Everynight I wake at 1-3am, I'm unable to return to sleep. I get around 3hrs sleep per night. In the day I feel terrible. On the rare occasion I slept better then I feel great (so it's within my reach!) have had this for 3 years. It can get worse, in the past I've been able to get up for an hour and then go back to sleep. It got much worse when I returned from working in Cyprus (sunny) to the UK (not sunny).
When I wake It feels like my heart is beating harder (or atleast I'm noticing it more), my heart rate is just a normal waking heart beat rate, so it's not faster but it's not a sleeping rate (checked with pulse oximeter). All ECG's show ok. When I wake I don't think I'm particularly thinking and worrying about not sleeping, maybe subconsciously I am, IV tried not to. Sometimes it's the same feeling when I lay down to go asleep, but mostly I get a the big sleepy feeling and initial sleep onset is ok.
In the daytime, I don't feel particularly anxious or depressed, I am fed up with not sleeping, so there could be mild anxiety/depression too. I do exercise, I have appetite, I don't sit around not wanting to do nothing.
Is this anxiety ????
I have tried CBTi techniques - sleep restriction, deep breathing etc, but with limited results, I got from average 3.5hrs to 5hrs after 8 weeks of sleep restriction (only 6 hours allowed to sleep per night). It was also very inconsistent, it seemed some days id get shorter sleep for no apparent reason, I got so exhausted I got chest pains and had to stop.
Then I went onto trying 1mg Melatonin (past 2 weeks) this seems to lower my heart rate and extends my sleep slightly (5hrs) but leaves me with some headache, sleep groggyness, not refreshed. I've tried cutting the melatonin in half, and found that my mind/body then decides it will no longer sleep at all. No level of exercise increases my sleep.
I have a few choices that I can see:
1) Try sleep restriction again, but push on for longer, believe me this is very very hard, to keep yourself awake in the evening I have to constantly move otherwise I nod off (and loose the sleep drive over built up).
2) Try some depression/anxiety medication. I tried Citalopram 20mg for one day, and it made me feel very strange, also loss of libido. Mirtazapine, I didn't yet try this, but iv read it may help with sleep, could give me some other daytime symptoms, but mainly in concerned that it appears everyone has major issues stopping taking this even when tapering, I'd be afraid of many months of effort for the insomnia to return when I'm off the pill.
3) do nothing and live low quality life