Why are you awake?

Every night, without fail, I’m awake by midnight-3am. Once in a blue moon I will fall back to sleep after a few hours but that is a rare occurrence. My brain doesn’t seem to be capable of shutting off. I always wonder who else is up and why…

I was up all night.... And will be up a little while longer.

The Catch? I work overnights. 12 hours 6p to 6a. I have been doing this since I got a degree (grad school) in my field. When off I sleep nights like a human.

Night shifts are rough! I don't envy you. On the bright side, you're getting paid for your sleeplessness though.

I have trouble sleeping sometimes so I have started meditation before bed. I used a leaded meditation you can find on YouTube called the daily calm.....

It has helped abit xxx

My family LOATHES this but I operate on a rotating schedule, so I go to sleep when I'm tired rather than at a specific time. Usually means that most days I stay up about an hour or two later than the day before, which inevitably pushes me to cycle through a nocturnal/diurnal schedule.

Sounds crazy, but I swear to god I get amazing sleep, 8-10 hours uninterrupted. Been this way for years (am 22). Obviously having a compatible career is important but anyone that decries my sleep as strange must not be as well-rested as I

3am for me - was wake up call for the AM kitchen crew. Did that for two years... and after six years of not doing it, you would think the body would remember you didn't have to be up at oh dark early... nope, thought goes through the head - work, got to get up.

I have found that if I can push out to about 2am and then crash... I can sleep through the 3am wake up. But it is getting to that 2am mark that is hard.
At least for me. By 9 / 10pm my mind wants to call it quits and I'm yawning like crazy...

But hello... 3am and I am looking at the ceiling asking why?

I relate it to the same phenomenon - that doesn't allow me to do regular push-ups anymore. All I know how to do - are diamonds... knock forty of those out without even thinking about it.

The way my mind works (and I wish it wasn't like that), if I am in a state of trying to solve a problem (usually having to do with work), my brain won't shut off until it has come up with a solution or a set of steps toward the solution. I've spent half a lifetime solving work problems in my sleep. It may take hours out of a normal restful sleep. I can only give thanks to God for giving me this unusual mechanism to help in solving problems (way too many to count). However it can take a toll long-term.
I never was one to pop sleeping pills or anything like that so I let it slide. If it weren't for the alarm clock, not so sure I'd get up in time to start my shift at work. I've noticed often that I would catch my second wind somewhere around mid morning and get in a good productive day.
Now, I am retired and nothing has changed, the gears still grind long after I've gone to bed. But now it's not about work, but some other domestic or economic strategy. That's not counting the normal dreams, many of which I remember in detail upon waking up, but I don't think those are as damaging to the sleep cycle, since one must already be in a deep sleep to have those dreams.
If you can function and fulfill the tasks that you are required to do during the day with this type of sleep disorder, more power to you. I did it and not only survived, but thrived. If it bothers you so much, or causes a cascade of problems during the daytime, it may be necessary to see a physician, or try one of the snake-oil's offered on TV like "Relaxium sleep".
It depends partly upon whether you think your brain is a blessing or a curse. But if it is causing you problems, seek professional help. Who knows? We may have legitimate sleep disorders!

I have always kept odd hours because my brain doesn't quit. Most of my homework as a teen was completed between 2-4AM in a fugue of last minute inspiration. Too often I fall asleep thinking about something and then enter into a light sleep where I lucid dream/think about the thing some more, I will then wake up several times in an attempt to clear my brain but fail and continue to repeat the process. I have been attempting for the last several years to adhere to a strict sleep schedule. I fail from time to time, particularly if I've overworked/overindulged myself or if I needed a nap that ran too long unchecked like I seem to have done today.

I do the same thing!!!!

Work/Research/et. al. - I have always worked late and if I could not figure a path, as I drifted off my mind would make sense of my day by working through the issues and the creativity would give me options.

In Grad school, I would do this in a class before and exam. In my sleep, my dream would put all of the parts together correctly. I awaken and had the information/process or theory ready to go.

Interesting to see what our brains are like; or, how certain indicators could represent our way of thinking.

I normally keep a habit of going to bed at 8 PM due to my early work schedule. When it’s past that time, I’m usually somewhere in my head, or in my laptop working on some poetry. My mind tends to over analyze a lot. Funny how our brains can be our own enemy if we let it. A nice, deep meditation along with a calming stretch usually does the trick to quiet my mind so my heart can finally be more at ease and I can go to bed & get a full nights rest.