I am a 42 yr old women and have a lot of trouble sleeping. I wake
easily and either don't fall asleep easily or wake up 2-3 am. I have
tried chamomile tea before bedtime to relax, but then wake up to
urinate. Is there anything else I can do
thanks,
Sarita

Hi! Thanks for the question.

I have found the following advice but you must consult a professional
physician to know of the most accurate remedy for your problem. As
mentioned in the dsiclaimer below, the answer provided here is not
intended to substitute for professional medical advice.

Some of these tips mught be of help to you. Although most of them are
for the elderly (you are still relatively young) most of the
paractices might still be applicable to you. I will only provide small
snippets from the articles. Please read them in their entirety to get
more tips.

------------
- "Maintain a regular schedule. Wake up and go to bed at the same time
each day."

- "Don't eat a large meal within one to two hours of going to bed." 
"Maintain bedtime rituals. Establishing a pattern can encourage your
body to fall asleep. Read or listen to the radio each night before
turning out the lights."
 
-"Turn down the thermostat. Cooler temperatures often induce sleep."

"Tips for Good Sleeping"
http://www.careguide.com/Careguide/careforcaregiverscontentview.jsp?ContentKey=1006

---------
- "Avoid vigorous exercise within 3-4 hours of bed time. On the other
hand,
regular exercise in the late afternoon may deepen sleep."  

- "Minimize noise, light, excessive temperature during sleep by using
ear plugs, window blinds, electrical blanket/ air conditioner, etc."

- "Spend no more than 8 hours in bed per night."
  
- "If you must take a daytime nap, keep it less than an hour and
complete it before 3 p.m."

- "Go to bed only when sleepy."

- "Get out of bed when unable to fall asleep for more than 30 minutes
and return to sleep within 30 minutes. During this time, do only a
manual activity or count your breaths while breathing abdominally."

"Tips for Dealing with Insomnia"
http://www.mindpub.com/art010.htm

--------

- "Monitor prescriptions for unwanted side effects"

- "Avoid over-the-counter remedies which combined with other drugs may
cause light or fragmented sleep or any other undesired side effects."

Your doctor could very well help you on this one.

"SLEEP TIPS FOR ELDERLY"
http://www.rogerssleepshop.com/BetterSleep/ElderlyTips.htm

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Easterangel-ga           
Google Answers Researcher

Hi db9299,

You have my sympathies - I've had the same problem off and on for
years. The worse is waking up at 4 am because it is too early to get
up and if I wait to fall asleep again, it will be 6 am and too late to
go to sleep.  At least if you wake up at 2 am, you have two hours to
get back to sleep for another two hours. I don't have any magic
solutions, but I have observed that my body seems to get in a habit of
waking up at a certain time. If I can break the cycle, I can go along
for awhile ok.  This may sound silly, but when you go to bed,
forcefully tell yourself what time you want to wake up. Make it
reasonable (not 7 or 8 am) and be quite firm about it. Sometimes it
seems to work, try it several nights if the first one doesn't "take".
When you get in that first full night sleep, tell yourself that was
perfect and you want to do it again. In other words, try to change
your internal alarm clock - it really does seem to work but it needs
constant vigilence.

Good luck - if it's any comfort, you're not alone -
hummer

I had some horrendous sleep disturbances at the onset of menopause.
Hormone replacement therapy helped a great deal. After five years, I
jettisoned the HRT, and apparently my hormone levels are now stable,
since I am no longer suffering from insomnia (and, in my case, bad
dreams.)

Although you are young to be experiencing perimenopausal symptoms, it
would be a good idea to mention your sleep problems to your
gynecologist. Another option is to be evaluated at a sleep disorder
clinic, if there is one in your area.