People all around the world have trouble sleeping through the night (Image: Getty)
Millions of people struggle with sleep at some point in their lives. One-off nights where you can’t seem to stay asleep aren’t anything to worry about – but you might when they’re becoming a regular thing.
If you’re rolling over to find out it’s 2am, 3am or even 4am and you’ve still got hours before your normal alarm goes off, then you’re not alone. Overnight awakenings – commonly referred to by sleep scientists as wake after sleep onset – aren’t rare.
. However, there’s usually a reason our bodies naturally decide it’s time to get out of bed.
Luckily, these problems are usually not serious for most, but they can be annoying and are worth getting checked by a doctor if poor sleep affects your life. If sleep is disrupted regularly at night, it can potentially have a knock-on impact during the day, which is not ideal for anyone to experience.
claims there are steps you can take to help pinpoint the problem and hopefully start getting a full night’s rest soon. —even if it may seem like clockwork—as the issue is more than likely elsewhere.
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She said: “At one point, you may have had a reason to wake up at that time, maybe in response to sleep apnea or a crying baby. Your body may have become conditioned to it.” Waking up at night isn’t a problem on its own – but waking up and staying awake can be.
According to Dr Kane, the real worry comes when those wake-up calls keep you up until the birds are chirping. Late-night awakenings can be caused by a variety of different factors, such as a sleep disorder or a temporary distraction. A very common cause might simply be human nature.
While asleep, your body is still hard at work breaking down what you ate and drank that day. That’s why it’s natural to wake up needing to go to the bathroom occasionally, but this could be a sign of .
Hormone changes might cause nocturia and could signal prostate and bladder problems. It might simply be because you’re drinking too much just before bed, too – but if you are worried, then speak to a doctor.
Where you sleep could also be causing the issue, which may be a little harder to fix. Maybe it’s a siren from an ambulance, a neighbour’s radio blasting next door or a pesky street light shining right onto your side of the bed.
These external sleep disturbances can cause you to wake in the middle of the night. But this is more likely to happen in the early morning hours, as you’re coming out of REM sleep.
There could be some sort of mental health issue at play, which is having an impact on your sleep quality. It’s not uncommon for our own minds to keep us awake.
A particularly stressful day can lead to intrusive thoughts in the middle of the night — maybe they come as a nightmare that jolts you up. Anxiety can also make it difficult to sleep through the night.
If you’re consumed by what happened earlier that day or constantly thinking about the to-do list awaiting you in the morning, this could trigger your waking up at night. Similarly, it’s common for people with depression to experience poor sleep patterns, which may lead to oversleeping and feeling drowsy during the day.
You may even have an untreated sleep disorder that has developed, like insomnia or sleep apnea. If you believe this could be the case, speak with a doctor to discuss testing and any possible next steps.
What should you do when you wake up in the middle of the night?
The next time you wake up in the early hours, give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to drift back off to sleep as it may happen naturally. If you’re awake longer than that, it’s best to get out of bed, advises Dr Kane.
She said: “Our brains are highly associative. That means if we stay in bed for a long time when not sleeping, our brains can associate the bed with wakeful activities like worrying and planning instead of sleep. Getting out of bed breaks that association.
“Relaxation exercises can help you shut off your body’s fight-or-flight response and activate the rest-and-digest response. When your body calms down and you feel sleepy again, head back to bed.”