There are many factors that make someone always wake up at 3 in the morning. Starting from a shorter sleep cycle, stress, to other medical conditions. If it happens every day without exception, it could be a sign of insomnia.
Table of Content
1. Woke up at 3 am and sleep cycle
2. Cause I always wake up at 3 am
Often waking up at 3 am or early in the morning in the middle of deep sleep is common. Most people may even wake up several times throughout the night and not even notice. Because they can go back to sleep quickly.
There are many factors that make someone always wake up at 3 in the morning. Starting from a shorter sleep cycle, stress, to other medical conditions. If it happens every day without exception, it could be a sign of insomnia.
Woke up at 3 am and sleep cycle
Throughout the night while sleeping, humans will experience a repeating sleep cycle. In this phase, it is natural to wake up several times during the night. The stages are:
- The transition from awake to asleep
- light sleep
- deep sleep
- Rapid eye movement
The length of each stage will vary throughout the night. For example, deep sleep can last longer when you are just falling asleep. Meanwhile, the rapid eye movement phase gets more intense towards the morning. Which is Better: Gentle or Aggressive Wake Up Alarm?
It could be, often waking up at 3 in the morning occurs because a person’s sleep cycle is indeed shorter. While most people wake up at 5-6 am, those who always wake up at 3 am have slightly different sleep phases.
Cause I always wake up at 3 am
In addition to relating to the sleep cycle, there are several other factors that make a person always wake up at 3 in the morning. Here are some of them:
1. Stress
If you often wake up at 3 am every day, stress could be the trigger. Especially if this habit of awakening occurs suddenly, even though it had never been before.
Why stress? Because when in this condition, the body will activate sympathetic nerve symptoms that make a person wake up in the middle of the night or early morning.
At the same time, blood pressure and heart rate will also increase. These changes make it difficult to fall back asleep.
These stressors can be things related to work, relationships, school, health, or financial conditions. If it persists, you should find the right pattern of therapy to reduce stress.
2. Insomnia
Always getting up at 3 in the morning is also a feature of insomnia sleep disorder. The diagnosis of this condition is that it is difficult to fall back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night every day. Older people are more susceptible to this, with an incidence rate of up to 40%.
3. Aging
The aging body also plays a significant role in a person’s sleep cycle. This aging will make the sleep phase change. Not to mention other possibilities such as taking drugs that disrupt sleep patterns. Causes of waking up feeling weak and how to deal with it
Naturally, people’s sleep quality when they get older does decline. The period of being in the deep sleep phase is reduced. That is why older people are more prone to awakening due to external factors such as light or noise.
In addition, sleep and wake times may also change with age. Everything can shift earlier so it’s very possible to wake up at 3 am if you usually only open your eyes at 6 am.
4. Take the medicine
Types of drugs such as antidepressants, beta-blockers, corticosteroids, and fever-reducing drugs that are sold in the market can affect sleep at night. Do not rule out, people who consume it can often wake up at 3 in the morning.
If this change occurs after starting to take medication regularly, discuss with your doctor to find alternatives. In addition, lifestyle changes may also have a positive impact on sleep quality.
5. Other medical conditions
It could be that the cause of a person always waking up at 3 am is a medical condition he suffers. Some of the potential causes of this condition are:
- Sleep apnea
- GERD
- Arthritis
- Restless leg syndrome
- Depression
- Neuropathy
- Prostate enlargement
If this is the case, treating a medical condition will help relieve symptoms of waking in the middle of the night. Discuss with your doctor to find out what the exact cause is.
6. Lifestyle
Maybe, lifestyle or daily habits that make you often wake up at 3 in the morning. Not to mention if sleep hygiene is a mess which will worsen the condition.
Some lifestyles and habits that may trigger early morning wakefulness are:
- Eat before bedtime
- Sleep in an unfavorable place
- Looking at the computer or cellphone before bedtime
- Consuming coffee or alcohol before bedtime
- Smoke
- Taking too long a nap
- Less moving
Changing some of the habits above can have a significant impact on the quality of life.