The American Sleep Foundation in the United States has alerted three serious medical conditions that may cause a person to wake up repeatedly at 3 am.
The Foundation stated that sleep disorders are often harmless, but the constant night awakening may cause concern, as it may cause serious health outcomes such as disability and death.
And she added, according to the British Express newspaper, that waking up in the middle of the night is medically called “night vigilance,” pointing out that studies conducted in many European countries showed that nearly a third of people wake up three or more nights a week.
She pointed out that there are 3 medical conditions that may cause an individual to wake up frequently at three o’clock in the morning, which are cardiovascular diseases, bronchial diseases, and neurological disorders.
She pointed out that high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke are associated with poor sleep quality, including waking up during sleep, as these conditions impede sleep quality due to poor blood circulation.
She added that there is another disorder associated with waking up at night, which is airway diseases such as sleep apnea, which is accompanied by waking up with a dry mouth and morning headache, in addition to obstructive sleep apnea, and other breathing disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can also disrupt sleep throughout the night.
She emphasized that neurological disorders are a third common cause of night awakening, and that people who suffer from conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease are more likely to wake up during the night and have difficulty returning to sleep, adding that sleep disorders can be an early indicator of cognitive decline, which may end up with Alzheimer’s disease.
She noted other health conditions that cause waking up at 3 am, which are temporary stress, enlarged prostate, neuropathy, or gastrointestinal reflux disease.