Have you ever found yourself abruptly awake in the middle of the night, wondering why sleep eludes you? You’re not alone. Midnight awakenings are a common phenomenon that can disrupt our sleep patterns and leave us feeling fatigued the next day. But what causes these interruptions, and how can we tackle them effectively?
People wake up at night for various reasons. Some of the common ones include:
- stress and anxiety
- discomfort or pain
- need to use the bathroom
- environment disruptions such as noise, movement, feeling too hot or too cold
- sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome
- disruption of the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle
A Strategy for Returning to Sleep
- Avoid time-reading: When you wake up in the middle of the night, avoid reaching for your phone or looking at the clock.
- Stay in bed and relax: First see if you can fall back asleep. You can try techniques like progressive relaxation, breathing exercises, white noise machines, and other methods that may help you relax.
- Get out of bed: If you can’t fall back asleep after an estimated 10-15 minutes, it’s time to get up. This is to disassociate the bed with activities other than sleep.
- Low-Stimulation Activities: Engage in a quiet, low-stimulation activity such as reading a book or doing a calming activity until you feel sleepy again, then return to bed. If you don’t feel sleepy enough to go back to bed, just get up and start your day.
CNMRI: Neurology, Sleep Medicine, MRI 