Many people wake up between two and three in the morning. And science already knows what they have in common

Waking up in the middle of the night can be a pleasant experience when we look at the clock and see that we still have several hours of sleep left. dream. However, for many people it can become a frustrating routine that reduces their ability to achieve restful sleep. It is therefore likely that people may wonder why this happens and to what extent it can be prevented.

Many things can wake us from our sleep at night. From a mosquito stalking our bed to serious cases of insomnia. Each circumstance may have its particular characteristics, but in any case, a significant part of the population ends up waking up at some point during the night with some frequency.

And why does it happen? Beyond the external factors, there are two internal processes related to this. The first is the circadian rhythm, and the second is the sleep cycle.

The circadian rhythm refers to “biological clock“which tells us the sleep and wake cycles. It is a collection of biological processes that activates us throughout the day and prepares us for sleep in the afternoon and night. It does so through substances such as melatoninthe “sleep hormone” that transmits this information between different parts of our brain. Our body takes advantage the light we perceive as an indicator of when to secrete melatonin or not.

The sleep cycle, for its part, refers to a series of stages that occur and repeat throughout our daily sleep. A night of sleep has between four and six sleep cycles, each with four stages: a REM (rapid eye movement) stage; and three non-REM stages, each deeper than the last.

Although the cycles are repeated in their structure, each of the four phases can have greater or lesser presence in each cycle. In the first cycles, the deeper stages predominate. That is why from the first hours of sleep it is easier to wake up and more difficult to fall asleep again.

However, there are numerous factors that can affect how often we wake up at night more or less frequently. It is about both internal and external circumstances that can affect our circadian rhythm or our sleep cycle.

The age It is one of the main factors. Over time our circadian rhythms changejust like our need for sleep. Age is a determining factor to the point that older people can have their sleep interrupted up to four times a night. The menopause It can also affect our ability to sleep straight through (as well as pregnancy). Age is also linked to nocturiathe interruption of sleep caused by the need to go to the bathroom.

Our psychological state can also affect. Stress, as well as disorders related to anxiety either depression They can have a negative effect on our quality of sleep. This is bad news if we take into account that poor sleep quality can aggravate these problemswhich has the potential to generate a vicious cycle.

From a mild headache to chronic painphysical pain can also affect our sleep. Like some medications such as beta-blockerscorticosteroids, antidepressants or diuretics They can negatively affect our sleep.

How to avoid interruptions

Understanding the causes of our sleep problems can serve as the first step to solving them. Adapting to changes in our body can be complicated, but some general guidelines They can also be useful. Guidelines such as correct “sleep hygiene”.

Something that can help us is to introduce changes to our schedule. The usual recommendations in this regard usually begin by maintaining regular schedules, going to bed at “prudential” hours, that is, ones that allow us to achieve the recommended seven or eight hours of sleep.

Another habit change can happen eliminate nap. Napping can negatively affect our night’s sleep. However, in this sense, science tends to consider that the differences between individuals are high, so there may be important differences from person to person.

Another important guideline is to avoid screens or other blue lights in the last hours of the day. Physical activity can also help, although it is usually recommended not to leave it until the last hours of the day. That is, not exercising before going to bed. Eliminating alcohol and tobacco in our daily lives can also help us improve our sleep.

Many of the techniques that aim to help us sleep are relaxation techniques. These can also help us so that sleep interruptions do not result in hours of lost sleep. “Empty” our thoughts in a notebook before going to bed, controlling our breathing… these are ways to prevent our stress from affecting our sleep.

Lack of sleep and rest has important effects on our physical health and our mood. It is not surprising therefore that it is an issue that worries Spaniards more and more, to the point of becoming one of the countries with increased drug consumption to sleep like benzodiazepines.

Like any other health problem, many times treating it is not in our hands but rather health experts must be the ones to tell us the appropriate guidelines to solve our problem. Of course, taking the first steps towards a better dream is still in our hands.

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Image | Mathieu Bigard

*An earlier version of this article was published in May 2023