Waking Up At 2AM? Discover the Ancient Secret of Segmented Sleep

[@PM-eg9qu]

My sleep pattern has totally changed (I'm 64) in the last few years. I have gotten sleep studies, taken meds...you name it. I literally sleep (like you) 4-5 hours and then wake up...totally awake for about 2 hours. I finally resigned to struggling with it which made it worse, and instead working on making peace with this new rhythm of mine. I do know after researching, that our sleep architecture does change as we age, so it is common to sleep in lighter stages longer, therefore, waking more. I like your ideas, as it is difficult to know what to do in this window of night. Thank you for your suggestions and always nice to know that I am not alone. :)

[@eleanorbuck715]

Hi Margaret, I wake up about 3 am and go to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. Then I go back to bed and fall asleep quickly. The carbs in the cereal do the trick for me. I like the pattern. Love the quiet time.

[@irenesingleton3427]

My mom had 10 children. In her 50's she went to college and got 2 degrees. She did all of her school work in the middle of the night. She also wrote a book, probably when my dad and the kids still at home were sleeping. Just for your information, she is in her 90's now and doing very well so it didn't seem to affect her health at all. I cant wait to tell her about this video.

[@cynthiahurlburt2819]

This video is packed with wonderful ideas. I ,too, wake up naturally between 0200-0300. I am guilty of checking my phone 😂 but I have learned to keep low lighting. I do simple chores, tasks, laundry,empty dishwashers, bathroom cleaning, light reading , meditation, express gratitude to my maker, reflection, praying for others, and seeking guidance on how I can help others in need. I return for "second" sleep around 0330. Yes, it is less stressful and accomplished chores, so enjoy the quiet hours while the world is asleep in my time zone. So peaceful and surreal. P. S. I learned from you to wall paper journals with cute and colorful wallpaper. Makes me happy when I open to journal, take notes in classes I attend, and give away to others who need" a pick me up." Thank you, Margaret. You are a motivator. I am thankful for your channel! ❤❤❤❤❤

[@bonniemullen4990]

I agree i with that pattern , i do the same thing ❤😊✅👏💞

[@mariancamdenpsy.d.llclicen2564]

I just read about segmented sleep myself. Makes so much sense, especially if we don’t have to wake up early for children or work.

[@Kirbygal55]

Hi Margaret. My usual sleep pattern is going to bed between 9:30-10.00. I sleep very deeply and wake up around 2 am - 3am fully awake. I get up and have a cup of tea and then go back to sleep around 4am and sleep until 6 - 7am. It bothered me for years but now I just go with the flow. Sometimes I will have a nanny nap for 20 minutes which seems to be all I need.

[@vickylee5579]

I’m just like you. I wake up every night. I’ll stay up a few hours then try to go back to sleep. I needed to hear this. Thank you Margaret ❤

[@NancyStinger-ll6wt]

Fascinating !!! I have been wondering about my sleep lately. I am up in this sleep pattern lately. My second sleep is maybe 3 or 4 am until 7 or 8 first is around 9 til 12. Oh my gosh what an eye opener . Last night I was up usual 2 am got up opening my sliding doors to feel the fresh air on my face . Being aware of this takes so much pressure off . I think for many of us now retired our bodies were so programmed from years of work using alarm clocks etc and we didn’t know our own body rhythm . Such an eye opener ❤️

[@kathleenmeyer7192]

I do the same, about 2:30 and listen to podcasts and sometimes fall asleep after about 1.5 hours.

[@vga3245]

I have done this for fifty years, I sleep for four or five hours, I get up and do a variety of things that need to be done. I empty the dishwasher, write in my journal, clean the refrigerator, clean the oven, do laundry what ever needs to be done. Then after a couple of hours I go back to bed. So glad to hear others are doing the same thing.

[@deborahblackwood3629]

Interesting. I also have segmented sleep. I like to put a video on but just listen without the screen. Really helps me fall back to sleep.

[@sixtyandme]

That's a great idea!

[@Sunluvr1]

I do that every night because I too wake up at 2am .

[@Purple-ws9fn]

I go to sleep at 00.00 and wake up before 04 in the morning. I get up, walk the dog, have some breakfast, read a book and then at 08 I go to sleep another 4 hours. Works great for me.

[@Vera-y8m]

Hello Margaret, this is the way I have survived for years. I have seldom ever been able to sleep all night even when young. This was problematic while I was a teacher and had a longish commute to the school I worked in but I really believe the harm comes from the unnecessary worry and stress of not getting enough sleep and not really from the actual deficit of sleep itself. My pets and I have enough restful sleep and quiet time, creative hobbies, and unhurried relaxing quality time to spend in our large garden...! Now retired I no longer have to worry about clock watching or timetables and schedules that would kill a horse!! We love to share the swinging seat in the moonlight as our property is sheltered and secluded from public view by mature trees and is very private and secure. My favourite quiet activity is to make a cup of tea recline with feet up pets on my knee and say my prayers. Praying and especially the Rosary is a form of meditation for me. New subscriber from Northern Ireland ❤

[@jcool4358]

So funny Margaret. My brother and I discuss this sleep or lack of often. We both have this same problem. I am 76 and he is 81. So glad to see we are not the only ones. 😂 Merry Xmas and Happy 2025.

[@marcelitabellaesconde2258]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You and Yours 2024!

[@sandradorsey5001]

Good Sunday 🌅☕ morning. Yes, that has happened to me, I just 🙏 pray and I fall back to 😴 sleep or meditate. You look 😍 pretty in pink🎉🎉🎉

[@jdk5379]

Sounds about right, lol. I usually go to sleep around 8:30-9, sleep til about 2-3. Awake for an hour or so, then go back to sleep.

[@BlueMountain2017]

I wake up around 3AM/3:30AM but I don't get up unless need to use the bathroom. I try to get back to sleep and sometimes I do. If I can't get back to sleep I start reading in bed and then try again to sleep. Once in a while I just can't get back to sleep but I won't get out of bed until 6AM. That's my rule: not getting up before 6AM. If I was to start getting up earlier than 6AM, then I feel it will become a habit. I feel that ideally you wake up when the sun rises (dawn) but with daylight savings time, it often just does not work. I dislike daylight savings time. It's always such an adjustment. Since I am retired, I don't worry about getting enough sleep. Used to stress me out when I was working because I worried that I wouldn't function well at my job. These sleep patterns didn't start until I got older. I used to sleep all night long but those days are long gone.

[@janicerivera5570]

I've listened to ASMR for years. Has always helped me get into sleep and back into it when i wake up in the middle of the night. Just have to make sure it's a gentle sound.

[@rosieE121]

I have been doing this already. Especially if I didn't get my afternoon nap. I normally wake up without an alarm at 2 AM or so, get a little exercise walking around, relax a bit, and I am ready to go back to sleep, no problem. In winter months I get tired soon as it gets dark so end up going to bed earlier.

[@jillclark9132]

When i wake up about 3.30am,I listen to a talking book. Listening stops you thinking about your worries and I usually fall asleep in an hour or so.

[@jennywren8937]

I still rise at 5am the way I always have, but relieved I no longer have to venture out to milk animals. These days I enjoy a nap after lunch to recharge my batteries. As a carer spanning many years, I always tended my patients around 2am, and invariably wake around that time but now I can enjoy a quiet moment reading or doing soduku. For me, night hours are best for study without interruption, or just enjoying peace.

[@wilmafallon8712]

I think all our make up is completely different. I usually stay up as late as i can say 11.30 to 12 ish, when i feel tired. I usually sleep at least 6 or 7 hrs right through , sometimes we think we are tired when we are not . Make sure i have my last cuppa abt 6 ish . 💗🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@susanwilson4695]

I do this too. My medical provider doesn't like it at all, so I don't discuss it anymore. I always fall back to sleep after a couple of hours and sleep very well.

[@ninjanana102]

Fascinating video!

[@AngelaSunde1]

I have read about this mediaeval pattern of sleep before. I recall that people in the Middle Ages would fall asleep early, sleep four hours, then wake at midnight for an hour or so before going back to sleep for four hours. Apparently the lack of electric lighting meant they followed their natural sleep rhythms. The midnight wake time was spent talking etc with their partner, catching up on light tasks, and some would even pop next door to visit a neighbour. Because they worked so hard, the poorer classes often only had this window of time for socialising. To the extent that working class courting couples would share a bed (with a board down the middle) and chat during this time. The young man had to start work at sunrise, so this was the only time. Fascinating. Now if I wake, I go and fold laundry or relax on the couch (with no lights on).

[@tonyagarces2386]

Thank you so much for this info and these suggestions. For me it’s 3 a.m. and I’m going to give your ideas a try. It’s got to be better than ruminating over waking up and not being able to sleep.

[@susannegiesen2114]

I also wake up at 2 am. Sometimes I'm so awake that I can't fall asleep again until I have to get up which is normally at 5.30. So I often go to work with only having slept 3 hours. To me this is terrible, because I work fulltime and it is a really stressfull job. But sometimes at night 2 am it works that I just think about something or listen to a podcast or read and after maybe 1 or 2 hours I fall asleep again. So then my second sleep is only 1 1/2 hours, but it is what it is and I gave up on worrying for this because I'm not able to change it. And I tried everything, believe me. So I also do this medieval method without knowing it😅 But it is really interesting!

[@zeljkabozic]

I have often sleep like that

[@roseyc.5846]

I sometimes wake up at 3-3:30 AM, wanting my coffee. But, once up, I can't go back to sleep, of course. By 4:30 AM, I hear my little grandson upstairs, and, that's the end of my sleep. 😕

[@ghurtadoable]

Margaret, thank you for sharing this awesome video. 😊

[@sixtyandme]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@barbaraoerding8157]

Sleep patterns definitely change as we age. It makes life very difficult. I've never been able to sleep during the day, and that has not changed. Great suggestions but, not too sure any of that can work for me. 😊💗

[@katherinebryan9921]

I’m going to try this. I am tired of laying there tossing and turning in frustration.

[@reginamay1]

Great video for us ageing baby boomers

[@cynthiaryan2901]

When this happens to me, I listen to the radio. I have a small pocket radio with a headphone jack. It’s amazing the interesting programs that are on in the middle of the night. Just like you, I keep some water by my bed for sipping.

[@jennywren8937]

Yes, and lovely if I can find someone reading a story.

[@ellenzfrequency]

It's 2:32am.. I've been laying here & found you . 😂

[@JudithSchoner]

I wake up around 4:00 am, eat a Banana and go back to sleep.

[@lorrainevart8827]

I do the same. I find banana get me back to sleep

[@janetstonerook4552]

I often wake at around 3 a.m. and I don't stress about it. I'm retired and, if I don't have anything scheduled for early that day, I know I can go back to sleep later. I often have something to drink, usually a black coffee with apple cider vinegar and coconut oil and spices. I often do a load of laundry or dishes and maybe read or journal while that's happening. Or listen to an inspiring podcast. Usually just before dawn I get drowsy and go back to sleep. I wake up refreshed and always surprised when I see all the work I accomplished in those few hours in the middle of the night. I joked with my daughter it is like the good fairies came in the night and did my grunt work! 🧚‍♀️ 🧚‍♂️ 😂

[@doloresaquines1529]

Sometimes I wake at 3 or. 4 a.m. Rarely. I just turn over and go back to sleep. I am a night person by nature, and do my best work then. Mornings, ugh!

[@bonniemullen4990]

I do the same thing Margeet its very normal , most people at first would stress over it , but just get some things done ✅ and 💤😴 again for your second sleep 😊 ❤️😴 its fine go with your body rhythm 😉🪘😊❤

[@deemarch2089]

🙏🏻wonderful time to 🙏🏻

[@Rhetor305]

I wake up at 4 but don’t want to wake up my husband. And if I wake up the dogs, its over! Lol! But I love the idea!

[@biondna7984]

I like this idea. I've begun doing something like it. The 11/5/24 election was past disappointing, it's frightening. I was in my fourth round of adrenal fatigue from obsessing on all that, beyond voting, donating and writing anonymously to warn people about narcissists (I was long-married to one). I was already in a hard place with grieving my beloved second husband's death and struggling with long Covid. So, I've taken myself off all news, except for what's positive or neutral. I'm walking, meditating, doing things with friends, keeping up my dance lessons, doing yoga and deep breathing. I talk to all my neighbors regardless of what their yard signs say, and get a little more peace with these unofficial efforts for diplomacy and healing. Even with all this, at about 3 AM or so, it's bug-eyed time. So I stopped fighting it. I'm glad I don't have to punch a clock anymore (so far). And I actually get some good contemplative work done before I nod off again.

[@bonniemullen4990]

By the way Margret you look lovely in pink ❤😊

[@doloresaquines1529]

Not for nothing is it called the graveyard shift!

[@cathy9485]

I believe people in Spain sleep this way. Not sure, does anyone know?

[@doloresaquines1529]

No Cathy they do not. Same as elsewhere they go to bed not that early. I daresay some wake Up in the middle of the night and others sleep like logs.

[@janieb6236]

I heard start reading the Bible...you'll get very sleepy!

[@reginamay1]

As a retired flight attendant I remember waking up in a hotel room and have forgotten my book, I used to open the drawer and pull out the Bible and lo and behold it put me to sleep.

[@jennierollins8789]

☮️🌎🎄

[@jillmeader5882]

U r so perky!