I've had this problem in the past and continue to have it occasionally. I'm not usually thirsty and/or hungry, but usually my mind will wander and I'll start ge

I've had this problem in the past and continue to have it occasionally. I'm not usually thirsty and/or hungry, but usually my mind will wander and I'll start getting excited about some project I'm working on or (worse) start worrying about something that at 3 in the morning I can't begin to do anything about. Here are a couple of obvious things to try (granted, they were only obvious to me in retrospect): - No caffeine (not even tea/soda) after 3 in the afternoon. Better yet, no caffeine at all is best. Counterintuitively, your body will totally wake you up when it wants a caffeine fix. - No alcohol if you have to get up at any particular time the next day. It will put you to sleep, but meanwhile your body is trying regulate itself and will release adrenaline, which will wake you up once the alcohol wears off. - Likewise, no sweetened or starchy foods in the evening. This is basically the same effect as alcohol, except that it's the sugar/starch crash that's putting you to sleep. - (Never done this, but) keep a journal of when you eat, drink, caffeinate, and sleep and see if you notice a pattern. You might find that, say, eating a late dinner screws with your sleep.