At some point in my 40s I started doing that medieval “first sleep” and “second sleep” thing where my eyes just blast wide awake at 2am. I don’t have to pee, I’m not uncomfortable, I just wake up. I read, take the dog out, brush my teeth again… After awhile I go back to sleep and wake up at the normal time.
I guess it is kind of nice to do a patrol around and make sure everything is cool, and the dog loves it. It’s just kind of weird.
Long ago, when humans lived by daylight, we likely lived this way, with a “hole” in the middle of sleep, where people would wake up, putter around, chat and tell stories, have something to eat, and then go back to sleep. There was a lot less going on back then, people didn’t have access even to books and candles were costly anyway so there was no reason to stay up late. I’ve had the same issue myself although these days, it’s just the 2 times to pee.
This literally just began happening to me a couple of weeks ago. Now, I live northern enough that currently there’s only 7½ hour daylight, so most of the day it’s actually dark, and for these nights it doesn’t really make much difference having those first and second sleep, but it is weird.
I turn 43 later this year, but I also started some new anti-anxiety medication around the same time back when it began happening, so maybe it’s just temporary until I figure out dose and when to take the medicine.
Same. I’m over 50, and my wake up time is about 3:30am. I will read, or catchup on email, or play an hour or two of a PC game. Then go back to bed tired and get snuggled, and wake up at 8 for work.
I think a lot of us do that and after awhile I started taking note of the amount of time I was asleep before waking so alert and ready to go. Now I set my alarms to coincide with that. For me it’s about 3.5 hours so I have one alarm that wakes me at 2:30am than another for 7am. Seems to work for me though my wife and friends say I’m crazy for waking myself up in the middle of the night. But for me there’s that calming realization I have nearly 4 more hours of sleep before waking up for good. Makes those last few hours even more precious.
I recently learned (while staying up late trying to shoot a rat in my backyard) that they go to bed around 8-10 pm, then are up for an hour or so sometime around 1-2am, and it is fairly consistent
At some point in my 40s I started doing that medieval “first sleep” and “second sleep” thing where my eyes just blast wide awake at 2am. I don’t have to pee, I’m not uncomfortable, I just wake up. I read, take the dog out, brush my teeth again… After awhile I go back to sleep and wake up at the normal time.
I guess it is kind of nice to do a patrol around and make sure everything is cool, and the dog loves it. It’s just kind of weird.
Long ago, when humans lived by daylight, we likely lived this way, with a “hole” in the middle of sleep, where people would wake up, putter around, chat and tell stories, have something to eat, and then go back to sleep. There was a lot less going on back then, people didn’t have access even to books and candles were costly anyway so there was no reason to stay up late. I’ve had the same issue myself although these days, it’s just the 2 times to pee.
Strange to imagine not having much to do.
This literally just began happening to me a couple of weeks ago. Now, I live northern enough that currently there’s only 7½ hour daylight, so most of the day it’s actually dark, and for these nights it doesn’t really make much difference having those first and second sleep, but it is weird.
I turn 43 later this year, but I also started some new anti-anxiety medication around the same time back when it began happening, so maybe it’s just temporary until I figure out dose and when to take the medicine.
Same. I’m over 50, and my wake up time is about 3:30am. I will read, or catchup on email, or play an hour or two of a PC game. Then go back to bed tired and get snuggled, and wake up at 8 for work.
I’ve been doing that as well, there is periods where I’m just awake in the middle of the night.
I think a lot of us do that and after awhile I started taking note of the amount of time I was asleep before waking so alert and ready to go. Now I set my alarms to coincide with that. For me it’s about 3.5 hours so I have one alarm that wakes me at 2:30am than another for 7am. Seems to work for me though my wife and friends say I’m crazy for waking myself up in the middle of the night. But for me there’s that calming realization I have nearly 4 more hours of sleep before waking up for good. Makes those last few hours even more precious.
I don’t need water.
that vodka will turn to urine eventually
I think my neighbours are like this
I recently learned (while staying up late trying to shoot a rat in my backyard) that they go to bed around 8-10 pm, then are up for an hour or so sometime around 1-2am, and it is fairly consistent
I started taking a tiny dose of trazodone at bedtime to help me with that. It’s not nearly as habit forming as all the “real” sleep drugs.