I sleep better with my new sleep number bed and after I moved into the assisted living--less stress, and no pain in my legs from stairs (no stairs here) and good security. I do go to bed earlier because I get up earlier.

Yes, I sleep lighter since menopause, which has changed my life in many areas. I take 3 m.g. of a Melatonin if I am still awake at midnight. I go to bed around 9:30 p.m. and find that sometimes I toss and turn, so that's when I take the Melatonin. It is a hormone that is found naturally in our bodies, and helps regulate the sleep cycle and works well for me.

Yes, definitely. I always slept lightly ("mother's ears"), but I used to fall asleep as soon as I turned out the light. Never had trouble gettingi to sleep, but now I do.

I often find I have a small window of opportunity to fall quickly to sleep. Usually it comes much earlier than I'm willing to go to bed--sometimes at 6:00 p.m. If I pass on it, or if I don't get to bed quickly enough, it goes by and then I'll have trouble falling asleep later. I'm told this is typical with fibromyalgia. But I've had fibromyalgia for a long time, and didn't start experiencing sleep problems until sometime in the past decade.

I'm just glad I don't have to face an alarm clock early in the morning.

Some nights I sleep like a log and some nights I can't sleep at all. On sleepless nights, I take an Ambien, which helps but somehow drug-induced sleep is not as restful as natural sleep. It sure beats no sleep!

All my life I've had nights when I simply could not fall asleep. Some of it was due to caffeine or that "kick back" you get from wine during the night.

I do find that sounds from outside (such as my neighbor putting out the trash at some ungodly hour) wake me more easily than before. I also am bothered by light and strongly prefer a dark room.

I need a new mattress badly. Got to get back to that search.

Sleep patterns have definitely changed in the last 5 years or so. I usually have no trouble falling asleep, but wake up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom and then have trouble falling asleep again. I still work full time so it's really hard to get up and go in many days and by the weekend I am exhausted and am grateful to sleep in and catch up. Can't wait to retire next year so I won't have to go to work feeling like a zombie anymore!

I sleep more soundly since I moved to Iowa. It is quieter and safer here and I have a dog to make me feel even more safe. Last summer I got new windows and that makes my house quieter. My son is here right now and I don't hear him walking around and feeding my animals early in the morning. I usually don't wake up until 8 or 8:30.

"Mothers' Ears." I like that! Yes, I used to sleep like a log until I had kids; when I had my first I worried that I would sleep through her cries, but it turned out I had no worries there. Both of my dsisters have sleep problems, but even after menopause I rarely have trouble and need a good 8 hours to feel rested. Last night, however, I tossed and turned for a couple of hours as I worried about my girls and their job prospects--nothing awful, but enough to keep my brain churning.

Exercise helps -- and pain relief, and even Ambien -- but I've had more trouble after about age sixty.

I agree with Alisande about mothers. I can remember going to bed and being 'dead to the world' until dawn -- but not since 1971.

Are there 'father's ears'? (Silly me!)

The only thing that has changed for me is the need to visit the facilities during the night. That's a relatively new requirement for me.

My sleep patterns have been rotten for at least 35 years (I am 68). It doesn't seem to matter whether I go to bed at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 or later, by 2:30 a.m. I am up. It was particularly upsetting to me when we were in Europe last fall, different part of the world and I still woke at 2:30. There are times when a nap cannot be had and I go to bed exhausted...still up at 2:30 a.m.

I feel that menopause's main effect on me has been getting less sleep. I was never a good sleeper. I don't get the exercise I did when I was chasing after 3 kids. Having a Dr. Pepper at lunch sometimes affects my nighttime sleep too.

I can't sleep in. No matter what time I go to bed, I'm up early. I woke with a start this morning, because I looked at the clock and it was 5:16! I slept in!!!

We go to bed late and get up late....

I feel very fortunate because I sleep well. I can even take a nap during the day and still sleep well at night. I know how lucky I am. I do get up during the night-usually once to use the bathroom but go right back to sleep. Go to bed around 10:00 or so and read for a short time then off with the light and Im asleep within a few minutes.
Satine

I usually have no problem falling right to sleep even after awaking to use the bathroom. Around 4am, however, I wake up for good, and usually just doze before getting up for work at 6:30am.

Gaining weight has made me hot. I used to sleep with the down comforter in the Summer....not now. I also used to do harder workouts. I would really feel the burn....now I slow it down, take my time....I'm not as worn out.

up and down like a yo yo! this past winter really had me down, and under the covers at all different times of the day or night...and now having a hard time changing!

I don't sleep as much as I did when I was young. I could easily sleep until noon...now, if I sleep until 8:30, that is sleeping late.

sleep? What's sleep? When I was younger, I would sleep so solidly, I'd wake up the covers were exactly as they were when I went to bed. Got in and never moved! Or woke up. Now, I never sleep. :( big frown! Changed when I was 27. I do "sleep" with herbal help, but not like I did when I was younger. And the side effects, ugh!

We just watched two episodes of a DVD series called "Shades". (I'm not recommending it.)

In it an unrelated man and woman suffer sudden deaths, but linger on earth while they sort out their prior lives.

They do not hunger or thirst.They don't get dirty or need a change of clothing. What annoys them most is that they never sleep! They miss the relief and comfort of getting into bed, pulling up the covers, falling asleep!

I've been an insomniac since I was seven when I had a severe head injury and brain surgery. I average four to five hours at the most but that's when I do sleep. On average I'm up till three or later every night, finally get sleepy and then wake up four or five hours later. The strange thing is that I have lots of energy and never get tired the rest of the day. Occasionally I have a night where I get tired early and it's like a gift to me.

I guess I am fortunate. I've always been a good sleeper. I love staying up till at least 11 o'clock and most mornings have no problem sleeping until 8 am or later. Even though I may get up 3 or 4 times a night to go the bathroom I almost always fall right back to sleep.

"Sleep medicine" is one of the newer and growing medical specialities. Unless y'all live in a very rural or remote location, there's likely to be such practitioners at your nearby medical or university center .

Poor sleep can lead to a long list of serious (and sometimes fatal) medical problems.

Everyone needs enough restful sleep and advancing age can complicate the picture. Problems like chronic insomnia or spending the night tossing are common but none the less can adversely affect your health. If you don't get restful sleep or find yourself feeling sleepy or unalert at times during the day, see a sleep doctor.