I don't often sleep all night. I don't take naps because I feel worse when I wake up after one and then for sure I won't sleep that night. I have always had trouble sleeping. I have tried the meds and the herbs and the relaxation techniques and none work. I just sleep at night when I can and don't sleep when I can't. The longest I have gone without sleeping is 9 nights in a row. Not fun. :(

Even in high school, I was a nite owl, and seldom got to sleep before 1 am, especially with all the homework. College was no improvement, even more work, and I held down a full time job with it. That pretty much set my sleep pattern for years. So I tried working hours that would let me sleep late, stay up late, etc.

Now, the dogs want to get up in the middle of the night to go out. Oh joy. If they wake me after a few hours of sleep, I can't get back to sleep for hours. Nap? Oh yeah, if I want one, I take one. Hey, I have earned them, lol.

And four doxies take up as much room as one Great Dane,lol.

I usually go to bed after the 11:00 o'clock news and some nights fall right to sleep. But a couple times a week I wake up about 3:00 AM and cannot go back to sleep until about 7:30 AM. Just really getting deep sleep and my 4# chihuahua (who thinks she's an 85# rotwieller) decides it's play time. So out from under the covers she comes and starts bouncing and growling at me....So sleep is over...LOL

I worked nights for 25 years & now that I'm retired, I can't sleep. I toss & turn until 3 or so most nights even after taking Benadryl for sleep. Some of my patients had some problems when taking a stronger or prescription medication for sleep so I'm leery of taking anything stronger.

I'm in my late 40s, worked night shift all my life, and have fought and fought to stay awake during the day and sleep at night on my days off as I was raising a son. Now that he is in a dorm at college, I have given up and on my days off just do what my body wants. Most nights i am up all night, most mornings I sleep. Naps seem to be it for me. I find myself laying down to read and the next thing I know its two to four hours later. My mother, whos partially disabled and lives with me, really had a hard time adjusting to my new sleep habits, but the sicker she gets, the more she gets like me, so I guess we are now coming to an understanding. I just keep all my tv shows on the dvr, always have an ebook handy, and the sewing machine is in my master bedroom so I don't disturb when I sew in the middle of the night. virg

I'm 49, not premenopausal that I know of, but a couple of times a week, I wakeup around 4-4:30 and cannot go back to sleep. I try to go to sleep by 10 so that gives me a minimum of 6 hours. Last night I went to sleep about 10:30, got up at 6, back to bed to read at 10 AM and ended up sleeping til 1:30 PM. What do you wanna bet I have real sleep issues tonight????

I only take a half and ambien - maybe that's what ge intended for you to do. This generally gives me 6 good hours unless I'm worried or upset, then I either lay awake and worry or take another half and sleep. Generally I choose taking the other half.

I was thinking about this yesterday. I don't think I've slept all night since I was a child. I'm 65 now, kids gone, DH doesn't snore, so what's the deal. I never nap. I get up 5 or 6 times a night to pee. If I wake up I can't go back to sleep until I get up. I've never found a sleeping aid that helped and I've tried them all.

I struggled with husband's snoring for years and years! I used to move out to the sofa, but it got so uncomfortable to have to do that every night. Then I tried an inflatable bed in the living room and left him again when he snored. That was just a lot of work. Then I cleared a spot in the basement and put up a single bed because I was turning into a crazy person from lack of sleep. Finally a child moved out and I snagged the room for ME . I don't even start out with him anymore (except SOMETIMES) and I fell sooooooo much better.

If it's not hormones, hot flashes or general stress, I lay there and even start planning my next quilt instead of relaxing enough to go to sleep. Sometimes it's the only time all day I've gotten the chance for my own thoughts. Can be my own worse enemy.