The hypothalamus, a peanut-sized structure deep inside the brain, contains groups of nerve cells that act as control centers affecting sleep and arousal.
Sleep promotes metabolic, cardiovascular, and immune system health. Sufficient sleep also helps to maintain optimal mood and memory. Inadequate sleep is associated with many chronic conditions as well as neurotransmitter and hormone imbalances.
General health conditions
Breathing problems, such as sleep apnea. Obesity. Alcohol consumption and smoking. Digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux.
Insomnia is often considered a disorder of excessive activation of the arousal systems of the brain (ie, hyperarousal). Hyperarousal in the physiologic, emotional, or cognitive networks is believed to prevent sleep regulatory processes from naturally occurring in patients with insomnia (see References 20, 22-25).
So if you wake up at 3 AM, when Liver energy peaks, you may be suffering from Liver Qi stagnation, which could be related to an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol consumption, unresolved anger or high levels of stress.
Troubles with sleeping also affect gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and functional dyspepsia (FD). IBS patients have more difficulties with sleep, including taking longer to fall asleep, repeated night-time waking, and excessive day-time sleepiness.
Sleep–wake disturbances are common in liver cirrhosis and associated with impaired quality of life. The most common abnormalities are insomnia (difficulties falling asleep and maintaining sleep, or unrefreshing sleep), excessive daytime sleepiness, and sleep–wake inversion (disturbances of circadian rhythmicity).
Common causes of chronic insomnia include: Stress. Concerns about work, school, health, finances or family can keep your mind active at night, making it difficult to sleep. Stressful life events or trauma — such as the death or illness of a loved one, divorce, or a job loss — also may lead to insomnia.
One study of older adults with insomnia found that magnesium supplementation at a dose of 500 milligrams daily for eight weeks helped them fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, reduced nighttime awakenings, and increased their levels of naturally circulating melatonin.
Consider melatonin sleep help for occasional insomnia.
Research shows that a supplement may help people with insomnia fall asleep slightly faster and may have bigger benefits for those with delayed sleep phase syndrome—falling asleep very late and waking up late the next day.
Normally, at night time, melatonin levels will naturally increase, and cortisol (our stress hormone), will naturally be lower (than in the mornings). If you are under acute stress, or you have been under chronic stress, you may notice that you tend to wake up between 2-4 am and have difficulty falling back asleep.
Melatonin is the only known hormone synthesized by the pineal gland and is released in response to darkness hence the name, “hormone of darkness” [10]. Melatonin provides a circadian and seasonal signal to the organisms in vertebrates.
Melatonin is regulated not only by that circadian oscillator but acts as a darkness signal, providing feedback to the oscillator. Melatonin has both a soporific effect and an ability to entrain the sleep-wake rhythm. It also has a major role in regulating the body temperature rhythm.
What hormone keeps me awake at night? The main hormones that keep you awake at night at melatonin, cortisol, and insulin as mentioned in the previous section.
Increased fat deposition in the liver causes inflammation and fibrosis, eventually leading to cirrhosis. Sleep disruption is increased in patients with NAFLD compared to healthy controls, with NAFLD patients reporting higher PSQI than control (44).
Fiber: Fiber has been proven to enhance the production of healthy bacteria in the body. In addition to promoting a healthier gut and better sleep, fiber can also prevent allergies, arthritis, and Type 2 Diabetes.
Insomnia has been associated with various CNS autoimmune disorders such as in Morvan syndrome, where thalamo-limbic dysregulation is seen in association with voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC) antibodies, and the anti-NMDA antibody syndrome with insomnia/hypersomnia.
1-3am is the time of the Liver and a time when the body should be alseep. During this time, toxins are released from the body and fresh new blood is made. If you find yourself waking during this time, you could have too much yang energy or problems with your liver or detoxification pathways.
Let's take a look at the liver. According to the Organ Clock it is the most busy during 1-3am at night. (Assuming you go to bed around 10-11pm.) If things are running smooth in the liver, you will never notice that it is working at all.
See, our circadian rhythm directs our cortisol, an awakening hormone, to rise around 3am, in preparation for the next morning. However, if you cortisol levels are already high, which is a consequence of stress, then it's likely you will wake up.