The phenomenon of waking up at 3 a.m. is not that rare, experts say. At the same time, it naturally attracts attention from the medical community. After all, despite the fact that waking up at 3 o’clock is not fatally dangerous, it does not cause death, it can still be harmful to health, and also signals that the human nervous system cannot relax. Aleksey Melekhin, candidate of psychological sciences, psychoanalyst, somnologist, clinical psychologist of the highest category, associate professor, told AiF.ru about why the phenomenon of waking up at 3 a.m. occurs and what it is fraught with, as well as how to deal with it .
Psychological reasons
“This phenomenon of waking up at 2-3 am is very interesting. After all, in fact, people wake up at the same time for no apparent reason. They do not understand what is happening to them and are looking for reasons. Sometimes they even go as far as mythological and mythical options for explaining the problem. In fact, nothing like that happens there - there is no need to look for any hidden meanings; even biological reasons do not always provoke such a situation,” notes Alexey Melekhin.
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Obstructive apnea
When a person wakes up in the middle of the night with signs of choking, doctors will assume apnea. According to statistics, 60% of people over the age of 65 suffer from the disease, men are twice as likely. When the problem occurs, short-term pauses in breathing occur during sleep.
Factors that aggravate the course of the disease:
- age over 40 years;
- overweight;
- alcohol consumption;
- diabetes;
- taking medications with a sedative effect.
In addition to physiological reasons, apnea is caused by psychological ones. Scientists have established a relationship with depression and anxiety. Many experienced rapid fatigue, absent-mindedness, deterioration of memory, attention, and ability to concentrate. With apnea, they wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning, in the early hours.
Problem solving
One of the reasons why this phenomenon occurs is the problem-oriented personality type of a person. Such people, says the psychoanalyst, constantly solve various problems - just give them free rein, and they will solve them endlessly. So why do they wake up at 3 am? “The fact is that it is at 3 am that the synthesis of hormones occurs - melatonin (sleep hormone), serotonin and cortisol (stress hormone). And people who constantly solve various problems and save the world, plan and doubt, and so during the day there is an active production of these hormones, and at night it intensifies further, as a result of which they begin to have problems sleeping and they wake up,” says Alexey Melekhin.
Such people can wake up in different ways. For example, waking up can be calm, but often they are simply thrown out of sleep.
Often this problem arises against the backdrop of an important event that will happen tomorrow. “A person marks the day as important, for example, he will have an important meeting, a trip, etc. He needs to do everything and not forget anything. Psychologists even coined the term “anticipation anxiety” against this background. Against this background, the nervous system loses basic trust, begins to overestimate the day, and sensitive sleep appears,” says Melekhin.
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Physical discomfort
The first and most common reason why a child does not sleep well at night is uncomfortable sleeping conditions: hot or cold, dry or too damp air, “scratchy” synthetic bedding or uncomfortable pajamas, a heavy blanket, a crumpled lumpy bed, a wet or dirty diaper.
How to proceed:
- create a healthy microclimate in the sleeping room - with a temperature of 18-20 ºС and a humidity of 50-70%;
- choose cozy cotton pajamas according to the season - warm or light;
- make and carefully straighten bedding made of natural material before going to bed;
- if necessary, change the mattress, blanket or pillow to a more comfortable one, preferably made from hypoallergenic materials;
- Use high-quality diapers and change them promptly.
The second reason in this group is pain of various origins. This may include colic or painful teething in infants, aching muscles and joints during rapid growth in older children. Infants cannot talk about their sensations, other children complain of pain, but sometimes it is quite difficult to “calculate” its cause and clear localization.
How to proceed:
- if a baby has colic, the nursing mother should reconsider her diet and select a suitable formula for the artificial one;
- massage itchy gums when teething with a chilled teether or a finger wrapped in gauze; if necessary, apply an anesthetic gel;
- Relaxing baths and light massages at night help to cope with muscle pain in children;
- Pain of unknown origin requires consultation with a pediatrician.
The third reason is childhood illnesses, especially with high fever. Often, sleep disturbances indicate the onset of the disease. Some children literally “fall asleep,” while others cannot fall asleep, rush around, worry, and constantly wake up.
How to proceed:
- go to the doctor;
- During treatment, alleviate the child’s condition in every possible way: give an antipyretic when the temperature rises above 380C, provide clean, fresh and moist air in the room and rest for the baby.
The fourth reason is thirst, hunger or excessive heaviness in the stomach.
How to proceed:
- Children under one year old can “legally” wake up for night feedings; denser feedings at night and maintaining a comfortable microclimate in the room help reduce their number - this way the baby will not wake up from thirst. The latter is important for any child;
- For older children, offer a light but quite filling dinner without invigorating drinks - cola, strong tea, cocoa;
- Follow your meal schedule.
The fifth reason why a child sleeps poorly at night is allergies, digestive and metabolic disorders. Most often, this is an allergic reaction to salicylates, an upset stomach after eating unusual or stale foods for dinner, or manifestations of a lack of calcium in the child’s body.
How to proceed:
- carefully analyze your child’s diet and remove everything that causes a negative reaction;
- as an experiment, temporarily exclude salicylates - food additives with tartrazine E 102, citrus fruits, tomatoes;
- to check whether the child receives enough calcium, you can give it to the child in tablets in a prophylactic dose - this often improves sleep and is especially important if the baby receives a lot of vitamin D, which requires a combination with calcium.
Problem since childhood
The situation can also develop when a person has been exposed to it since childhood. You can ask your parents how he slept when he was little. If some similar difficulties were observed there, then they will carry over into adulthood.
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What does waking up in the night look like?
It would seem that he woke up and woke up. But waking up at 3 a.m. is not always quiet and peaceful. “Pushing out of sleep is often accompanied by the discomfort of horror. A person experiences a rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, hot and cold flashes, and he wants to move,” says Alexey Melekhin.
As the specialist notes, a fear of the night, a panic attack at night, is formed. People begin to be afraid to fall asleep. “A person is already vigilant during the day, but now he becomes vigilant at night. Some people start deceiving themselves and try to go to bed later, for example at 4 am, to protect themselves. At the same time, they do not understand that these measures lead to the fact that the nervous system suffers even more,” says the psychoanalyst.
Consequences
Regardless of the causes of poor sleep, with long-term disturbances, the oxidative process inside brain cells progresses. This leads to their accelerated death. Psychologists note: the speed of thinking decreases, the risk of diseases of the musculoskeletal system and heart increases.
It is easy to prevent the development of the condition: limit your time in bed during the day, stop using substances that affect brain function, eat healthy foods, and create comfortable conditions for sleep.
How to deal with the situation?
To begin with, when it comes to the 3 am phenomenon, you should understand what exactly causes it. “If it is caused by anxious anticipation, that is, such episodes appear on the eve of important things, you need to use this option: remove the labeling of the day as responsible, you should not stick such a label of super-importance of the day on it. After all, when defining a day as very important, the nervous system goes into mobilization mode. Here you should give yourself the reasons why this day does not particularly stand out from the series of ordinary ones, and also give yourself 5 pleasant things that you can enjoy,” notes the psychoanalyst.
Article on the topic
How to overcome drowsiness? Advice from a somnologist on how much and when to sleep If the reason for awakenings lies in sensory overload or overload with problems, then it’s worth paying attention to the technique of small victories. “It’s enough to simply ask yourself at the end of the day: what am I happy with today? And thank the passing day for all this,” says Alexey Melekhin. This will relieve and calm the nervous system. If I am in constant tension that I am not doing something in time, then the quest to solve problems will continue.
Additionally, you should worry about sleep hygiene. “First, you should give up simple carbohydrates. This is exactly what we especially love at night: rolls, bread, sandwiches. Such food only shakes and mobilizes the nervous system due to the influx of energy. At the very least, you should abstain from such food 2 hours before bedtime,” says the psychoanalyst. You should also give up problem solving and planning before going to bed. “When planning begins, the nervous system goes into “Why sleep?” mode. There’s no need to sleep, we need to solve problems.” This is not worth doing. As well as cheering yourself up with caffeinated drinks and alcohol,” notes Alexey Melekhin.
If you have already woken up, but you can’t fall back to sleep, you need to get up and walk around the house. “Just don’t turn on the lights, don’t pick up gadgets and don’t start thinking hard, analyzing and scolding yourself,” says Alexey Melekhin. After all, in essence, this is just an overload indicator, like a smartphone, when it issues a warning that it has 20 percent of charge left. This is how the nervous system also shows that it is missing something before going to bed in order to relax.
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EASTERN MEDICINE: “LOOK AT THE TIME OF AWAKENING AT NIGHT”
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the human body is permeated by 12 interconnected channels. The energy of qi and blood moves through them, and yin and yang spread. Each channel (meridian) is responsible for a specific organ and is projected onto the surface of the body. The disease occurs when the correct movement of the vital energy qi is disrupted or when the energies of yin and yang are imbalanced (they must be in balance). Chinese doctors pay attention to the time of night awakenings, linking them with signals from damaged organs. The emotions that a person experiences when waking up also help decipher body signals.
23:00-1:00 – gallbladder time
Associated with it is the emotion of disappointment. Insomnia or waking up with a feeling of anxiety around midnight indicate diseases of this organ, but in themselves they can negatively affect its condition. Midnight, according to Eastern medicine, is the time of recovery of the gallbladder.
1:00-3:00 – liver
Liver diseases generate anger, but at this time anger itself can harm even a healthy organ. To calm down emotions, Chinese doctors advise doing a short relaxation practice using qigong complexes and drinking cool water.
3:00-5:00 – light
Lung disease is accompanied by the emotion of sadness. Waking up at this time is a signal to improve your respiratory system, quit smoking, start swimming or perform breathing practices.
Chinese doctors often use reflexology (acupuncture, acupressure, etc.) among treatment methods. After all, each meridian has a projection onto the body and its own active points. Relaxing massage, stone therapy and taking herbal remedies also give good results.
