Ive never had issues with staying asleep, per se, but, I have struggled a great deal with falling asleep, which contributes to the same symptoms mentioned in your original post.
I had been using L-Tyrosine, which was extremely effective for falling asleep, deep/restful sleep and vivid, positive dreams, despite the supplement's main use being for mental claritiy and stamina. It has the opposite effect on me, and I have come to learn, on others, as well. I thought I would stop and try to fall asleep on my own, but I was unsuccessful.
About a month, ago, I began utilizing a breathing technique, suggested by my therapist, and found it to be quite effective. I, more recently, read about the effectiveness of valerian root on sleep and anxiety symptoms, and Ive been drinking the tea for the past week. It is a combination of valerian, chamomile and peppermint. Indeed, it has helped me, profoundly, with daily anxiety, including social anxiety, surprisingly. I only have to drink it at night to obtain anti-anxiety effects throughout the following day. The drawback is that, the dreams it produces have been extremely intense. Too intense for my liking. I have been experimenting with the amount of time I allow it to steep, and last night I did not dream about anything outside of the normal scope of the types of dreams I generally have. I do like dreaming and generally, never have bad or insane dreams, so, if I am able to maintain this more desirable effect, I may continue to utilize the valerian root.
Otherwise, I will attempt to master the breathing technique, and if it doesn't suffice, long term, I will go back to utilizing L-tyrosine. I don't like anything building up in my system, which was my concern and reason for discontinuing L-Tyrosine. Although, perhaps that doesn't occur with this particular supplement, as I did not experience any symptoms as the result of discontinuing it.
edit: I, also, listen to music when falling asleep, and have done, for most of my life, which does help to relax me quite a bit, but, hasn't been as effective in the past several years.
