7 reasons why we wake up in the middle of the night

Coffee is associated with the feeling of alertness. This is because of caffeine, which is a nervous system stimulant. It’s the world’s most consumed psychoactive substance.

Chances are you sipped on a hot cup of latte after a long day at the office. As much as a cup of coffee gives instant gratification, it disrupts your body clock.

The effects of caffeine on sleep depend not only on the amount of caffeine ingested at bedtime but also the amount ingested throughout the day, especially in the evening.

What to do

• Try to avoid caffeine—this includes energy drinks, soft drinks and coffee—in the second half of the day. You can also set a personal time for your last coffee of the day, by observing your sleep patterns vis-a-vis coffee consumption over a few days or weeks.
• Try reducing the amount of caffeine you consume in a day as well. Once again, you can set a personal limit for how much coffee/caffeine you can have in a day without disrupting your sleep by observing how your body reacts to different quantities over a few days or weeks.

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In some cultures, a nightcap or small alcoholic drink before bedtime is said to help you sleep. Indeed, alcohol is a depressant, which is why its consumption makes us feel drowsy and perhaps helps in falling asleep faster. This is because of adenosine, a sleep-inducing chemical, the production of which increases after the consumption of alcohol. However, it subsides as quickly as it comes, making you more likely to wake up before you're truly rested.

Another reason people get lower-quality sleep following alcohol consumption is that it blocks REM sleep, which is often considered the most restorative type of sleep. With less REM sleep, you’re likely to wake up feeling groggy and unfocused.

What to do

• Limit your alcohol consumption—doctors recommend setting a daily maximum of two small drinks for men and one for women.
• Try not to drink in the late evening or night.

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A serious sleep disorder, in sleep apnea the tissues of the mouth and throat close off your airway and obstruct breathing when you lie down. Your brain wakes you up enough that you can breathe again, and you may wake up completely. One of the most effective treatments is to sleep with a breathing machine that keeps your airway open.

What to do

See a doctor if you often have one of these symptoms:

• You’ve had episodes when you’ve stopped breathing during sleep
• Abrupt awakenings accompanied by gasping or choking
• Your partner tells you that you snore loudly
• You spend 7-8 hours in bed but don’t feel rested, or feel sleepy during the day

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You probably realise that stress can take a toll on your sleep. But, you may not know exactly how or why. Even the most mundane causative factors of stress, things like moving houses, can cause you to lose sleep.

This is because feeling stressed out increases your physiological and psychological arousal in ways that are incompatible with the state your body and mind need to enter relaxed, restorative sleep.

So if you can’t relax after a difficult day once you’ve slipped under the covers, good quality sleep may prove to be elusive. You’re likely to have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping soundly.

What to do

• Try meditation to relax the mind and body. You could use an app, or some of these beginners' tips to meditate for stress relief.
• Try physical exercise during the day. Remember not to workout too late in the evening as that too can disrupt sleep

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If you have undergone a traumatic event, it could affect your ability to sleep peacefully. People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often re-experience the trauma through intrusive distressing recollections of the event, flashbacks, and nightmares. PTSD has been seen in soldiers, yes, but also survivors of car accidents, rape victims, domestic abuse survivors, and now some COVID-19 survivors too. The symptoms to look out for are:

• Emotional numbness and avoidance of places, people, and activities that are reminders of the trauma
• Increased arousal such as difficulty sleeping and concentrating
• and being easily irritated and angered

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If you’re a female in your 40s and you start waking up in a puddle of sweat, chances are that menopause is to blame.

During this period, the hormones in your body are going topsy-turvy, causing menopausal hot flashes and night sweats. These can be uncomfortable and therefore disrupt your sleep cycle.

If you’re experiencing these symptoms, pay a visit to your gynecologist.

What to do

• Take a cool shower before going to bed. If you do wake up in a sweat at night, try running cool water over your wrists to cool down
• Keep a fan near the bed, if possible. Keep the room cool

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If you, like 77 million other people in India, have diabetes, then chances are that you wake up a few times each night for reasons such as:

• Hunger pangs due to low blood sugar, as you go several hours without eating at night. Some people with nocturnal hypoglycaemia may wake up in a sweat.
• Need to urinate many times during the night (nocturia) could be a sign of uncontrolled blood sugar in diabetics.
• Restless leg syndrome and peripheral neuropathy (often associated with diabetes) may cause loss of feeling, numbness, tingling or pain in the extremities like the hands and feet which can also disrupt sleep

What to do

• Monitor your blood sugar levels and keep your diabetes in check with proper medications and meals at the right time
• Visit a doctor if the sleep problems persist

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Sleeping well is crucial for health: both physical and mental health. If you have trouble falling asleep, try creating a routine around bedtime as a first step towards ensuring a good night’s sleep. While there isn’t a hard and fast rule here, you could try some ayurvedic tips for good sleep or you could try the following:

• Avoid heavy foods and stimulants before going to bed
• A hot shower right before bed can be plenty relaxing. You could also put on some tranquil music
• Remove excess electronics from your bedroom and put away all electronic devices at least 30 minutes before you fall asleep
• Make sure the lighting is dim (if any) and put heavy curtains

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