Struggling to Sleep Through the Night? Try These Solutions
Many people experience waking up in the middle of the night, but it becomes a concern when you struggle to fall back asleep promptly. Discover effective strategies to improve your sleep quality.
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Feeling wide awake after a peaceful sleep, you suddenly check the clock and see it's 3 a.m. It seems like this is the same time you woke up last night. And the night before.
If you often find yourself waking up during the night, you're not alone. Many people experience nocturnal awakenings, which are a normal part of sleep. These awakenings are usually related to the different stages of sleep that our bodies go through each night.
Typically, these awakenings only last for a few seconds to a few minutes. However, if they occur too frequently or if you have trouble falling back asleep, it may become a concern. Experts have some suggestions that could help improve your sleep.
Sleep architecture is the term used to describe the four stages of sleep that people go through in cycles of 90 to 120 minutes each night. Dr. Brandon Peters-Mathews, a neurologist at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle, explains this process.
The sleep cycle starts with a light sleep, then moves into a deeper sleep, and finally into the deepest sleep in the third stage, also known as "slow-wave sleep," according to Peters-Mathews. In the fourth stage, called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, brain activity increases almost to the level of being awake. It is common for people to naturally wake up after this stage, and when they fall back asleep, the cycle restarts.
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According to Peters-Mathews, we often have a set bedtime and sleep cycle, causing us to wake up at the same time each night. While most of these awakenings are quick and easily forgotten, there may be a couple of instances where we wake up, check the time, and are conscious of being awake.
Waking up multiple times throughout the night is usually not harmful to your health, as long as you can fall back asleep within about five to 10 minutes, according to Dr. Michelle Drerup, director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the Cleveland Clinic.
However, if you find yourself waking up several times within an hour, this could disrupt your sleep cycle and prevent you from getting deep sleep, Dr. Drerup explained. These frequent awakenings may indicate underlying sleep disorders like sleep apnea or nocturia.
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When you wake up during the night, you may notice it more in the second half of the night. This is because during this time, you are more likely to be in a lighter stage of sleep called REM, while the first half of the night is usually when you are in deeper stages of sleep.
Drerup explained that it is common for people to sleep solidly for around four hours and then experience more waking. This pattern is normal based on our sleep architecture.
According to Peters-Mathews, the challenge often lies in a person's emotional response to waking up, which could lead to the development of secondary insomnia if their reaction causes prolonged wakefulness.
"When someone wakes up in the middle of the night and the first thing they do is check the time on their alarm clock, feeling frustrated, upset, or anxious about the upcoming day, it's not the action itself that's the issue. It's the way they react to it," he explained.
Are you a night owl or an early bird?
A person’s internal biological clock, known as circadian rhythm, plays a significant role in regulating sleep patterns. According to Dr. Cathy Goldstein, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician at University of Michigan Health, this rhythm dictates when it's time to sleep based on past sleep-wake cycles and exposure to light throughout the day.
Dr. Goldstein explains that disruptions to the circadian rhythm, such as changes in the sleep-wake cycle, can impact the body's ability to achieve high-quality deep sleep. As a professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center in Ann Arbor, she highlights the importance of maintaining a consistent sleep schedule to support overall sleep quality.
Our internal biological clock, known as the circadian rhythm, controls when we are awake and when we are asleep. It also regulates most of our physiological processes, ensuring that our body functions properly at the appropriate times of the day. Goldstein explained the importance of this biological clock in maintaining our overall health and well-being.
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As people get older, their circadian rhythms and sleep patterns change. This could explain why someone may feel like they got more deep sleep when they were younger. As we age, we tend to spend more time in lighter stages of sleep.
According to Goldstein, these natural cycles can also determine whether someone is a night owl or an early bird. This can lead to challenges in keeping up with a work schedule that doesn't match our biological clock, leading to feelings of daytime sleepiness.
Even if you wake up early for work, it can still be difficult to fall asleep early enough to get a good night's rest. Additionally, staying up late on weekends can lead to "social jetlag" and disrupt your body's natural sleep patterns, according to Goldstein. This may result in less deep sleep and more frequent awakenings. However, there are ways to adjust your internal clock.
If you find yourself unable to fall back asleep, there are a few things you can try to help you relax and drift off.
Establishing a consistent sleep schedule and exposing yourself to natural light during the day while reducing artificial light at night can strengthen your circadian rhythm, leading to better quality sleep, according to Goldstein.
Taking a small dose of melatonin, around half a milligram, a few hours before your usual bedtime may also help adjust your body clock earlier, she suggested.
The key to remember when waking up in the middle of the night is to avoid checking the time, according to Peters-Mathews. "If the alarm isn't ringing, then it's not yet time to get up. The exact time doesn't matter. Just roll over, get cozy, and focus on falling back asleep."
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If you can't fall back asleep within 15 minutes, it's a good idea to get out of bed. This can help prevent your brain from associating wakefulness with your bed, according to Dr. Drerup. She suggests engaging in a quiet activity, such as meditation or listening to music, to help you feel sleepy again.
"Our brains are very good at making associations, and they can quickly learn to link being awake in bed with activities like worrying or doing things other than sleeping," Dr. Drerup explained. By getting out of bed when you can't sleep, you can break this association and improve your chances of falling back asleep.
It’s important to make sure that any awakenings during the night are not caused by external factors like disturbances from your sleep partner, according to Peters-Mathews. To improve your sleep environment, consider things like keeping pets out of the bedroom and adjusting noise, light, and temperature levels.
Goldstein mentioned that if your awakenings are naturally caused by your sleep patterns and don’t impact your daily functioning, there's no need to be concerned.
Editor's P/S:
Waking up in the middle of the night is a common experience, and it's usually not a cause for concern. However, if you find yourself waking up multiple times a night or having trouble falling back asleep, it may be a sign of an underlying sleep disorder. There are a number of things you can do to improve your sleep, including establishing a consistent sleep schedule, exposing yourself to natural light during the day, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed. If you're still having trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor.
According to the article, our sleep cycle is divided into four stages: light sleep, deep sleep, slow-wave sleep, and REM sleep. We typically wake up after the REM stage, and then the cycle starts over again. If you wake up during the deep sleep or slow-wave sleep stages, you may feel groggy and disoriented. This is because your brain is still in the process of waking up. If you wake up during the REM stage, you may feel more alert and refreshed. This is because your brain is already in a more active state.
