2024-01-10 09:00:00
Have you ever woken up in the early hours of the morning, around 3am or 4am, for more than one night in a row and seemingly for no reason at all? This is not an uncommon phenomenon: around one in three people report experiencing the same situation.
Experts explained that the reason for this may have to do with sleep habits and routine, and that the solution is even simpler.
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Sleep habits
The director of the Center for Mental Health at Swinburne University of Technology (Australia), Greg Murray, explained in a 2021 article for the The Conversation that waking up at 3am is understandable and quite common. However, this does not make this habit healthy.
According to IFLScience, sleep experts say that waking up at dawn is related to stress. According to Murray, just being stressed doesn’t make an individual wake up more at night, but it makes them more aware that this is happening.
This is because it is natural for us to wake up sometimes, especially in the second half of the night, during the early hours of the morning, when our sleep is lighter and we dream more. However, we are usually not aware of this. If a person is stressed, they are likely to not just wake up briefly, but actually awaken.
Other factors that can contribute to this are the use of cell phones in bed and irregular sleep schedules.
Image: Pexels
But why at 3am?
Many people report waking up specifically between 3am and 4am. The explanation may be simple: the intensity of sleep varies and alternates during the night, being deeper and lighter at different times.
Aneesa Das, assistant director of the Sleep Medicine Program at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, comments that this can happen specifically at this time depending on the time the person goes to sleep. Then, at around the same time each night, sleep intensity decreases and the individual wakes up.
Imagem: Sergey Mironov/Shutterstock
How to improve sleeping habits
Experts give simple tips on how to avoid waking up in the middle of the night:
Stephanie Romiszewski, sleep physiologist and director of the Sleepyhead Clinic, spoke to Metro (England) Waking up at the same time every day and not going to bed until you feel sleepy help improve habits; Exercising and sunbathing in the morning help, as does having time dedicated to social activities. All of this makes the brain understand that the night is the time to sleep, not to be awake; Michael K. Scullin, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University in Texas, told Newsweek that waking up during sleep has also been associated with unfinished tasks and the anxiety they cause; The solution is also simple: write down pending tasks. Experts recommend taking time before bed to review the day and plan the next day, writing down everything necessary so that your thoughts don’t go on throughout the night.
However, if the habits persist for more than three months, the recommendation is to seek out a doctor specializing in sleep or a therapist who can uncover the reason behind it.
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