Why You Wake Up at 3 a.m., and How to Get Back to Sleep

 

Do you often awake at the witching hour? Here's how to cast off its spell.

Waking up in the middle of the night isn’t an uncommon experience. About one-third of the general population struggles with it. Many of us have one or two interruptions to slumber that entail a bathroom trip or a reconfiguration of our pillows, sheets, and sleep positions. Some of us, however, wake up wired and can’t for the life of us get back to sleep. It’s the 3 a.m. wide-awakeness that tends to be the bane of many insomniacs’ existence. If this is happening to you on the regular,

here are some possible reasons why—plus, some strategies to increase your odds of getting better shut-eye.

1. Age

As we age, we tend to have more frequent awakenings from sleep and stay awake longer during those stretches. This isn’t a cause for panic. It’s just something to be aware of. Relaxation strategies (think: progressive muscle relaxation, light stretching, meditation) and low-stimulation endeavors like reading (an actual book or magazine, not using an e-reader or phone) can help fill that time and prevent the body from being so overly stimulated that it can’t get back to sleep.

2. Blood sugar imbalances

Falling into a hypo or hyperglycemic state during the night has been linked with poorer sleep quality. If you have a family history of diabetes or have been diagnosed yourself, consider consulting with your doctor or a specialized dietitian about a helpful pre-bedtime snack to support stabler glucose levels throughout the night. Some evidence suggests that a small serving of peanuts, other nuts, or nut butter before bedtime may help keep blood sugar levels on a more even keel throughout the evening.

3. Alcohol

Alcohol disrupts our sleep, making it more fragmented and robbing us of the REM cycles essential to emotional processing and memory consolidation. Stopping drinking alcohol at least four hours before bedtime can help reduce this negative impact. If insomnia is a regular bugaboo for you, consider forgoing nightcaps as a standard practice.

4. Caffeine

Even if you fall asleep after having an after-dinner coffee, research shows that caffeine can lead to “increased nocturnal awakenings” as well as disrupted REM sleep. Try curbing caffeine intake before the late afternoon (or sooner, if you can) to avoid this.

5. Freaking Out

If your response to seeing the clock (or more likely, your phone) display 3 a.m. (or an equally non-preferred time) is to spiral into a panic, this could explain why you’re not able to fall back asleep. Anxiety and panic cue the release of cortisol, adrenaline, and other excitatory chemicals in the body, shutting down parasympathetic nervous system activity (which we need to have on in order to relax into sleep) and shifting you into fight, flight, or simply freak out mode.

Combat this negative cycle by reframing your interpretation of the so-called witching hour. Instead of seeing being awake as a bad thing, rest assured that it's natural to awaken at this time, as sleep cycles typically last 90 to 120 minutes and you may simply be emerging from one.

Consider this witching-hour wakefulness an opportunity to practice self-care and relaxation. Each of the below strategies can help downshift your nervous system and lull you back into a dreamy state:

·         Box breathing. Inhale fully and hold your breath for three to four seconds. Exhale slowly; at the end of that exhalation hold your breath again for three to four seconds. Repeat three to five times.

·         Bilateral stimulation. Here's a handy trick from EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). Cross your arms over your chest and tap your left and right shoulders or upper arms quickly and firmly for 20 to 30 seconds. Pause, inhale, and let that breath go. Repeat the process several times. Observe any shifts in energy, tension, and relaxation.

·         Observe your thoughts. Part of why we can't sleep when we wake up in the middle of the night is because we finally have time to process our thoughts in the absence of the day's distractions. Getting too preoccupied by them can, however, overstimulate our brains and keep us wide awake. Try watching your thoughts come and go as if they are credits at the end of a movie. You might even imagine them as billboards in a parade. Or leaves on a steam. (This is a handy tip from acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT.)

• Progressive muscle relaxation. Starting with the muscles on your face, tense and hold each muscle group in your body for five (or so) seconds, and then release. From your face, move to your shoulders, your arms, your chest, upper back, abdomen, lower back, groin area, upper and lower legs, ankles, feet, and toes.

The goal is to reduce the hold that negative thought patterns have on your mind and awareness. This helps you amass evidence that you can wind down, even when you awaken, so you can do this more effectively each night it happens.