[JustAnotherMind]

I will go to bed, stay asleep from anywhere from one hour to two hours and wake up and then am able to fall back asleep within the next 10 minutes. This happens throughout the entire night until I decide to get out of bed. For the past four or five months I have been having the same sleep problem every night. I go to bed usually around the same time every night with the occasional late night video game marathon with friends.

Some background information that might factor into my sleeping problem includes my poorly managed diabetes (as of now I have gained a better grasp on my diet so I am no longer waking in the middle of the night several times to go use the restroom), and a history of working third shift, 9pm to 9am, for around two years.

Interestingly after I had started managing my diet better, I still found myself dealing with this sleeping issue even though I didn't need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. When it comes to working third shift for about two years, I had quit the job nearly 6 months before I had started encountering these sleeping problems.

As of now, my normal day consists of going to bed around midnight, and waking up anywhere from 8-10am. Sometimes I will take a nap during the day due to not getting enough sleep during the night. My psychiatrist has tried prescribing me several different sleep aids. None of which made any difference when it comes to making me drowsy or keep me asleep.

I'm to the point where I am growing tired of this (no pun intended) and would really like another persons viewpoint on what is going on and what I could do to change it.

Subject Change. Even though it really sucks with that kind of sleeping pattern, I have found that I experience more vivid dreams and am able to recall them even days after having them with the ability to provide distinct details. No, I don't write them down ever. I'm too lazy. I'll get around to it later when I fix my sleeping issue and can start my OBEs and lucid dreams again.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Perna]

Hi, Justanothermind, welcome to PsychCentral (PC). I would go to your primary care physician and have a full checkup, especially your thyroid/other hormone levels, various vitamins (D comes to mind and B12), etc. Make sure there aren't any other problems, maybe even go for a sleep study? Make sure that no one thinks it could still be related to your "poorly managed" diabetes. You have seen that things have improved as you have improved that somewhat, maybe it takes time and/or there are other things you need to do with it besides just diet/drinking so you don't have to get up to pee -- which comes back anyway, no matter what when you get older -- I'm turning 64 and have a somewhat similar sleep pattern as yours but I am not sleepy during the day/don't need a nap; that sounds suspiciously like sleep apnea.