I can never seem to get a solid nights sleep, as in 8-9 hours without waking up. I seem to wake up every 1.5-2 hours, roll over and go back to sleep. It sounds stupid but its really making me more tired than I should be and I dont think I’m recoverying very well because of it lol. Anyone ever have a problem like this, or have any suggestions? Thanks
it is perfectly normal to wake up several times a night in a normal night’s sleep. everyone does it, but usually you don’t remember waking up if you go straight back to sleep. in fact, anxiety about finding yourself awake is what is likely to cause sleeping problems, not the waking up itself… 
Caffeine? Stress? Training too close to sleep? Watching TV prior to sleep? Sitting in front of computer working? Noise? Temperature? (…list goes on) Any thoughts as to why?
Try something relaxing before sleep (warm bath, book, warm drinks etc). I find contrast work quite draining and relaxing. ZMA is claimed to also help sleep quality (Although I admit amongst the stresses of life I’ve never noticed this). Meditation/relatation exercises are great. Sex before sleep. Just some quick thoughts.
Now thats what I’m talking about…
speak for yourself.
quick for some… 
yeah i do that and seems perfectly normal. Only difference is i cant get 8 hours of sleep no more. only 5-6 hours, i feel refreshed.
Hang on a second - who said waking several times a night is normal?
Just because everyone does it doesn’t mean it’s normal - or supposed to be done!
I think the aim should be to get an uninterrupted nights sleep, regardless of patterns and REM cycles.
I would look at trying magnesium before bed and also at melatonin if that doens’t work.
by normal, I mean that it is basically the case that it happens in every night’s sleep for everyone.
just quoting the results of sleep studies. as someone who has difficulty with sleep I have done a fair amount of reading on the topic. waking up in the middle of the night then rolling over and going back to sleep is nothing to worry about at all and does not mean that your sleep will be any less restful…
Are you overtraining??
I had this problem between 17 and 21 but then I went to a hypnotist and now can sleep whenever I want! If there is a decent hypnotist near you it’s worth a shot.
topcat noticed any difference. I’m 21 and cant sleep more then 7 hours no more, but i thought these things in sleep was normal as we age. I dont see anything wrong with it, unless from your results of clearing this problem for you in your earlier years made a big difference in your life.
I use to be worried about NOT ENOUGH sleep, let alone sleeping too much! I still need over 8 hours to feel refreshed…5 would kill me. I use to not be able to get to sleep worrying about how much sleep I wasn’t going to get and then it hit me: lying down in bed doing nothing is a form of rest in itself. Even if I laid there all night long with my eyes open, at least I would be stress free and not doing anything. So, even if you wake up and realize your awake, just think to yourself “Hey, yea I’m awake, but at least I’m still in bed and not working!” Then smile and just lie there worry free until you naturally (without trying) fall asleep again. Works every time (except the times it doesn’t).
if i set my alarm a bit earlier then when i wake up i spend some time just half asleep, being conscious but just lying there with my eyes closed and not really doing anything and i feel a lot more refreshed and awake after that. im 15 and on school days i normally get like 7 hours sleep but now its the summer holidays ive been sleeping for 12+ hours!
thanks for replies. I only was curious as I was previously ( for as long as I can remember) sleeping completely through the night. Now im waking up 5-7 times.
Top cat: can you explain more into your situation? thanks
not training at all btw.
Pseudo-insomnia
Insomnia is a subjective feeling and is influenced by many factors. The main component of insomnia is the distress felt as a result of not being able to sleep. People who say they are suffering from insomnia may in fact be getting enough sleep. But why do these people say they are not sleeping? It is because of the distress they feel when they are not able to fall asleep when they want to. These people who get enough sleep biologically and yet complain of insomnia, I call ‘pseudo-insomniacs’. ‘Pseudo’ means imposter, and I would like to discuss this under the following categories.
i Feeling of distress[/i]
i The expectation of more and better sleep[/i]
i The facts of NREM sleep[/i]
i Frequent awakenings in the night[/i]
In the sleep laboratory it has been shown that we normally wake up many times in the night. Most of the awakenings last only a few seconds and we fall back to sleep, not remembering them in the morning. If these awakenings last longer we feel distressed and, if they are all added up in the morning and remembered, we tell ourselves that we have had a bad night of broken sleep. The distress of lting awake in bd even for a few minutes will be remembered and exaggerated in the morning, even if there was actually many hours of sleep. This is the power of exaggeration when we are stressed.
Sleep Without Drugs , Dr. Moses Wong
the only thing you have to fear is fear itself.
hope this is helpful…
thanks man, thats real helpful
The fact that it kind of stopped at a certain age could be the result of hormonal changes or it could have been the hypnotist. I think learning to relax is really important because as an athlete I was very wound up but in my old age I now know how to relax and get a good nights sleep.
I think this is what the hypnotist “cured”, I used to worry about not falling asleep now i KNOW if i just lye down and relax it WILL happen and nothing can wake me!
MJ had a good point. There is literature describing interrupted sleep as a side effect of overtraining. I have this problem myself not just for long term overtraining but for short term over reaching (1 workout). Try taking off a complete week off with NO workouts and see if you sleep better.