"Whenever I write about sleep, I hear from a chorus of people who struggle to sleep through the night. Anecdotally, it seems a far more common complaint than difficulty falling asleep in the first place.
These complaints are one of three types:
People who have trouble falling asleep
People who sleep fitfully, waking multiple times throughout the night
Those who reliably wake once, around the same time most nights
Understandably, this is a hugely vexing problem. Poor quality sleep is a serious health concern. Not to mention, sleeping badly feels simply awful. When the alarm goes off after a night of tossing and turning, the next day is sure to be a slog. String several days like that together, and it’s hard to function at all.
I’m going to go out on a limb, though, and assert that waking up in the middle of the night isn’t always the problem we make it out to be. For some people, night-time wakings are actually something to embrace. As always, context is everything.
What Causes You to Wake Up In the Middle of the Night?
One of the most frustrating things about night-time waking is that there are so many possible causes. Sometimes the solution is as simple as practicing good sleep hygiene. Other times, medical help is in order. Still other times, the solution is something different entirely.
Transitioning to Lighter Sleep Stages
Sleep isn’t a uniform state of unconsciousness you slip into when it becomes dark and, theoretically, ride until morning. It’s a dynamic process that goes in waves—or more precisely, cycles—throughout the night.
There are four (or five, depending on how you slice it) stages of sleep:
Stage 1: light sleep, occurs right after falling asleep
Stage 2: deeper sleep
Slow-wave sleep (SWS): deepest sleep, a.k.a. Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep
REM: lighter sleep where our more interesting dreams occur (although we can also dream in non-REM phases (Ref:1)
A single sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes, during which you move from light sleep, through stage 2, into deep SWS, and back up to REM. Then down you go again, then back up, ideally at least four of five times per night.
Your sleep is also roughly broken into two phases over the course of a whole night. In the first half, you spend relatively more time in SWS. The second half is characterized by a higher proportion of REM sleep.
What does this have to do with night-time waking?
One possible explanation is that as you transition into lighter sleep — either within a single sleep cycle, or as you move from the first to the second phase—aches, pains, and small annoyances are more likely to wake you up. These can include medical issues like chronic pain, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or GERD. Soreness from the day’s hard workout, noise or light from your environment, hunger, thirst, or being too hot or cold might rouse you from your slumber.
If you’re waking up multiple times at night, chances are that you’re experiencing physical discomfort that you’re not able to sleep through. Sometimes it’s obvious, but not always.
Was It Something You Ate Or Drank?
While individual studies have linked sleep quality to diet and macronutrient intake (high versus low carb, for example), they are mostly small and the results inconclusive. (Ref:2) Still, you might be able to look at your diet and identify a likely culprit. For example, if your sleep problems started after going carnivore or adding intermittent fasting, that’s an obvious place to start.
A food log can help you spot patterns, such as whether eating certain foods at dinner tends to correlate with poorer sleep. Alcohol and caffeine are big sleep disruptors as well, though you surely know that.
If you’re frequently waking up to pee, you might be overhydrating, especially in the evening. More seriously, it can be a symptom of diabetes or bladder, prostate, kidney, adrenal, or heart problems. Getting up once or twice to pee probably isn’t cause for alarm. It’s worth seeing a doctor if you’re getting several times or urinating much more at night than during the day."
Please read the rest of Marks original article here
Please note that articles within this blog are provided for general information only and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local health care provider.
Dear reader, within this blog you will find a variety of articles, studies, thoughts, music and recipes! It is presented in a magazine style - we hope something for everyone. Our main focus is about the Low Carb Higher (Healthy) Fat lifestyle, LCHF for short, and you can read/find out more about that here
All the best Jan
32 comments:
Interesting about the sleep cycles we have.
Tina
Thanks for sharing!
Mine is because of pain and sleep apnea. I toss and turn all night because of hip and knee pain and I wake myself up gasping because of sleep apnea. I sleep propped up on several pillows now because my insurance won't pay for a sleep study to get me a sleep apnea mask. lol
Good infomation, thanks for sharing.
...I woke up this morning at about 3am because our electric went out and my Cpap machine wasn't working.
I have some sleep issues so, I found this interesting. Thanks for sharing this info
I do wake up periodically in the night, but swiftly fall back asleep.
muy interesante, te mando un beso.
My kids text me late at night sometimes, that's what keeps me up!!
It is not what I eat or drink. I just wake up after four hours, usually never to sleep the rest of the night.
Interesting read Jan.
Thankfully I sleep all night without interruption - so I'm very grateful. I can have tea or coffee or anything just before I go to bed and sleep all night..
Only practicing sleep hygiene helps
We're usually both up by 3 or 4 am... but early to bed as well. Sometimes it's just what you become accustomed to doing.
hugs
Donna
I was asking that same question.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a great weekend!
Thank you for this article.
God bless.
Your post makes me think of a short book I listened to a few years back by Michael Pollen. (Called caffeine) Your article was interesting to read today, and like you said, there are several reasons for not sleeping all night. I'm sure for many it might also be caffeine. I know I switched to decaff drinks and it helped me sleep better. And of course retirement did too-smile.
This was really interesting information!
According to Mark's article, I am doing EVERYTHING wrong. But somehow, I can drink a cup of coffee and fall asleep not long after I drink it. Of course, I am a caffeine addict!
Good information! Valerie
Interesting reading.
90% of the time I have great sleep so I am very thankful for that!
Very nice and very informative dear Jan.
Thanks for sharing useful knowledge that seems to be a great help
Blessings
Interesting article! Thank you for sharing :-)
Have a nice weekend!
If I have too many carbs with my evening meal I wake several times through the night. I'm sleeping so much better on a low carb meal plan
Good information
I use to sleep better after a warm bath. Unfortunately, a building renovation years ago made using the tub pretty much a no, plumbing drainage issues.
Un artÃculo muy interesante. Yo, llevo un tiempo que duermo bastante bien. Besos.
Most of the time I can get to sleep. It's going _back_ to sleep when I wake up that's the problem.
Good information - sometimes I sleep well and sometimes I don't.
That was an interesting read. I'm a sleep walker and talker and wake up every few hours.xxx
After my husband died, I had so much trouble sleeping that I made a huge effort to change my sleep patterns. I turn off the TV, set aside the phone, etc an hour before I want to sleep. I have a cup of hot herb tea with relaxing and sleep producing properties. I read a book for 30-plus minutes while still sitting in the living room. I remember that the bed is the place I sleep - not read, not watch tv. Worked for me.
Interesting article. I now eat within a 12 hour time window to settle my digestion. That is helpful. It also helped somehow to know that in the past when people didn't have electric light, it was common to go to bed early and wake up in the middle of the night. People would often use this waking time as "thinking time" or "me time." Some old literature even refers to "first" and "second" sleeps, which suggests that it was widely practiced. These days I wonder if we stay up too late.
If I eat too much in the evening, I don't sleep well.
If I can't sleep, I'll read.
That relaxes.
Good article!
All the best and regards,
Hilly
Post a Comment