It's time for the first question in our new research series on the Sleep Matters Community.
Today, we want to know what aspect of sleeping you struggle with and how much sleep you get on average per night? For example, falling asleep, staying asleep.
Share your response in the replies below!
I have trouble getting back to sleep after waking up for whatever reason. On average I get 3-5 hours sleep before waking up midnights mostly to urinate.
I also have trouble getting back to sleep when I wake up during the night which I do 3-4 times. On average I get 4 to 5 hours sleep. Even with a sleeping table I would not sleep more then 7 hours.
No trouble going to sleep its staying asleep. Last year diagnosed sleep apnoea use a cpap get an average of 4-5 hours uninterrupted sleep.
Tend to go bed later and read so don't wake too early. Sometimes fall asleep while reading and have forgotten to put cpap machine on and then becomes disturbed night.
I have some problems getting to sleep as I keep having to clear my throat when lying down. When I do get to sleep, I usually sleep for a lengthy period and am not plagued with short sleep or constant wakening during the night. I use a CPAP machine and that is generally effective.
Falling asleep, and an average of 4 hours a night.
I have OSA and struggle with the cpap as i fidget a lot. I had a full mask and now have a nose mask but i still wake up due to sleeping mouth open and the chin strap hurts my jaw! I average around 6 hours broken sleep however i generally have no problem falling asleep or getting back to sleep when i wake up unless i am stressed.
I have trouble getting to sleep mainly. My sleep is better than it was but it’s unpredictable. I also sleep too much. Once I am asleep I can stay asleep for ages, and don’t usually have a problem with waking up. I can sleep well into the afternoon though especially if I’ve not been able to get to sleep. Last night it took me 2.5 hours to get to sleep.
The amount of sleep I get varies. I need about 9 hours a night. I generally get this when not working (and often more if I am catching up on sleep from working days). On days I am working it can be anything from 4/5 to 8 hours.
Sometimes I have a problem getting back to sleep. I invariably wake up within a hour of 'going off' and then if something is 'on my mind' it is difficult for me to get back to sleep. This can result in a vicious circle and at times stressful when I lye awake for several hours. Since using a cpap it has been better but a recent mask change has resulted in more leaks which has made recent sleep more awkward. On a good night I can manage 7 hours.
I have sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome and on BPAP with full face mask averaging 6 hours sleep each night. I have no real trouble getting to sleep at night and have developed attunement with the BPAP ramp which seems to lull me to sleep. I wake two to three times at night (symptom of BPH) but invariably fall asleep straight away. Occasionally wake up with the mask in my hand completely bemused!
Without medication, I fall asleep easily but awaken wide awake every couple of hours taking almost an hour to get back to sleep. This started abruptly at age 65. Without medication, I am lucky to get five hours total sleep.
What medication are you taking?
Last night I went to bed at 21.30 and was still awake at 1.30 I got up and went on the computer for an hour, got back in bed and went to sleep almost straight away but kept waking up about every hour. sometimes I fall asleep as soon as I go to bed sometimes but I still wake up frequently, the longest period of sleep I've had this year is 2 hours.
Who says night? I can only sleep during the day. At night I’m bouncing off the walls! Circadian sleep disorders seem to have not so much recognition. I am about to follow an online tip to bring forward my bed time by 15 mins a day. But this is a tenacious condition that can take away from life a lot of what happens in the daytime, friends, sunshine & nature included. It leads to depression and isolation and has certainly done so in my case.
To answer the question: I get a good 7-9 hours sleep every day. This is not insomnia.
Mine is like this can we talk?
I have had severe Restless Legs Syndrome for many years and as a result suffer from Insomnia. The different medications I have used for RLS also have insomnia as a side effect which has exacerbated the situation. For about the last 2 years the situation has become significantly worse. I cannot get to sleep for several hours at night, even with a sleeping tablet, which I try not to take more then 3 - 4 times a week. Even if I do go to sleep I am up going to the toilet about 3-4 times a night. When this happens I get RLS and obviously cannot go back to sleep. I average about 4 - 5 hours of very interrupted sleep each night.
I am on Gabapentin so have no problem getting to sleep; once I have taken the drug I am asleep within 30 minutes, which gives me enough time to read a little. When I feel sleep coming on I put my book down, take off my glasses, switch off the light and before my head hits the pillow I am asleep. Before I was prescribed the drug I could not get to sleep and lay awake for hours, now I have no problem.
I usually get six to seven hours hours sleep but then cannot get back to sleep again.
So I am usually asleep by 21:30 and am awake by 03:30 - 04:30 am. Sometimes I get up then and work for a couple of hours before work, but sometimes I just roll over and try and snooze on / off until the alarm goes off at 06:10.
Without the Gabapentin, i.e. if I forget to take them I am restless all night and will rarely get more than two hours sleep. I was prescribed them because I also suffer bad headaches.
I am allowed to self-prescribe, but find if I try and increase the dosage much more I was falling asleep during the following day, and it did not help with my sleep patterns during the night.
Also I tried a couple of times to go to bed a little later, but I did not sleep any later.
Hi Johnny-One
Lucky you. Can you tell me what dose you are on? I started on 25 mg a about 6 months ago for RLS and now I am on 150 mg. Since I have increased the dose, it has helped with my restless legs but I just don't get to sleep for hours after going to bed.
I am up to 400 mg ... when I got to 600 mg I started to fall asleep the next day. I am allowed a maximum of 1000 mg, which is far too high. I believe I have found my balance. Can I stress though they are not sleeping tablets, I take them for my headaches which were keeping me awake at night, and also my twitching legs and arms which apparently are a result of pain spasms. Good luck.
Have sleep apnoea. Have been on new mouth mask so my nose is not covered for past year. I cope well with this mask. I never forget to use my c-pap since coming out of a coma. I have a few problems such as not remembering certain words and a slight stammer, but these are minor problems. I sleep for 6 hours a night and my compliance record is good.
I struggle with getting to sleep & staying asleep & I get about 2hrs a night but can be wide awake for 3 whole days straight & this happens roughly every other week.
I find it hard to drift off again if I am disturbed during the drifting off moments. I'd say falling asleep can often be difficult for me.....
I have noticed that if I give in to my tiredness, even though it may be too early for bed, I sleep really well. I intend to give in more often.
I am sleeping much better now than I used to.
I used to be up 2 or 3 times per night for the toilet.
Diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea about 2 years ago and now it's rare for me to need the toilet. It was such a relief and now I sleep well most nights. On my first few nights with the CPAP machine, once I'd got used to it, I didn't even notice the night passing....those sorts of nights are amazing and more rare now.
I've just woken from 91/2 hours after a short night the night before and a long car journey during yesterday. Really pleased I gave in to my need and settled down to sleep way before my hubby.
I end up falling asleep on the sofa downstairs ranging from 9pm to 11pm then get constantly told off my the hubby for falling asleep then we go to bed about 11.15pm and then it takes me a while to drop off then I'll be waking up in the night about 3 or 4 times for no apparent reason then up half 6. So my usual sleep range according to my Garmin watch is 6.30-7 hours a night.
If I'm lucky, I get 5 hrs total sleep, the longest duration of continuous sleep around 3 hrs. Some nights I get nothing.
Falling asleep is the biggest issue, followed by staying asleep.
I have a hereditary neurological disease called CMT Type 1a. I aslo have OSA which I believe is related to the CMT and have been using a CPAP for about 15 years. I'm a happy 66 year old divorced male, fit, not overweight, still woriking, and have no problem getting to sleep. My problem is I only ever sleep for 5 hours, which I don't think is enough as I get drowsy if I'm not mentally or physically engaged.
My sleep problems seem to be different from most that I have read. I fall asleep at about 4-5 am and sleep straight until 12:00 noon or 1:00 pm. I would like to be able to fall asleep at about 1-2 am but just cant. It is driving me crazy.
I traveled yeaterday and did not go to sleep at all. I slept the entire 3.5 hours on the plane and here I am at 2:00am still cant fall asleep Help!
I seem to have no circadian rhythm. I'm naturally awake for 30 hours at a time and then struggle to sleep. I have no control over sleep. Last week was pretty typical. Had 4 sleeps over 7 days. On a bad week I get 2. I try to sleep at night so sometimes force myself to not nap. I usually sleep every 2 days, sometimes 3, for about 6 hours at a time.Constantly exhausted.
I sleep on average 8 hours a night,I struggle to get to sleep.I also have sleep apnea so on cpap.
I have sleep apnoea and have been on CPAP since 2004. I used to average 5.5 to 6 hours a night but since last year I have had some heart issues ( mva) and get more tired so go to bed earlier and average 7 hours of sleep. I do find I wake sometimes due to the CPAP pressure but I just stop/start it and it ramps the pressure slowly and I’m right back off to sleep
When on Zopiclone 3.75mg I would go to sleep around 11 and wake around 5 or 6. It’s the waking early that bothers me as in my 78 years have never had a sleeping problem until coming off Amerodion. So was waking very early around 4am and could not get back to sleep again.
Plus the My Dr has just agreed to wean me off Zopiclone 3.75 per day as felt like a zombie on it. She has suggested taking Circadin 2mg which is slow release Melatonin. She is happy for me to reduce Zopiclone to half a 3.75mg tablet. Or take a full one every other night. Has anyone had experience of the slow release Melatonin which is now supplied and authorised by the NHS. Any advice would be much appreciated. As I did as she said but still woke up at 4am. Know this is going to be hard so would appreciate any advice
i take half a 3.75mg zopiclone to keep it in my system as when I tried to come off it I was very ill...i have tried 2mg melatonin it didn't work at all sadly and it's only to get you to sleep but we're all different..good luck
I now take half a Zoplicone 3.75mg and 2mg Circadin Which is a prolonged release Melatonin which is supposed to last 8hrs? I still wake quite early so sometimes cheat and take a bit more Zoplicone to get me back off to sleep but silly really as it Then makes me feel rough and sleepy all next day. But lovely to get those two extra hours sleep during the night
are you in the uk because my gp won't prescribe melatonin to adults only children did you have to push to get it prescribed thank you
My GP prescribed Circadin 2mg last week as that is the only one the NHS provides. It’s a slow release Melatonin. You can get others from Amazon but from the US and not regulated like it is here. But for some reason you have to be over 55 to get it. The reason given in line is because it’s not the best sleep medication for younger people. ? Regards. Mike.
i cant fall asleep til around 4am but then I can sleep 7 hours if I was left to ( I have to be up at 9am latest for work so 5 hours sleep for me) .i do wake early around 7am many nights too..but I'm in perimenopause so that doesn't help either
Hi I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. If I fall asleep I wake up about hour half later ..then have difficulty getting over again. I use relaxation apps and recent audio story .can't seem to get into deep sleep. Recent health problems and anxiety
Thank you Maddie for the "new research series" - where on this page will I find your results?
I'm a newbie. I haven't had at least 4 hrs straight sleep in over 3 yrs. due to anxiety with current online work I do. I'm an ACOA and biz conflicts bring on nightmares which keeps me at intermittent sleep. I don't get enough straight hours and I have to read or watch a video on science or discussions to get to sleep.
I know it's anxiety so I'm looking for a counselor now but I also know that when I get at least 4 or up to 7 hrs sleep, it means all is well with me, I've resolved fear or dread about business.
My fear cycle lately keeps me at 2 hours or so at a time of sleep. My fear is that fibromyalgia might be back. It's been 23 years since I got rid of FM and I don't want it back!
I haven't slept for a couple of months,have to rely on Promethazine tablets or Iphehydramine tablets. I am also on a lot of tablets for heart failure,they may need changing.
I have no average nights. When I get tired I go to bed. If not I am up, watching t.v. or the computer. My sleep patterns seem to come in 2-3 hr. bursts. I know cause I bought a Fitbit to find out how bad my sleep pattern was. Probably need a CPAP cause I cannot sleep on my back. Sleep on my sides puts pressure on my shoulders, the ones with calcific tendonitis. This along with a bad bladder makes me toss and turn then back to bed. Have no problems falling back to sleep. Just staying there is the issue. Plus the arthritic back doesn't help any either.
Sleep of any length would be most welcome ,,, I think it’s got to be about 6 months since I had more 3/4 hours sleep That’s ON A GOOD NIGHT, I have this buzz sound and it feels like the bed is vibrating or I’m vibrating , it also happens when I’m just trying to relax watching tv ,,, the vibrations start but not so much as night time ,,, my GP thinks I’m possibly suffering from anxiety/ depression,,, neither of which I’ve EVER struggled with , Ive had blood tests and waiting for the results ,,,I have COPD , Bronchiectasis and Asthma, and an under active thyroid ,
I’m age 75 ,,, and I just need some good regular sleep ,
Any advise or suggestions in regards to the vibration/buzz appreciated.
I have trouble falling asleep which can take hours and then I wake after a couple of hours and struggle to get back to sleep. I average 3/4 hours a night.
Trouble falling asleep for 58 years
chronic insomnia for 19 years 
