Can't Stay Asleep

I'm writing this in the middle of the night because, as is the case every night for the last 10 months, I cannot fall asleep and stay asleep until my alarm goes off or I'm ready to get up. I take melatonin sometimes but even that doesn't work. Any advice? I don't like feeling drowsy at work, but I don't want to take prescription sleep aids (I don't want to become dependent).

Your sleep pattern seems normal. No one sleeps perfectly and solid all night long.

I'm like that. I have difficulties falling asleep and then staying asleep. If my sleep is disturbed I usually take hours to fall back asleep if at all. Last night I fell asleep around 2:30 or 3 am and I woke up at 6:30, unable to go back to sleep. I used to survive this by taking naps on weekends, but my husband started working weekend overnigbt shifts so I can't anymore as we have kids an he needs his sleep. The best thing for me is to cover my windows well so it is dark and taken over the counter sleep aids. I take unisom which is not addictive. There are two different types, the type I take is a double dose of benadryl (dyphenhydramine). It's not a guarantee, but it helps.

Consult a sleep specialist or see your primary to get a referral to a sleep specialist. He or she might order a sleep study, which can now be done at home with a portable unit that is loaned to you. Or, if a sleep study doesn't seem to be indicated, you might be given Modafinil to regulate your sleep/wake cycle. My pdoc recommended it but right now, awaiting results of in-lab sleep study, since I have severe bipolar illness, along with several comorbidities related to poor sleep.

try slowly eating a banana an hour or two before you go to bed ...don't know why but it works for some people. could be to do with the fact it helps balance sugars in your body as it is a slow release food.
Bananas repeat badly on me so I can't try it.
if you are asthmatic sleeping with a fan on in your room could help.
make sure your room is not too hot or too cold and your blankets are large enough to tuck around you too as draughts will wake to up otherwise.
I wake up at least twice each night to physically turn over as I am unable to do so in my sleep and I spasm for over an hour each time so every morning I feel like I spent the night in the boxing ring! I actually sleep much better with the TV on

Check over your sleep habits Sleep Hygiene | University of Maryland Medical Center and make sure you are being consistent, aren't going to bed at 9:00 one night and Midnight the next or sleeping in on weekends or eating, drinking and being merry in excess. Check little things like room temperature, noise, lights, etc. and whether you are drinking enough water but not too close to bedtime, etc. Pay attention to your bowel movements and other physical issues too; I know I wake in the middle of the night and have to get up because I'm feeling fidgety only to have to go to the bathroom an hour later which solves that?

Break your sleep schedule into two equal "large naps."Say you feel 8 hrs is your thing.In that case,go to bed 5 hrs before your alarm is set to piss you off(Ha Ha),I'm saying 5hrs because if you're like me,you think way too much before falling asleep and before you realize it you've been laying there for an hour going over mindless nonsense in your head,so use that hour to keep reminding your brain that its "lights out!"Any ways,4hours at night,then when you get home from work take you other half.That's what I do when I have this problem.But my guess is,you think a lot and need to turn it off just before bed.Also meditation audio books on my iPhone work wonders for releasing tension before bed.And you can do meditation before you sleep as you lay there in your mind(and no one has to know how silly you are).This what I do;I keep the house pitch bark(or cover my eyes with a cool damp cloth)and totally silent at night,lay flat on my back with a pillow just right under my neck and one under my knees,hands to my side,in my head I say that I am home,safe,at peace and all things are as they should be.I tell myself to be aware of my breathing,feel each inhale and exhale and with every breath each breath should get deeper and fuller,then tell my legs,arms,spine,head,shoulders(and these are two biggies believe it or not...the neck and facial muscles)to release their tension.before you realize it,your body will be weightless.You will feel like a mass of consciousness without a body.Every time you catch yourself diving back into your pool of stress,just bring YOU back to the above exercise.WORKS FOR ME,and my husband who is beside me in bed is none the wiser that I am meditating myself to sleep(this helps especially when I go to bed after being angry at him lol).SWEET DREAMS!

I generally go to sleep between 11:30 PM-Midnight (I'm just up a little bit more tonight because I think I've earned it ) I'm an extremely light sleeper, I'm hair-trigger sensitive to any loud noises, but soft rhythmic sounds are perfect for me. I love listening to audiobooks, unfortunately my new Kindle (old one broke) doesn't have audio capacity. I need a very cool room, any humidity is miserable for me to sleep.

I've been using a combination of L-theanine and melatonin. My Doctor recommended it. I use that along with a sleep hygiene schedule. Always in the same order at the same time. It doesn't always work. I read that it's normal for 1 night in 7 to be off. So I stopped stressing about it. That really helped too.