is now. I used to be a head drop on the pillow and lights out until the alarm rings. Now if I am having a good night I only wake up once or twice a night. When I am having trouble getting back to sleep I use this simple exercise. I count to two over and over and time it with my breathing...one is inhale, two is exhale. I can usually fall back asleep in a matter of minutes. I found that if I get up to do something or turn on the TV or add any stimulation at all I will not fall back to sleep and feel poorly for the rest of the day. I have found a sleep mask, I made one out of flannel, is somehow quite comforting. The gentle pressure of the flannel on my eyes is a cue for me to go sleep now. If I can get just four more hours of sleep it is enough. To make the mask I just took two pieces of flannel and free cut a shape, sewed it with a piece of cotton batting inside, the back was made from a wider, softly elastic head band I already had.