Instead of sleeping??

I've been struggling with sleeping through the night lately.  And by lately I mean in the last month.

I've been following the same sleeping routine that I've been following for years, but it doesn't seem to be working lately.

My routine is to go to bed around 9, and watch TV or read until 10, then I usually fall asleep.
But lately I go to bed around 9, watch TV until 10 when the sleep timer shuts off the TV, then, since I'm wide wide wide awake I turn the TV back on for another 60min. 
I fall asleep before the TV goes off, but then around 12 or 1am I wake up.  I'm not wide awake enough to move around or consider getting up, but my brain is awake.  It's like I'm in a state of extreme rest, but not asleep.
I know this happens to me when I'm cycling on things.  When I'm stressed about something and haven't processed how to handle the situation, or I know what I need to do but haven't done it yet.
But that is not the case these past nights.  I am thinking about things, but not stressed.  Just....day dreaming.

I've been trying to brainstorm why I am not fully sleeping, here are my thoughts:

1. Caffeine.  I know this affects me, so I'm pretty careful about when I stop drinking it (4pm).  Maybe I'm exceeding my cut off time and drinking past 4?
2. Food change.  This strange half-sleeping started when I went back watching my carbs.  I am told that eating low carb helps you sleep better, and that has been my experience in the past, but the timing of the two are such that I should note it.
3. Age and hormones.  My mother and my sister both spoke often of how they would have nights where they just couldn't sleep.  They would lay there and just think.  I don't know if they were awake because of stress in their thoughts or just...thinking.  But both spoke of it starting around age 40, which is the age I just turned.
4. Stress.  This could be continuing because I realize it's been happening, and I may not be fully aware of using the "will it happen tonight" as the precursor to it happening each night.

Who know if any or all of these are factors...but what I can tell you is that it is getting O.L.D.

I know I don't function well after prolonged nights of interrupted sleep, and it's certainly not conducive to my weight loss or my making good food choices.  Hence the eating of three sample boxes of cereal this weekend.  I ate two for breakfast on Saturday, and one for a snack Sunday afternoon.  I don't normally eat cereal, not even tiny sample boxes, when I'm making smart food choices.   But I was so tired, and it was time to eat, that the sample boxes were "easy". 

What is easy about it is these easy stupid choices will make the weight come back on, and FAST. 

So...tonight I sleep.  I will not have caffeine after THREE, I will go to bed right at 9, and I will shut off the TV at 10. 
And I will tell myself I WILL sleep tonight, and have confidence behind my thoughts!

8-8-11  222.5