(Image credit: Future)
Just when I think I’ve got my sleep issues sorted, nighttime anxiety comes knocking — and usually at the inconvenient time of 3 a.m. Waking up at night is a recurrent sleep problem for me and I’ll never tire of trying to get to the root cause of the issue.In my search for answers, I’ve spoken to Dr. Joshua Roland, a Board-Certified Sleep Medicine Physician, and Dr. Matthew Walker, a leading sleep scientist. According to Dr. Roland, a ‘temporary second wind of energy’ is causing my wake ups. And a common evening routine habit is one of the leading causes.Evidence suggests that ignoring sleep cues and staying up later than your body need triggers the production of hormones associated with wakefulness, which contributes to 3 a.m. wake-ups. Below, I dig into the sleep cues I’m missing plus the every day habits that are causing my 'middle insomnia'.Key takeaways: At a glance Research suggests that ignoring your natural sleep cues and instead staying awake can contribute to 3 a.m. wake-ups Overriding our body’s sleep signals to stay awake for one last scroll / chapter / episode etc. triggers the production of 'wakeful' hormones, including cortisolElevated cortisol before bed mean that, when cortisol levels naturally rise in the early hours of the morning, you’re susceptible to waking upExperts say one of the key sleep cues we ignore is feeling sleepy as opposed to tiredHabits that give a temporary ‘second wind’ of energy include working late into the evening and falling asleep in front of the TV, something 61% of us do How staying up past my bedtime was contributing to my 3 a.m. wake ups The 3 a.m. club isn’t exclusive and no one wants to be in it. And yet, my sleep over the past decade has been blighted by instances where I’m white-knuckling my way through the early hours of the morning, heart hammering in my chest.I've recently learnt that my habits in the lead up to bedtime (most crucially, staying awake later than I should) can influence how anxious I feel or how often I'm awoken. Without realizing it, I'm sabotaging my sleep by drifting off in front of the television. And it’s all down to the the release of hormones associated with wakefulness.
