Is it a normal part of aging to awaken at 2:45 in the morning? What the heck am I supposed to do (at 3 a.m.) if I can't go back to sleep?

I began sleeping a whole lot less when my late wife began her 6 year journey with vascular dementia in 2008. I was her sole caregiver during that time. Our son lives in Wisconsin, we lived in Suwanee, Georgia, and that's all there was to that. I was a homebuilder and land developer, so early hours weren't new to me. What was new was finding my wife, who was a very independent and successful person, completely needy for 24/7/365. So, I would give her her sleep meds at 10PM, have a couple of hours to do laundry, clean the house, make lists for everything, review her symptoms and behaviors that day and put them in a journal for review by her doctors, organize medical supplies for the next day's use, prepare meals in advance, etc., and (hopefully) go to bed by 1AM. I slept with my left hand touching her, so that, if she moved, I would awaken instantly, which I did a lot. At 5AM, she always awoke immediately, so I gave her a bath, and fed her. By the time that she went Home, on Thanksgiving Day, 2014. My brain was hard wired so that I could function with 3 hours' sleep a day. I remarried in April, 2016. My new bride broke her hip on September 20 of this year, has developed severe emphysema, congestive heart failure, and is on in-home hospice care. For me, my abbreviated sleep habits integrate with my present situation very well. After things run their course, I do look forward to a more leisurely life that will, hopefully, bring seasons of longer sleep. I look at it as a blessing of being retired: I get to sleep when I darn well please. I agree with another respondent to your inquiry: find a productive use that you enjoy for that early AM period of wakefulness. I am typing this at 6:30AM, after staying awake all night, because my wife was having some issues. I will relax by fiddling around with my fishing gear, look into some Bible passages to come up with a sermon outline for Sunday night, eat ham and eggs and sliced tomatoes for breakfast, then sleep from 9AM until 1PM, while our daughter watches her Mom. Then, I'll prepare lunch and dinner. Weaving the unfolding new patterns of our physiology and psychology as life progresses is so much easier than the angst of fighting the natural flow.

Tiger,
Here is just a downright c r a z y. answer for you, believe it or not. It was not my idea.
But some believers think that we are awakened (2-3 a.m.) in order to pray for someone. Maybe they are far away. Who/what comes to mind when you first awake?
Pray for them, what else do you have to do at that hour anyway?

There is a lot of stuff about how we have two sleeps per night. Prayer books were published in the 1600 and 1700 hundreds for use during the waking period. If you are on a farm like us, you may notice that the animals move around and feed at about 2am as well.

I don’t worry about being awake, and I lie comfortably and tell myself the plots of books I know well. Sometimes I put on a soft and boring CD, or run through my relaxation CD in my head. ‘Lie down on a firm but comfortable surface; cover yourself with a sheet or a blanket’ - I know it off by heart. Resting is not as good as sleep, but it is a lot better than worrying about not being asleep. I am fortunate in having a spare bedroom to retreat to if I am wakeful and restless.

Many people (including me) are prone to sleep ‘habits’, so once you wake at a couple of times at a particular hour, you keep doing it. Sleep drugs are good to break the ‘habit’, but easily addictive so not good long term. Try to enjoy being comfortable - many people aren't.

Our body produces Melatonin (the sleeping medicine).this is done every 45 min. ideal one should go to bed before 10 PM. lights all blue light should be off by 9 pm. there are few cells near both eyes which notice the darkness and then allow your body to produce Melatonin. If you miss this time, then you need to wait for another 45 min. At 2 am -3 am the brain starts preparing your body to wake up by asking the liver to produce glucose from glycogen. this is for every one. If you set up your room dark and close your eyes may be use white noise, then you may go back to sleep. you may have to wait till the next 45 min to get the dose of melatonin injected. It is natural. no need to get frusterated.

I have had insomnia my whole life, now I take sleep aids a road I wish I never took.

But here is what I use to do. Get out of bed, the longer you stay in bed the more frustrated you become. I would read a book, write, clean my house, and sometimes clean a friends house when she was sleeping (she lived down the street from me), watch tv, or baked. Now, if I should wake up in the middle of the night I just spend that time with the lord because I usually fall back to sleep within an hour. Meditation works really good or it did for me at one point.

I think not being able to sleep comes from Menopause. I have nights I sleep until I wake up to go to the bathroom. I find if I have had maybe 5 hrs of sleep its harder to get back to sleep. Less, I can usually go back. Closer to sun up the less likely I will be able to go back to sleep. I usually take a couple of Advils. I have where my legs ache sometimes.

I guess so..LOL I am only 51 and I always wake up between 3 and 5...I enjoy my morning time to have my coffee, relax, contemplate, see the sunrise, go for my morning paper, and to write letters...Yes, when I can't sleep though, and still "want to", I use two teabags of Chamomile Tea to one mug of hot water...that knocks me out for the night. Safe and soothing.

Tiger, if I find myself awake in the very wee hours of the morning, I turn on the TV and look for something boring to watch, like C-SPAN :P

I am a lifelong insomniac, maybe due to a head injury when I was a child. For 10 years I required Ambien every night in order to sleep, tried many times to kick that habit until finally I did through force of will and a friend who was a good listener and let me just yatter about my insomnia for a while. I slept well with no pharmaceutical assistance for two years, then the stress of this year set me back again.

Now I am finding that a hit of good quality pot is enough to put me to sleep quickly, and a few capsules of Valerian, cheap and easy to find over the counter, keeps me asleep all night. Medical cannabis is now legal in 33 U.S. states. I don't know where you live but if you can access some, look for a strain of Indica...that's the sleepy one :)

Peace and hugs to you as I know this is such a hard struggle!

Tiger55, when I was diagnosed with clinical depression 20 years ago, one of the questions the doctor asked was whether I was waking at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. Apparently there is a connection. I went on to take an antidepressant med for six months and engaged in talk therapy, on and off, for three years. Really helped!

If this doesn't fit you, try googling the phrase "sleep hygiene" for lots of good tips, some already mentioned here.

I would be sleeping through the night these days if not for my dog, age 15, who seems to have signs of doggie dementia, bless her heart.

Good luck as you figure this out!