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[CoryTrevor]

Having trouble sleeping due to anxiety and depression. Currently taking Trazodone which helps me get to sleep, but I wake up needing to pee and have trouble getting back to sleep. Rough going the last month or so.

[welly10]

Try do go to bed same time and wake same time good sleep hygiene is the key good luck.

[Catsamaze]

Welcome, Cory! I have the same problem...falling asleep is relatively easy, but staying asleep is another matter. One thing that helps me get back to sleep is guided imagery. You may want to check out recordings by Jason Alexander on YouTube. And there are many others....all free and really helpful....

[CoryTrevor in reply to Catsamaze]

Thank you! I’ll check it out.

[Catsamaze in reply to CoryTrevor]

Sorry, Cory. Jason Stephenson is his name. Jason Alexander is the guy from Seinfeld......

[ziggypiggy]

Depression on top if anxiety is the double whammy. The anxiety interrupts sleep but it's the depression that keeps us from practicing the consistant positive habits for quality sleep. Motivation and willpower are at a minimum when depressed. All the things you're not suppose to do you often will engage in because the short term comfort is too enticing as a quick way to make us feel better. At least for me anyway. Good luck.

[kaliska0]

Taking meds to help with anxiety or depression throughout the day and night is generally helpful. Taking meds at night just to sleep has high odds of going badly. Eventually the med will not help you sleep. Also a lot of meds reduce sleep quality so you fall asleep sooner but you wake up easier or because of the shallow sleep you don't feel as rested.

If your body is fully registering that it's time to sleep then it does a whole lot of stuff to get ready for and improve the efficiency of sleep. It lowers and raises all sorts of hormone levels and converts neurotransmitters to alter brain activity. Among that is reducing diuretic hormones that trigger you to make urine. If you are having to pee then either you are drinking too much too close to bed or something is going wrong physically. If it's your body not realizing it's time to sleep then fixing it should not only keep you from needing to pee but also reduce the odds of waking up for other reasons and improve how rested you feel the next day.

This is often best accomplished with "sleep hygiene" improvements. A set of environment and behavior changes that helps signal your body it's time for sleep. While it doesn't work for everyone's type of insomnia it generally has a better outcome for people than only relying on forcing their brain into unconsciousness with drugs or supplements without giving it time to properly prep for sleep. This site has a good list but the details vary on what works best for each person so you have to experiment a little sleepfoundation.org/sleep-h...

Light therapy in the morning can be one of the most important things when also dealing with depression. Morning sunlight has a greater effect on mood and sleep cycles than light later in the day but if outdoor light is not possible there are many light therapy devices. Keeping the room lit up some during the entire day even on cloudy days and then making sure it stays dim after sunset also really helps keep your body on a schedule.

Many electronics have an automatic blue screen filter setting that can reduce the light spectrum that triggers wakefulness and often dim the brightness of the screen overall as well. Pretty much all computers and tablets have it now and even one of our tvs let's me dim and reduce blue light a few hours before bed time. It can let you use your electronics into the evening without as much negative effect on sleep but some people do still need to turn them off completely for a time before bed.

When only routine and environment changes don't help there are many devices out there meant to reduce anxiety and trigger sleep. Sleep sound machines that play soothing sounds are a basic option. Some of the more expensive ones have a sort of ramp down effect where they start more active and louder and then the noises get calmer and quieter. There are also light devices that guide breathing exercises like the dodow sold on amazon. It's surprisingly effective for some. You simply breathe in time to the light as it expands and contracts in order to relax and avoid thinking about other things. If you want to get really fancy and much more expensive there are devices like the Muse headbands that help with meditation or more scientifically it's called neurofeedback for treating anxiety disorders and improving sleep.

[YvonneH3]

Hello Cory. Trazodone does have a tendency to increase urine output. I suggest A) Trying to build a routine to sleep, and B) taking melatonin. If you prepare your body to sleep, then it will actually be easier to sleep. You can maybe start drinking tea before bedtime and then lie down. This way, you'll be conditioning your body to recognise that you're about to go to sleep after drinking tea. If its still really hard for you to sleep, then try using melatonin. Theres this blog that explains how melatonin works, Ill send it here: vitaminexpress.org/uk/melat...