Just like doomscrolling for hours everyday, waking up in the middle of the night has become very normal too. Most of us actually wake up a few times a night without realizing it…mostly because we fall back asleep immediately. Some of these moments last just a few seconds. Other times, the breaks in sleep can be long, making it hard and frustrating to settle back down.
If you find yourself up at 3 a.m. or some other time and can’t drop back off, there are several possible explanations. These range from lighter sleep stages and stress to underlying health issues or even things in your environment. That last one could be something like a garbage truck making noise outside or a pet jumping on the bed because they want to play or go out.
Waking up at 3 a.m. might happen rarely and be no big deal, but if it becomes a regular habit, it could signal insomnia. Adjusting your sleep habits, cutting down on stress, and chatting with your doctor about what’s disrupting your sleep can help prevent these interruptions.
Why you shouldn’t overlook your fragmented sleeping patterns
But you shouldn’t get used to this. In fact, it may be a signal that something is not right, and ignoring it would become an “ostrich burying her head in the sand” kind of situation.
Stress often creeps up on you when you aren’t looking, doing damage quietly before you even realize it’s there. This comes as a warning from Dr. Antonio Hernández, a doctor focused on nutrition, integrative medicine, and anti-aging. He recently discussed the early red flags of an overwhelmed nervous system while appearing on the entrepreneurship podcast Tengo un Plan (“I have a Plan”).
Throughout the discussion, Hernández pointed out several symptoms that people often brush off as normal, even though he argues they are clear proof that you’ve been in a state of alert for too long. “If your sleep quality drops, you struggle to doze off, or you keep waking up in the middle of the night, it means your body is on high alert,” he explained. “You essentially have too much adrenaline running through your system, and that is what keeps jolting you awake.”
Other reasons why you might have trouble sleeping like a log
Insomnia is a recognized sleep disorder where you regularly struggle to go back to sleep after waking up in the night. A large number of people actually live with this condition.
If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at least three nights a week for three months or longer, and it impacts your daily life, it is classified as chronic insomnia. One study showed that between 10% and 20% of the general population suffers from insomnia, with that figure rising to 40% among older adults.
Least we sound gerontophobic, but getting older also has a major impact on your sleep cycles. As you age, your natural rhythms shift, you might be on prescriptions that mess with your patterns, or you could develop other health issues that get in the way of rest. The quality of your rest tends to drop as you get older because you spend less time in deep sleep.
Because of that, you are much more likely to be woken up by things like outside noise or light. The specific times you feel tired or wake up often shift with age, too. You might find yourself turning in and getting up earlier than you did when you were younger.
Talk to your doctor about these changes if you are struggling with insomnia or find yourself on a weird schedule. One trusted study showed that cognitive behavioral therapy and light therapy can actually help you sleep better.