Waking Up at the Same Time Every Night!?!

Hi Everyone,

I have had tinnitus for 13 months, but it has fortunately never been an issue for me in regards to sleep.

However, over the past month, I have have been experiencing insomnia. Specifically, I am waking up an hour and a half after I go to bed every night! Yes, every night. Unless I take some low-dosage Ambien, I am unable to fall asleep. Have any of you had similar issues? If so, what did you do? And how did you conquer them?

I have not made an appointment yet, thinking it would go away on its own. However, I am tired of fighting this and it looks like I will need some medical intervention. I am trying to determine whether this is a physical or mental issue. Hormonal problem? Biochemical issue? Electrolyte issue? Sleep apnea (note: I am thin, yet have a deviated septum)? My blood sugar level is normal.

Thanks in advance for reading and or responding.

Mike

 

Hi @MikeL1972, while browsing old success stories I came across a thread describing something similar to your situation. I've copied the relevant paragraph below and pasted a link to the original discussion if you want to contact the OP.

"An odd thing happened about two months ago – my T was waking me up 90 minutes after I feel asleep. Like clockwork; I kid you not. I would wake up and hear the tinnitus in my left ear screaming in the silence. I would then fall back asleep in about 10 – 20 minutes. I started focusing on this, looking at the clock as I grew tired, and looking at it when I woke up. After a week of this I realized I was focusing on this way to much, and I was making the condition worse. So I literally decided to stop caring about it. After about three or four days I started sleeping through the night again. That’s been my only temporary setback with my tinnitus."

Here is a link to the original thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/one-year-tinnitus-anniversary-—-life-is-normal.3975/#post-37735

 

Hi Casper,

Thanks for your reply as well as taking the initiative to find that thread.

In my case, what I left out is that I went to the doctor yesterday and was diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety. Two signatures of this include sleep issues and more sighing than usual (check and check). I was prescribed Lexapro. Tinnitus has never been a show stopper for sleep before for me.

Folks, for whoever is reading this, just a reminder that your health is your wealth!!

 

I wake up at 3 in the morning like clock work, no matter what time I fall asleep. I drink beer to fall asleep cause I don't wanna get addicted to pills and go through the withdrawal.

 

It's something they call "Body clock" as you sleep your body will set a moment it needs to wake up.

I don't really know, it's just something I've heard of.

 

To reset your body clock, don't sleep for one night. Then you can go to bed at the ideal time. You will be tired, so chances are you will sleep for 8 hours. It works for me.

 

I have been struggling with this for a year and a half before i got T. In the beginning it was very annoying because i could not fall asleep again. And that was for some 7 months ... Devastating. Nowdays i wake up just as you say - an hour after i fall asleep. Sometimes even less. My T is very loud then but i don't think it is what wkes me up anymore. I realizied that if i go to sleep after 3 am., i sleep with no waking up for straight 9-10 hours. It has something to do with our biological clock. Or brain chemistry ...

 

90 mins sounds like a REM cycle. It’s not uncommon to wake up for a few seconds, then go back to sleep and not even remember it happened.

 

Hey Mike, sorry to hear you are going through this - were you able to correct it? I have the same exact issue. The only thing different is this...

That 90 minutes feels like 9 hours. I go to sleep, awake up almost wxactally 90 minutes later and think it should be morning, look at my phone and realize it literally an hour later. Then i usually can go back to sleep quite fine but wake up super tired. There are indeed instances where i can’t go to sleep either.

I have been experiencing this for the last 2 months and have felt so darn tired. I have been telling my wife this and decided to google it and sure enough this is the same thing I have been experiencing.

 

I have the same experience. I wake up after 90 min. I used to worry silly about it, or start thinking about stuff for hours. Now I don’t engage in worrying thoughts and go back to sleep. Yes, I have T, it is a nuisance, but I still intend to sleep as much as I can.

Meditating (with Headspace) may be helping me to let my mind ago. Like a state of mind I’m developing. Or maybe I’m imagining things but that’s my feeling.