Do you normally wake up in the middle of the night? If you are one of those who have experienced this, you know this is so annoying. However, there are some reasons why this is happening to you and psychology and sleep medicine have something to say: when you wake up like this could be related to emotional, physical, and habit factors.
I mean, having a nice sleep is not just about sleeping for certain hours,but also about the quality. So, if you keep waking up in the middle of the night, this will affect your rest, mental and physical health. Let’s learn more about this, shall we?
Most common reasons why you wake up at night
At first, you might not know what’s happening to you, and why you wake up at night so many times. However, there are several reasons why you could be experiencing this, so let’s see them:
- Stress and worries: Stress alters hormones and neurotransmitters, keeping your brain on alert even when you are sleeping. This breaks your sleep by waking you up.
- Anxiety and depression: According to studies, those suffering from insomnia have up to ten more possibilities of developing depression. At the same time, 75% of those who already suffer from depression show insomnia issues and wake up at night.
- Negative thoughts: Keep thinking about problems or having the idea of ‘’not able to sleep’’ is something that will make your brain be active and, therefore, you will wake up several times.
- Excessive use of screens: The blue light coming from your device’s screen affects the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. This is another reason why you wake up at night.
- Medical and physical causes: chronic pain, sleep apnea, acid reflux, overthinking in the bedroom, frequent need to urinate, and aging (which naturally makes sleep lighter).
Waking up and sleep quality
According to the National Sleep Foundation in the U.S. explains that the sleep quality can be measured through four elements:
- Sleep latency: how long it takes you to fall asleep.
- Night wakings: how often you wake up during the night.
- Wake after sleep onset: how much time you stay awake after the first wake up.
- Sleep efficiency: the ratio between total sleep time and total time spent in bed.
Adults can have five micro wake ups per night, at the end of each sleep cycle, without remembering them the next day. However, the big issue comes when these wake ups are longer and you find it difficult going back to sleep.
Consequences of frequent wake ups
If you experience this several times at night, your sleep will be interrupted. And how can this affect your daily life? Let’s see:
- Irritability and mood swings.
- Poor concentration.
- Mental fog.
- Higher risk of anxiety and depression.
- Long-term effects on physical health (heart, metabolism, immune system).
These problems are just a few examples because more than 88,000 people were analyzed and the results showed that chronic sleep issues are related to more than 170 different diseases.
Try these tips
Sleep experts recommend several habits that you can incorporate to your routine to reduce these wake ups at night. I warn you there are quite a few, so grab a notebook and a pen to write down the ones you think will help you:
- Keep a regular sleep and wake up schedule.
- Create the right environment: cool, dark, and quiet.
- Avoid heavy meals and caffeine after 5 p.m.
- Cut down on alcohol—it fragments sleep.
- Limit naps to 30 minutes or less.
- Exercise regularly, preferably in the morning.
- Avoid screens at least an hour before bed.
- Practice relaxation techniques such as breathing or meditation.
- Don’t stay in bed awake for more than 20–30 minutes: get up, relax, then try again.
- Never self-medicate; if wake up issues persist, seek professional help.
By following these tips, you can reach uninterrupted rest and you will see that your life will change forever. However, if you keep waking up at night, you should go to experts that can help you solve this situation.