Reasons this might happen include drinking caffeine or alcohol late in the day, a poor sleep environment, a sleep disorder, or another health condition. When you can't get back to sleep quickly, you won't get enough quality sleep to keep you refreshed and healthy.
Normally, at night time, melatonin levels will naturally increase, and cortisol (our stress hormone), will naturally be lower (than in the mornings). If you are under acute stress, or you have been under chronic stress, you may notice that you tend to wake up between 2-4 am and have difficulty falling back asleep.
Waking up in the middle of the night is normal. Most of us experience mini-awakenings without even noticing them—up to 20 times per hour. When it comes to observable wake-ups, most people have about two or three per night.
Because there are so many different things that can wake you up, there's no specific number of awakenings that is a cause for concern, Brandon Peters, M.D., a board-certified neurologist and sleep medicine specialist, tells SELF. “[The number can] vary night by night due to different reasons,” he says.
A parasomnia is a sleep disorder that involves unusual and undesirable physical events or experiences that disrupt your sleep. A parasomnia can occur before or during sleep or during arousal from sleep.
Increase your daylight exposure, preferably early in the morning. Light helps set your circadian rhythm and encourage better sleep at night. If you exercise, do it in the morning, when you're getting that morning light exposure — this will help your body recognize that it's time to be awake.
Keep the bedroom dark and quiet: Environmental disturbances, like noise and light, can wake a person from nighttime sleep. If darkness and quiet are not possible, wearing a sleep mask to block out light and earplugs to block out sound can help.
So if you wake up at 3 AM, when Liver energy peaks, you may be suffering from Liver Qi stagnation, which could be related to an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol consumption, unresolved anger or high levels of stress.
Usually, the most common cause of waking up between 1-4: 00 am is a liver problem. It may be that you have liver inflammation or fatty liver disease, also known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Disturbed sleep is common and results from various causes like stress, health conditions, and medications. The hormones melatonin and cortisol regulate our sleep cycle. The rising cortisol levels around 3 AM or 4 AM with emotional sorting by the brain are probable causes why you wake up around the same time every day.
What hormone keeps me awake at night? The main hormones that keep you awake at night at melatonin, cortisol, and insulin as mentioned in the previous section.
Cycling out of sleep roughly every 90 minutes to two hours is normal. But frequent wakings can affect physical, emotional and mental functioning.
Common causes of chronic insomnia include: Stress. Concerns about work, school, health, finances or family can keep your mind active at night, making it difficult to sleep. Stressful life events or trauma — such as the death or illness of a loved one, divorce, or a job loss — also may lead to insomnia.
See, our circadian rhythm directs our cortisol, an awakening hormone, to rise around 3am, in preparation for the next morning. However, if you cortisol levels are already high, which is a consequence of stress, then it's likely you will wake up.
Depression and Insomnia
Early wakening is closely associated with depression, as well as difficulty falling asleep at night. Those with depression may switch back and forth between insomnia and hypersomnia during a single period of depression.
Create A Routine
By creating a bedtime routine, you can let your body know when it's time to sleep and wake up. Make a ritual to show yourself you're going to sleep, such as drinking decaf tea, practicing stretches, studying for university, journaling, or reading before bed.
There are many reasons why you might wake up at 4 am for no reason. They include external factors, such as environmental disturbances like temperature, light, and noise. They also include internal factors, like your circadian rhythm, sleep disorders like sleep apnea, and/or medical issues, like heartburn.
Underlying factors may include genetics, stress and certain changes in the way parts of your brain work. In some cases, an underlying condition, such as a sleep disorder or thyroid problem, can cause panic-like signs and symptoms.
Cataplexy, a physical feature of narcolepsy, is characterized by transient episodes of voluntary muscle weakness precipitated by intense emotion. Subjective descriptions of cataplexy can assist in the identification of narcolepsy, as this feature is almost unique to the disorder.
Parasomnia can run in families and can be triggered by stress, sleep deprivation (getting less sleep than recommended for a child's age), certain medications or medical conditions like obstructive sleep apnea.