Have you been having trouble getting a good nights sleep for a while, or is this something that has occurred recently.  If so, it is probably the stress.  My sleep isn't as restful as when I was young.  I sleep best when I exercise after work to relieve the stress.  Nice to develop a sleep pattern, the alarm goes off @5:30am so I'm hitting the sack by 10pm.  A aspirin or two helps relax me if I don't feel too tired when retiring for the night.

and found that nearly all of them have severe sleep disorders that prevent them from getting a good night's rest.  Many gals, in fact, won't do overnights for that reason.

I think a lot of the advice on here is good, as I've seen it repeated in articles that you can find on-line from time to time, but the most effective way to avoid a sleep disorder is to have a regular routine that you follow and to go to sleep and wake up at the same times every night.

This, of course, is much easier said than done for gals who are often on call every hour of the day and every day of the week, to say nothing of problems arising from traveling from one time zone to another.

Here is one often cited sleep aid that surprisingly no one has mention:  sex.

Sex produces endorphins that help in sleep.  If you don't have a partner, just rub out a few Os before bedtime yourself.

I know it helps me, though I don't do it several days before a session so that I have more potency during same.

One provider I knew said she always did this just before bed and had no sleep problems at all.

It's fun and free, so give it a shot.

Let us know how it's going for you, and thanks for bringing this up as sleep disorders are considered one of the most common and serious health problems known.

I go to bed at PM  have to take something to sleep ...then wake up at around AM and cannot get back to sleep  so I have to get up and take another sleep aid  which then makes me drowsy  when I again wake up at around AM ...I wish I could just sleep through the night .....is this something that happens as we age do men also experience this? Any ideas on what I might do  to insure a good night sleep without medication?I know I have a lot on my mind right now and my arm  has been aching  since they took the darn biopsy  and can only imagine  what its going to be like when they go back for the real deal ......well time to get back to bed  my poor little dog gets up with me and he looks at me like really mom? Seriously ? why are we up when its still dark out and then he is also tired all day LOL ....well I hope you all have a wonderful weekend  the weather seems to be nice everywhere  I heard they are even golfing  in the Midwest  no blizzards or record  snow fall  got to love that ! I am going to try and catch a good movie today  any suggestions on what to see ? kisses V

......warm milk, and a small bite of carbs does the trick.  I dislike milk, but my doctor told me that it really does work, so I thought I would try it.  I warm up about a half cup of milk, and drink it with a small oatmeal cookie, or something similar.  It also works, if you wake in the middle of the night, and want to get back to sleep.  

Hugs and Kisses

I find that I need less sleep at night, but it is nice to take an afternoon nap (which causes me to sleep less at night ...)

I have no magic bullets. I think you are right that stress in your life is a primary cause. Physical activity earlier in the day helps to tire you out for a good night sleep.

You mentioned that searching for love is on your mind for the year. An energetic and orgasmic romp in the hay helps. The "o" releases hormones that relax you. Being held/holding someone while you sleep also releases hormones that clam/relax you.

Looking forward to your visit to Chicago.

Dear Victoria:
I am wondering how tired are you when you get ready to go to sleep?  also over the pass month what is the most that you ever slept at one time in terms of hours and how refreshing was the rest? Also now since sleep is a major health issue for us all is have you begun to seek out professional help for this and also has it begun to effect your life in other ways where you make mistakes and forget things that would be routine when you are totally alert?

in your life that is real.  Also, what steps are you taking to relieve the stress?  Do you work out or exercise regularly to help relax your body and your brain?  

Along the same lines, don't watch a TV drama or read an intense book before trying to sleep for the night.  This gets your mind racing and delays your brain from going to sleep.

Diet has not been mentioned.  Certain foods and the time of day when you eat them can play havoc with your sleep habits.

Not a doctor but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night; well, recently.

It is part of being older. I've heard doctors say being older isn't a cause of being able to sleep as well or to stay asleep. Bull!  Every older person I know has the problem. Often the age is the common factor in all of them. So I conclude it is at least partly due to being older. It may be the things that come along with being older not just the fact that we are older. I wake up early now. Have been for years. Sometimes it's 3 or 4 in the a.m. sometimes not 'til 6. Thing is I go to bed about midnight every night and I don't plan on getting up 'til 8 or 9. I do take naps now it helps. I am active. I work part time and I work out at the gym.

Stress will cause sleep problems. You are dealing with stress right now. This and the above are likely causing your sleep issues.

The warm milk thing is good. I take one benadryl about 30 minutes before I go to bed. It helps. I play relaxing music when I go to bed too. I find that helps. It shuts itself off after about 35 minutes. I usually don't here it go off.

I can imagine Victoria that you are thinking about all that's going on right now. You have to not let your mind run on it. If you need to...spend a few minutes thinking about what you know about your situation. Set the sequence of what you know at this point you are going to do about it. (As simple as remember when you next appointment is.) Note that at this point that is all you know and all you can do about it.
Then put it aside and occupy your mind with other things. Remember the time spent with you family, think about the good times.

weel I do work  out every  morning  but is  is harder when you wake up tired  and yes it has been going on for several months before I had this stressful heath issue ,,,,,I do not sleep alone I have  Nicky and Ginger in my bed to hold ......I think its hormones  I am going to bake some oatmeal and rasion cookie today  but can the milk be cold? or hot chocolate coco? Hiliday in express?  what they have special beds there ? Maybe I will go get a room .....

I have problems with sleep myself and have found a few things that you can try. First off, light will  interfere with hormones that set your body clock to go to sleep. Don't look at TV or use the computer. "Put the over 60 folks to bed"  Lower lights in the house on a dimmer. Less noise to distract you helps but soft music can do the same.

For natural supplements that I use....Magnesium works wonders to relax most people. We all need this mineral and taking 400 mg at night will help your body release stress. I sometimes will take more if I have over taxed my body.

Melatonin : A small peppermint sublingual  pill under your tongue just before bed works for me.

Hope you try these Victoria instead of your sleeping pill. I have been through alot this year and just the word cancer has the same affect on me. The waiting can be hell but try to find peace and make plans for the future.

Kisses Haley

with additional years comes fewer hours of sleep. if you are only waking up once a night and can go back to sleep it is maybe nothing to worry about.

but there are also sleep disorders to consider and treating those can be a difficult. i can no longer spend an overnight with a favorite because it would just be too rude to her. some treatments for sleep problems work but require apparatus and you wind up looking like Darth Vader at rest.

i do find that strictly avoiding any snacks but especially alcohol in the evening before bedtime helps a lot. there is a little metabolic shift related to blood sugar levels that wakes me up after an hour or two and i then find i'm wired.

I do not drink even caffine after 2pm  and have sleeping pills ambian but they do not work either ......I think I need to hire  Dr Murray LOL

I do not drink even caffine after 2pm  and have sleeping pills ambian but they do not work either ......I think I need to hire  Dr Murray LOL

One of my dear clients travel with that machine and it works wonders the noise is like white noise and it puts me to sleep

It's a normal part of aging.  I used to sleep very soundly until my early 50's.  Now, I toss and turn and wake up 8-10 times a night.  I rarely get to deep sleep anymore and usually wake up tired and totally out of it.  

I'm also a night owl, which makes the situation worse because I'm wide awake at 3:00 AM and feel great, so I have to force myself to go to bed.  If I'm not careful, I can easily stay up until 4:00 AM (my father and sisters are the same way).

If I take Melatonin, it helps me get to sleep, but I wake up about 3-4 hours later, and have difficulty getting back to sleep afterwards.  Valerian also gets me to sleep more effectively, but I feel groggy in the morning.  I learned that if you take it, take it an hour before you want to go to bed, not when you go to bed.

So I don't really have a good solution for you other than to assure you that it's a natural part of aging.  I'd do anything to be able to sleep like I did one I was a teenager, even if for just one night!

chamomille tea helps _some_.

i have no cafeine after breakfast. but, if your body is starting to have issues with maintaining blood sugar levels, alcohol can help you sleep at first but wake you up with a vengence later.

i still do a dinner date now and again, but if there is any wine.... i resign myself to a night of lost sleep. i can't take more than a glass without there being consequences for sleep.

No matter what I tried, I kept tossing and turning and waking up.  Some of it was caused by Uncle Arthur (arthritis to you people in Rio Linda) but the rest of it was due to whatever.  I tried all of the remedies suggested so far in this thread.  I did the sleep clinic test (spent the night and half a day there wired to a machine).  The clinic's recommendation was that if I slept on my back I needed the Darth Vader mask; otherwise sleep on my side.  Great, that just caused me to do more tossing and turning.

Tried getting a new mattress; it was more comfortable but I still tossed and turned.

One night I accidently fell asleep in my recliner with it fully stretched out and I was lying on my back.  Surprise, I woke up the next morning after a full night's sleep and still in the same position as when I went to sleep.  I never went back to the bed.  Well, I do when I travel and a recliner is not available----I usually have a horrible night.  About a year ago, I tried going back to the bed at my SO's request.  I tried the bed for 2 to 3 hours and got up and went back to my recliner.

As for the Darth Vader mask.  When my ALS was diagnosed, the first thing that the doctors did was put me on the mask.  It was very uncomfortable and I did not need it (and still don't).  However, their reasoning was that the ALS will eventually force me to wear the mask.  Or that I would have some crisis like pneumonia that would mandate that I use the mask and breathing machine.  They wanted me to be used to the mask and forced breathing so I would not fight it when I did need it.  So I started "trying" it for 30 minutes to an hour each night.  My tolerance to the mask and breathing machine gradually increased so I could wear it all night; it took about six months.

Now I am somewhat addicted to the machine.  It feels good to just lay back and let the machine work for me.  I even put it on if I take a nap during the day.  The rhythmic breathing forced by the machine is somewhat hypnotic.  The first step in hypnosis is to get you to relax by taking rhythmic deep breaths.  When I turn on the machine,  I almost always fall asleep within a minute.

I have a king size recliner I ordered for me because of my height. The chair fits me. It is one with a power recline and stand up option. I used to have back trouble and sometimes getting out of a chair was a problem. The chair is very comfortable and often when I wake up very early and can't get back to sleep in the bed I go to the recliner, lay it back, and usually sleep quite well the rest of the night.

I didn't remember this while posting my reply above but it works and the recliner is where I take most of my naps.

my dad also sleeps in his recliner best !

I also have a full power recliner.  I had a bad fall & my back was killing me...  could not sleep in bed.  I went a long time in just the recliner before I started transitioning back to the bed.  In the recliner I use a buckwheat neck pillow to keep me from kinking my neck.  
I added a memory foam topper to the bed mattress & I sleep much better on it...  probably could not sleep in bed without it...  but it's horrible for sex.  It's almost impossible for me to roll over on it.  

I remember civie one night stands years ago...  even post coitus, something about the sharing the bed with a stranger...  different breathing rythym?  Movements?  made for interrupted sleeping.  

These days, I stop drinking much of anything 2 hours before bed...  it goes right through me & I'm up all night to let it out.  However, I can get to & from the bathroom with just night lights & that helps me quickly go back to sleep.  During a bit of a hospital stay a couple of years ago...  They gave me Benadryl at bed time...  slept soundly as much as you could while hooked up to machines.
H  

cannot remember the last really goodnight rest and no I have not  sought help yet .....keep hoping its just a phase and yes it has affected me I could not work out today was so tired  my PA had to come over and run all my errands and walk the dog I have to save my strenth as I have a date tonight and want to be sure I bring my A game !or at least a b+ LOL

no caffeine even ice tea after 2pm and funny I darkened the bedroom two nights ago  pitch  black and ran into the door jam and got a shiner a small one but still ....gosh this getting old stuff is not for sissy's.......

they stayed at a Holiday Inn last night."

Now, if you get the room, you will need some company.  Not sure how fast I can get a reservation to travel to Arizona.

LOL  how much would it cost me ? a good nighs  sleep ...priceless

Like I told Vic, I have a recliner in my bedroom. Next to my bed, as a matter of fact but I've never fell asleep in it as comfortable as it is. I fall asleep with the TV on because the silence freaks me out when I'm alone. If a lady is sleeping with me, I'm fine turning the TV off. I'm weird that way.

I wake up constantly cuz of neck and back aches I'm guessing from car accidents and such. I only sleep maybe 4-5 hours a night but sometimes take a nap while I'm working cuz I can, meaning, there's no one there to tell me I can't.

Think I'm going to try the recliner deal next weekend and see how that goes. Kinda apprehensive tonight cuz I gotta be at work at 6AM(11PM now) and if I'm too comfortable I won't wanna get up, lol!