If I wake up after 4 - 5 hours of sleep for going to the toilet or feeling cold or any other reason or for apparently no reason, I can't get back to sleep. I can go to sleep again if I have had 3 hours or less of sleep. I can work if I get up but after completing breakfast at around 8 AM, I have to take to bed. Even then, I can't always sleep. My head aches severely without 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep, the extent of severity depending on the extent of sleep shortage; I also get irascible, my eyes irritate and I make wrong decisions. Incidentally, I am 59, am suffering from IBD, have high myopia and glaucoma but no other serious diseases. If I get to sleep 8 hours a day, I can work as well as I did when I was 25 years old and better than and more than most 25 year olds. However, I get this sleep only 2 - 3 days a year; the result is low productivity.
Ans: This is what many sleep experts advise- Stop watching the clock when you are trying to go back to sleep, this will make you more anxious..
Tense each muscle group (starting from the toes upwards) for five seconds, then relax.
If you can’t fall back to sleep after approximately 15 to 20 minutes, get out of bed and find something boring to do and go back to sleep when you feel sleepy again.
Try to go to sleep and wake up at the sametime everyday — even on weekends and holidays.
Avoid consuming caffeine at least 6 hrs before bedtime. .
Make your sleeping environment comfortable.
One hour before bedtime, stop doing work or other mentally-challenging tasks.
Use your bed only for sleep or intimacy. .
As a last resort you can try using Melatonin gummies
