Waking up suddenly at the same time each night may be linked to a common issue many people face. The main concern is figuring out how to prevent these nighttime awakenings that bring back memories, like an awkward moment from high school.
According to The Conversation, psychologist Greg Murray stated that waking up in the middle of the night often occurs between 3-4:00 am.

Murray explained: “Our neurobiology reaches a turning point around 3 or 4 am. Core body temperature starts to rise, sleep drive is reducing (because we’ve had a chunk of sleep), secretion of melatonin (the sleep hormone) has peaked.”

Another contributing factor is the rise in cortisol levels, which prepares the body to start the day.

The issue arises when this increase in cortisol causes you to fully wake up each night.

The Cleveland Clinic explains: “Cortisol is a steroid hormone that your adrenal glands, the endocrine glands on top of your kidneys, produce and release. Cortisol affects several aspects of your body and mainly helps regulate your body’s response to stress.”

Cortisol also has multiple functions and is responsible for making you feel on ‘high alert’ and triggers the release of glucose (sugar) from the liver for quick energy in stressful times.

If you are under more stress than usual, you might experience increased cortisol levels during this part of the night, causing you to wake up.

Murray noted that we actually wake up multiple times during the night, but when sleep is uninterrupted, we aren’t aware of these moments. However, stress can lead to complete wakefulness.

This revelation has sparked a lot of discussion on social media.

One Twitter user remarked: “Oh I didn’t know this. I just thought I had insomnia or something.”

Another mentioned: “Reading this at 4:30 am, having woken up at 3 am.”

A third added: “Anxiety will have you waking up hours before you need to, sleep totally disrupted, because you feel like you’re meant to be doing something dangerously important. You’ll be running on fumes all day, knowing you’re one problem away from a meltdown.”

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to enhance your sleep quality.

To wind down before bed, it’s beneficial to avoid electronics like phones. Reading a book or listening to a podcast can be helpful.

It’s also important to avoid caffeine close to bedtime and try to eat several hours before going to sleep to prevent digestion while resting.

If you find yourself awake at 3-4:00 am with a racing mind, consider trying meditation or reading to calm and tire your mind.

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