Why do I wake up at the same time at night?

The hours of sleep make up the part of the day in which one of the most frequent types of disorders arises: insomnia problems.

These are alterations that can be very harmful, since they not only cause discomfort and increase the risk of developing physical and psychological illnesses, but also wear out people's mental agility and cognitive abilities, literally overnight in the morning. Of course, not all forms of insomnia are equally severe.

Here I will talk about one of them whose intensity can vary a lot, and which occurs when during a certain period we usually wake up in the middle of the night, too early for the start of our day, and more or less always at the same time.

• Related article: "The 12 types of insomnia (according to their duration, severity and symptoms)"

Why do I wake up at the same time in the middle of the night?

This is a question that many of the patients who come to psychotherapy or a consultation with the doctor ask themselves. Apparently, it is rare for such a phenomenon to occur: what is it that makes us wake up in the middle of the night, if we do not have temporary references such as an alarm clock or reasons to get up at that hour?

Actually, it's not that strange. After all, it is very normal to wake up around the same time of day a few minutes before the alarm goes off; it is evident that the body has a mechanism to estimate the time that passes even if we are not conscious.

This set of biological mechanisms constitute what is known as circadian rhythms: it is a kind of internal clock that determines the degree of activation of our body, and that works from the release of hormones. The key hormone here is the one known by the name of melatonin, since it is released according to our degree of exposure to light, whether natural or artificial. Thus, melatonin acts as a "bridge" between external time, determined by the sun, and the internal clock, which is tuned through this substance.

From this time reference, the human organism estimates which are the hours in which it is necessary to have more energy available to be burned, and which are the hours of rest. The problem is that, on some occasions, this internal biological clock can work against us. If there is something that alters its operation, you can make it work out of phase, causing it to act as it normally does, but at the wrong time. And this is what happens in the case of people who wake up in the middle of the night.

The phenomenon whereby some people tend to wake up in the middle of their day spent sleeping for several hours at a time (which in most individuals occurs at night) is called biphasic sleep, and it is not itself a disorder. It is only considered that there is a problem when after having experienced the interruption of sleep, it is difficult to go back to sleep. In these cases, this fact does constitute a sleep disorder, called middle-of-the-night insomnia.

To do?

If this problem persists and occurs constantly, almost every night, it is important to see health professionals as soon as possible, ideally seeking medical and psychotherapeutic support. In the meantime, there are some simple tips that can help this form of insomnia go away, but there are It must be borne in mind that in many cases they will be insufficient and it will be necessary to wait for supervision professional.

The tips are as follows.

1. Don't stay in bed

When you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, Get up and go do some activity out of bed, as long as it does not require a lot of effort or concentration and do not expose yourself to a strong light source. In addition, it is best that this activity does not remind you of responsibilities that you must carry out during the day. For example, you can practice Mindfulness, listen to a podcast, etc. After about 20 to 30 minutes, go back to bed and try to sleep.

2. Control stress levels

In many cases, the main reason some people wake up too early in the middle of the night is that they have trouble managing their stress or anxiety.

Namely, your nervous system is more activated than normal And this has repercussions on their state during sleep, so that after a while the need to wake up arises to be alert to what may happen.

To remedy this, there are several relaxation exercises that can help, such as Jacobson's progressive muscle relaxation, but the most effective is to go to psychotherapy.

• You may be interested in: "6 easy relaxation techniques to combat stress"

3. Lead a healthy life

People who don't take care of themselves are more likely to develop insomnia problems. Thus, you have to eat a balanced diet, do moderate exercise and not spend a lot of time maintaining the same posture.

4. Strive to stick to a meaningful sleep schedule

Even though you haven't been able to sleep much due to insomnia problem, try to respect your schedule and do not delay or advance too much the time you go to sleep. Otherwise, it will be difficult to "train" the body to understand what the hours of sleep and wakefulness are.

Are you looking for psychological support?

In case you are experiencing this sleep problem or other psychological alterations that affect your quality of life, I invite you to contact me. I am an expert psychologist in the cognitive-behavioral intervention model and its associated techniques, the which have demonstrated efficacy against a wide variety of emotional disorders and related to anxiety. You can have my services in my office located in Madrid, or through online sessions by video call. If you are interested in seeing more information about how I work, or want to see my contact information, go to this page.

Bibliographic references:

• American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2001). The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Revised (ICSD-R). Darien, IL: American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
• Duffy, J.F.; Wright, K.P. (2005). Entrainment of the Human Circadian System by Light. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 20 (4): pp. 326 - 338.
• Murphy, M.J.; Peterson, M.J. (2015). Sleep Disturbances in Depression. Sleep Medicine Clinics. 10 (1): pp. 17 - 23.
• Ramar, K.; Olson, E.J. (2013). Management of Common Sleep Disorders. American Family Physician, 88 (4): pp. 231 - 238.
• Richter, H.G.; Torres-Farfán, C.; Rojas-García, P.P.; Campino, C.; Torrealba, F.,; Serón-Ferré, M. (2004). The circadian timing system: making sense of day / night gene expression. Biological Research, 37 (1): pp. 11 - 28.
• Zee, P.C.; Michael, V.V. (2009). Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder: Irregular Sleep Wake Rhythm Type. Sleep Medicine Clinics. 4 (2): pp. 213 - 218.