I have a similar problem I can fall asleep when I go to bed but wake up after 3 hours and cannot get back to sleep
try calamine tea just before going to bed

i have a few ideas. i don't want to insult your intelligence but i'd regret not asking you, in case no one has.
do you drink caffeine after 5:00pm?
have you asked your dr if the meds you DO take can be causing this? are there any alternatives? also, can dr prescribe something for pain and/or insomnia that's NOT addictive? surely there is something available. would you consider therapy?

i'm guessing you don't want your son to think of you as an addict. people who take tons of vitamins do not have this concern. it's not about pills. it's about treating him with love and respect. i have to take meds for depression and have explained to my 8 year olds that if someone takes medicine that they do NOT need, they will get sick. it makes sense to them.

i pray/meditate my self to sleep every night. i'm told i go to sleep very quickly. also, i do my best to be the most loving person i can be everyday, so i can look myself in the mirror and sleep at night.

God bless.

Have you tried melatonin. Take 2 over the counter supplement pills one hour before bed time and it will help you get tired. Also pay attention to sleep hygiene- no caffeine after 2 pm, make sure your room is cool and quiet,maybe read for 20 min or so to let your brain slow down. If you cannot sleep get up after 30 minutes and do something boring and then try again. If you have been having this problem for a long time your body may associate the bed with a place you cannot sleep. Try making your bed up so you sleep at the foot to change it up a bit.

you could try therapy….it sounds crazy but sometimes you have emotional/stress problems that manifest themselves in other ways (insomnia, back pain, etc) and once you work them out, your other problems get better.

If you have the time and money you can go to one of those sleep centres. They'll at least be able to tell you if there's a medical/physical reason for your problem or if it's just stress.

You sound like you need help and assuming your an American if you go to a regular doctor they will just throw medications at you randomly.

Insomnia is on this list, others have mentioned conditions which are also on this list.

http://www.ylcf.org/hormone-imbalance/06...

Miriam wrote her story in 1997 and revised it in 2002.

Stress –> Hormone Imbalance –> "Health Issue"

As a preliminary do the on line hormone tests at http://www.hormoneprofile.com or http://www.johnleemd.com

If they recommend you obtain hormones please have a saliva test done see http://www.npis.info or http://www.salivatest.com. A saliva test will check out active hormones something that blood tests do not.

If a hormone is suggested by the saliva test please take the dose suggested for you. Size 10 shoes are not twice as good if you have size 5 feet.
The WHO (World Health Organisation) uses saliva tests.

A transcript of a John Lee talk – this explains why for hormones a blood test is worthless and much more
http://www.keepsmilin.com/transcriptdrle...

Blood tests find hormones, but they are the ones on their way out of the body. They do not give the active hormone levels.

Search the web for "natural progesterone insomnia" and you will find many pages read and carefully select.

There is a list of doctors at http://www.npis.info who are aware of the benefits of natural progesterone they may be more helpful than your GP. You are about to educate your GP

Natural progesterone means natural to humans i.e. identical to that produced by the human body.

For a good explanation of how vital natural progesterone is to humans see

http://www.hormoneprofile.com/howhormone...
and other pages on this site

After having done a saliva test any progesterone you buy must be natural progesterone USP. USP means United States Pharmacopoeia. Wild yam is that Wild Yam the body will not convert it to progesterone.

Do not take fake progesterone/progestins manufactured by the drug companies they will be of NO benefit.

Men only need about half the natural progesterone that women do, but we need it all the same.

The books were written for women, for a man I'd suggest Optimal Health Guidelines as a starter, then possibly the "menopause" one

Hope this of benefit to you …

I can only make a couple of general suggestions. You are very wise to want to avoid sleeping pills of ALL types.

I feel like I am hitting my head against a wall, when I advise other DOCTORS as well as patients, that they do not work, and few professionals realise that you can become hooked on them in as little as 3 days! Ultimately studies confirm that patients on long term sleeping pills, ultimately only sleep an average of 30 minutes more than their pre-medication state, but can't sleep at all without them!

Never read, exercise or watch TV for at least 30 minutes before going to sleep. Take a bath with Lavender oil, and put a few drops on the pillow, and finally try a warm, caffeine free drink, before retiring.

I have the same problem too.
Tried almost everything – from prescribed drugs/health supplements to aroma therapy.

Just wanna share with you. My friend from China gave me some foot soak herbs. These herbs are from Tibet and supposed to help blood circulation and promote sleep. I have tried a few nights and will continue since its really soothing. Hopefully can see the effect soon.

exercise my friend. since you are already up early in the morn. go running or jogging. later in the evening go running or jogging and/or work out with weights vigorousley. do not drink any caffein if possible. you can have one or 2 cups of coffee in the morning if you have to but thats it. if you must drink soft drinks make sure it;s sprite , 7up etc. also no sugar in the evening either. you could also try a low carb diet as well. low carb diets have a tendancy to make a lot of people crash and thats exactly what you need right now. try a low carb diet with vigorous exercise and i can almost garuantee you will sleep.

Another possiblity that you might have to consider is bipolar disorder. Staying awake for long periods is one of the symptoms, but of course, you must have had at least one depressive episode. Try googling for a free quiz to see how you rate.