I am experiencing sleep problems as well as I age. I will be 58 in March. My issues are that it takes me soooo long to fall asleep, sometimes l to 2 hours. Once asleep I am fine. This happens about once or twice a week. I have not gone to the doctor about this yet, I dont want to have to rely on medication. Its like my mind doesnt want to shut off. This has been going on now for about a 6 months.

I can't drink anything with caffeine (soda, coffee, tea, etc.) after noon at this point. Often, I stop by 11:00 am. No problems once I changed that.

Since I started menopause I have disrupted sleep. I wake frequently through out the night, every night. I used to sleep soundly all night, never waking until the alarm went off. Now I am always awake to turn off the alarm before it rings.

I don't remember if I mentioned this here before but recently bought a small lavender sachet at a cute shop with all sorts of beautiful handmade items. It's filled with locally and organically grown lavender. I read that the scent of lavender can aid in sleep. I put it on the bedroom window sill. That night when I go up to bed, when I entered the room I noticed the scent but not in an overpowering way. I was a little nervous about it because while I enjoy the scent, I am an allergy & migraine sufferer and I was concerned it would trigger one or the other. But I was willing to give it a try for better sleep.

The next morning the alarm woke me, which was very unusual. Not only do I wake before the alarm daily, but we were going to NYC that day and when I'm excited about something like that I tend to wake early. When I was in the shower I thought hmmm, that was a pretty good night's sleep. I did wake a few times but not as many and not as long. Then it hits me - maybe the lavender sachet really works.

I still wake during the night but maybe not quite as much as before. Is it the placebo effect? I don't know and I don't care. If something that simple can trick my mind into getting slightly better quality in my sleep, I'll try it.

I don't think it will cure your more serious insomnia problem but it might help in some small way.

I've had problems for the last year; 46 was the number for me. I went to Walmart & got Estroven night time; I take that plus 2 5mg melatonin by Natures Bounty which I get from Walgreens; it's in an egg shape fast gel & is the only one that works for us. I've bought their 10mg capsule & that does nothing.

My eyes pop open at 5am every morning. I don't want to get up that early! If I am depressed, I will worry and be anxious about things for an hour or so and not be able to get back to sleep. If I'm not depressed, I can read and fall back asleep in 20 min or so.

I don't have trouble falling asleep unless I've had caffeine after 5, which is hardly ever.

I went through menopause early, at age 40. At 60 now, and free of all the menopause issues for over 15 years, so I know it has nothing to do with that. I coffee consumption is never after 9 am, I just have one mug full with breakfast.

I forgot about the lavender, I have some linen spray with lavender, and I do love the scent, so that might help, as well as the melatonin gel. I tried the capsules when going through menopause and they did not do anything at all to help.

All I can say is get a sleep study. When I went for my annual in 2008, I mentioned similar sleep problems to my GP. She immediately suggested a sleep study. I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. I didn't fit the so called typical apnea patient (overweight male). I had been blaming my sleep problems, depression, worries etc on menopause. I was wrong. Bring it up when you have your annual. It can't hurt. You would be surprised how many people have undiagnosed sleep apnea. When you hear of people just dying in their sleep chances are they may have had undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea.

We stay up late, 1-2 in the morning and usually I'm up no later than 6 every day. Why I can only average 4-5 hours sleep a night I don't know; I need more but my body just won't cooperate. I have had this problem since my early forties and it just gets progressively worse as I age. Nothing short of sleeping pills helps and I refuse to take those; even something as simple as Melatonine. Sometimes it makes me feel exhausted but most of the time if I take a 20 minute power nap in the afternoon, I'm fine.

Oh, boy, can I relate! Difficulty falling asleep (1-2 hours as mentioned above) and waking at 3 a.m. w/difficulty getting back to sleep...ugh!! I found 5htp helped to keep me asleep through the night (takes a couple of weeks or so to kick in) but still had difficulty falling asleep. I went on bioidentical hormones and am not sure if it's that or starting to read in bed before turning lights off which helped but as of the last month or so I'm sleeping like a baby! Phew!

I just hate sleepless nights. I lie there and worry and worry. I go in spates. I either sleep just fine or I can't get to sleep or stay asleep. My saving grace is Ambien, although I try not to resort to that. That is a miracle drug for me. I take about 5 mg and I am out like a light for eight hours. I don't even wake up to use the bathroom.

I have a big day tomorrow and I absolutely must be rested so I'll take an Ambien to be sure I get some rest. Other sleep aids have given me wild dreams that are worse than not sleeping, but not Ambien. I swear I don't even roll over in my sleep when I take them.

On nights that I don't want to take Ambien and I'm not sleeping well, I listen to podcasts or NPR on my MP3 player. I don't have to turn on the lights to turn it on, and listening to it keeps my mind from doing the crazy worry thing. I even learn things. SOmetimes I wake up in the morning and it's still playing in my ear.

The melatonin won't start working until it replaces what your body is missing. It could take a few weeks. Last year I was living on 1-4 hours of sleep; the GYN told me to get a script which I did already have. The other thing that works is MidNite; some times taking one of those is all that's needed to make me start feeling sleepy; then the rest will kick in. I don't want to go on hormones yet; until I've exhausted other methods.

I swear by the Estroven PM. I've never taken the regular one so have no clue if that would work

Also had the insomnia thing going during & after menopause. I take the Wal-mart brand equate of benadryl. It's a cheap fix. I take 2 about half an hour before I want to go to bed. I read about this in a Doctor's column in our local newspaper. He said benadryl is not addicting & will not harm a person. It works for me and I can get up in the morning, no problem.

Benadryl makes me feel like I've been hit by a truck. I can't wake up in the morning. I don't take dare to take it unless I am home and close to my bed. Funny the way different medications affect different people.

I have been trying the melatonin. I would not say it is a miracle cure. I have taken it for 30 days which the length of time my father was told to take it by his doc. It has been known to push people into a depression so be careful with it. The only upside to being up nights is I am rarely overly tired during the day. At some point maybe we have to accept our bodies do not need as much sleep as they used to?

I had trouble staying asleep until I got a new latex mattress. I love that thing. It feels like I am sleeping on air. A few weeks ago I bought a shredded latex pillow and rarely wake up at all. No tossing or turning.i went through menopause about 7 years ago

My problem is that I'm the world's lightest sleeper and have always been this way. I do not go into a sound deep sleep until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. When I was a baby I stayed awake all night and slept most the day. Of course it is all much worse with pre-menopausal symptoms. Since I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia I have read this is a common side effect (lack of deep sleep). When the stingy Insurance Company will allow I take Lunesta. I have to say my life is so greatly improved when I take that sleep aid I cannot begin to tell you. The best part is how much better my concentration and memory is with proper rest. The rest of the time (living without lunesta) I'm pretty much walking around in a mentally disabled daze. I have tried other sleep aids and do not like the ones that feel like drugs, hate Ambien and it's addictive but I do like lunesta because it feels more natural and I have no side effects. Plus, I wake up in the morning ready to go just like a regular person. My insurance company would approve addictive Ambien in a heartbeat but not Lunesta without making the doctor's office spend days on the paperwork...go figure!

jterrilynn, FWIW I learned about 5htp from someone w/fibromyalgia. She suffered from insomnia until she discovered 5htp and now enjoys a full night's sleep. When I first tried it I was very skeptical but it absolutely took me from getting just a very few hours sleep (at best) to a full night's sleep.

I love Ambien, too. I found I could cut my 10 mg.(?) pills into quarters and still benefit from them. I don't need them any longer but, due to awful problems when traveling, I'll continue to use it for those times.

Wow, I just assumed Lunesta along with Ambien and the other prescription sleep aid meds were habit forming.

I suffer from insomnia intermittently. One of the best things I've found that helps is to keep the same wake/sleep schedule 7 days a week. That and the occasional p.m. meds which are basically benedryl.

I had trouble staying asleep until I got a new latex mattress. I love that thing. It feels like I am sleeping on air. A few weeks ago I bought a shredded latex pillow and rarely wake up at all. No tossing or turning.i went through menopause about 7 years ago