Ever found yourself waking up all of a sudden from your good night sleep to only find that it’s still not morning yet? It can feel irritating but what’s worse is not being able to fall asleep again. While some people struggle to wake up in the morning, the problem of waking up in the middle of the night is another common issue that most of us have experienced. This disturbance in the sleeping schedule is not as normal as we might think. It can be something your body is trying to tell you.
According to sleep experts, unorganised routines, disruptions in sleep cycles, screen time with added stress from our daily lives can keep you wide awake even before your alarm goes off. From fear about finances to stress from personal problems, anything can induce sleeplessness.
A study reveals disturbance in sleep occurs more frequently with age and tends to affect women more than men. The brain chemicals that regulate sleep start to perform slow in the wee hours of the morning causing the body to wake up early with no apparent reason.
The circadian rhythms or the sleep hormones is responsible to tell your body when to wake up or fall asleep. Anything that can cause fluctuation in your circadian rhythms can mess up your everyday sleep cycle, such as low levels of light. If you’re someone who’s living in a low light or dark environment most of the time and suddenly gets exposed to bright light at an odd hour, the circadian rhythm will cause you to wake up in response to light.
People with mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and so on, can also experience an urge to wake up in the early hours. In this case, behavioural therapy can work best to prevent insomnia.
If you’re someone who experiences fatigue on a regular basis along with a disturbance in your sleep, it can be a sign of sleep apnea-a disorder caused by shortness of breath during sleep. This needs medical intervention.
Waking up before the sunrise can also result from certain medicines. If you’re under any medical treatment consult your doctor for a possible way out.
Photo credit: Google