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I have been half-sleeping for years. Even when I haven't been living in my parents' home, I used to sleep with my phone under my pillow, waiting for it to ring in the middle of the night for someone to call with an emergency. It happened somewhat regularly, so it became muscle memory.

Now, since my dad has passed, I'm living with my mom. She can't get in and out of bed well, so she typically calls me on my phone overnight... and now I feel like my wrist is always vibrating... even when my watch isn't on.

I've asked her not to call out for me but to use the phone because yelling through the house gives me sheer terror. But it seems that now, the phone buzzing is starting to do the same thing.

The floor mat sounds like a good idea, and I might look into that. I am not sure about you, but I don't think I want the baby monitor because she cries a lot at night, both awake and in her sleep. It would make me even more heartbroken than I already am given the loss of my dad, and I am not sure I'd get any sleep at all.
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Because it is nightly, you may be like me, experiencing severe stress. (I am 75.) Stress causes an increase in a hormone called Cortisol, which peaks in most people around 3:15 or so am, who wake up and don't know exactly why. Since my husband's stroke back in 2000, I have dealt with the same issue you describe. After a bout of pneumonia in 2017, he was sent to a nursing home for two months because all of the damage from the initial stroke had returned. He is now bedridden, on a feeding tube, and incontinent, and still my sweet husband even with transient (vascular) dementia. I have been his sole caregiver for two years. BUT, I have a new lease on life and energy to take care of him for a couple of more years! I visited an endocrinologist two month ago and explained my 3:15 arousals. I was prescribed appropriate meds and I am happy to say I now get about 6 hours of quality sleep, going to bed after husband's sundowning is over. If you're on real Medicare and in charge of your own care, find a quality endocrinologist and tell him/her about your 3 am arousal. If not, insist that your GP pay attention to this classic symptom and do something about it. Good luck.
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Yes my father has done this at 2am or 3am calling my name out repeatedly from the bottom of the stairs. When i go to him he says he cant breathe and he thinks he is going to die. He is 83 with vascular dementia. Its scary when it happens. Sometimes he will shout in his sleep or bang things like doors etc. Its scary but what can i do. He doesn't know he is doing it. I dont have a good relationship with him which makes things a million times worse. He irritates me so much.
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I experience the exact same thing. I wake up at least 3 or 4 times a night because I hear mom calling me. I get up and check on her, but she's asleep. I finally figured out she calls my name in her sleep. It's weird. When she wakes she never remembers calling me either.
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Yes. Glad to know I'm not alone on this. I think at some point as caregivers we never really go into deep sleep but always have an ear open.
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I think it's universal after reading all these replies. I have actually heard a man's voice loudly shout me awake with a very loud "Get Up". I don't know why this happens every so often but it's never my mother waking up and it's almost supernatural! Someone from beyond definitely has a strange sense of humor!
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It has happen to be before I would freak out wondering how long had she been calling me and when I get there she was fast asleep or I would wake her when I entered the room and she would ask me if I was ok 🤦🏽‍♀️ she would always says she didn’t call me but I swore I heard her .Or like another commenter I would hear someone scream in my ear and wake up suddenly.It doesn’t happen as much now definitely in times of great stress.Hope you can get some rest I know it’s tough we are always worried and want to be there when we are needed.
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