Waking up at 4:38am every day? Here’s why.

You toss. You turn. You give up and think maybe it’s time to wake up and start the day being productive… but wait, it’s only 4am?? Problem is, it’s not the first time this week where you’ve woken up during the night and find yourself staring at the ceiling, trying to count sheep so you can fall back to sleep but without any success.

Not being able to fall back to sleep is just a minor downside to these middle-of-the-night wakeups. In the long term, having your sleep disrupted so often can cause a host of other issues. With sleep being a necessary function that helps restore the body, when you don’t get enough sleep or have bad quality sleep, it can impair your ability to function the next day. We all know how groggy and moody if we don’t get enough sleep. Now, imagine if you don’t get enough sleep every night – yikes! Plus, the lack of quality sleep has also been associated with a wide range of health complications including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.

So why are you waking up at 4am and can’t fall back to sleep? Here are some of the reasons you might want to consider if it is what you’re experiencing.

#1 Stress This is usually the first thing to consider if 4am awakenings are something that’s happening recently. If you are currently experiencing stress at work or in your personal life, your sleep will most definitely be disrupted. This is because when you feel stress, your body activates your sympathetic nervous system, and you may suddenly just wake up in the middle of the night. Stress also tends to elevate your heart rate and blood pressure, and these changes will make it difficult for you to fall back to sleep. Your mind could be racing, thinking of the challenges you’re experiencing. This will not only make it difficult to fall asleep in the first place, but it will disrupt your sleep cycle with constant wakeups.

#2 Age Alas, another thing we need to worry about as we grow older! Noticed how when you were younger you could practically sleep through anything. Not anymore! As you age, you might find that falling and staying asleep get more difficult than it used to be. Our bodies are constantly changing, which can bring unexpected shifts in our sleep quality. The older we get, the more fragmented and less deep our sleep becomes. And if you’re experiencing perimenopause (usually in your mid-40s), your sleep is often disrupted due to hormonal changes. Your sleep-wake times may also shift with age – you may go to bed and wake up earlier than you did at a younger age. Which explains why 10am wakeups used to be so common in your teens but your 6am wakeup is how you roll these days!

#3 Too hot, too cold, too bright, too noisy Ideally, your room should be dark, comfortably cool, and quiet when you sleep. But if your air-conditioner is all the way down to 16, it’s no wonder why you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night shivering and looking for your blanket! It’s how your body protects you, but unfortunately, it’s how you are also awakened in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep. Same goes for too bright or too noisy. Maybe a street lamp outside is disturbing your sleep or a neighbour who often comes back late at night with his noisy car is causing you to stir at 1am. These things might be out of your control so you do what you can, like using earplugs or blackout windows.

#4 You’re constantly waking up to go pee! Also something that happens more and more when you age. Oftentimes, many people find themselves waking up in the middle of the night because their full bladder won’t make it till the next morning. There’s a name for this, nocturia, which is a condition where you get up to pee at least once during the night. And it’s fairly common, especially for women who are going through perimenopause. One way to treat this is to cut back on your evening fluid intake. But if this doesn’t work, you may want to consult a doctor.

#5 Sleep apnea If you find yourself awake and suddenly feeling out of breath, sleep apnea might be the culprit. What happens is that the muscles in your throat relax too much, which narrows your airway and causes your oxygen levels to drop. That’s why your body wakes you up to get that big gulp of air! There are ways around sleep apnea so speak to your doctor to find out what works best for you.

#6 Eating dinner too late Work’s been busy so you’ve been having dinner past 9pm. Then you hit the sack at 11pm, giving your body only two hours to do all that digestion stuff. It’s not enough time! This then causes uncomfortable bloating and gas that make it hard to fall asleep, and then causes you to wake up in the middle of the night. On the flipside, if you skip dinner before you sleep, you can also wake up in the middle of the night. The simple fact is that your growling, hungry stomach is what’s waking you up. Time your dinner properly – give yourself at least three hours after you’ve eaten to go to bed to allow your body to digest your food so you’re not up middle of the time with acid reflux.

Photo by Madi Doell on Unsplash.