The rising cortisol levels and dealing with emotional events or feelings may be why many people wake up at 3 AM or 4 AM daily. Other reasons why you may be waking up in the middle of the night are: You are wearing uncomfortable or the wrong clothes to bed. Your bedroom is too warm or cold.
There are many reasons why you might wake up at 4 am for no reason. They include external factors, such as environmental disturbances like temperature, light, and noise. They also include internal factors, like your circadian rhythm, sleep disorders like sleep apnea, and/or medical issues, like heartburn.
Waking up at 4:00 am might be great for your to-do list, but if it's causing you to lose out on sleep, it's going to do more harm than good. Consistent too-early wake-up times are often a sign that something is awry, whether it's your lifestyle or a sleep disorder.
Waking Up Early Gave Me More Time To Exercise
Your body's cortisol is higher in the mornings, meaning you're more alert. You also lose weight faster if you work out before breakfast. Waking up early gave me the power to exercise as much (or as little) as I wanted. Science aside, I felt good about it.
Some individuals wake up at 4 or 5 with horrific anxiety attacks. This may be due to increased cortisol in the early morning, which causes greater stress in sensitive individuals. The anxiety may ease off as the person begins his/her daily routine.
What is the Best Time to Wake Up in the Morning? The best time to wake up in the morning is between 6:30 am to 7. Waking up early is considered to be one of the healthiest morning habits that shape the rest of your day.
Your sleep patterns
One likely explanation for waking up at the same time each night is that you go to sleep at the same time and then, at the same time each night, you reach a light stage of sleep and wake up. We're also more likely to remember waking up if it's closer to the time we normally get up for the day.
In some cases, insomnia is caused by a medical condition such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome or chronic pain, or by a mental health disorder such as depression. Treatment for one of these underlying conditions may be necessary for insomnia to get better.
If you don't fall back asleep right away — Dr. Robbins says to give yourself 15 minutes — get out of bed again and try to do something that relaxes your body. For example, some gentle yoga or a breathing exercise. Wait until you feel tired to get back in bed.
Paradoxically, experts say to get out of bed. Yes, even at 3 a.m. “Abandon the idea of getting back to sleep,” Troxel said. “When you do that, when you let the pressure go that sleep isn't so effortful, sleep is more likely to come back.”
It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called deep sleep. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened during deep sleep do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes after they wake up.
According to a new study, the best time to sleep is from 10pm to 4am. People going to bed before 10 or after 11 are at greater risk for heart disease, compared to the average person. In this timeframe people have a 25-percent lower chance of developing heart disease than those who fall asleep after midnight.
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, which helps synchronize your sleep-wake cycle. Limit awake-time in bed. If you don't get back to sleep within 20 minutes after waking up in the middle of the night, get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again.
Proponents of the 4 a.m. wakeup say it helps them get a head start on the day, before emails and everything else start making demands on their time. They like the quiet and the lack of interruption.
Core body temperature starts to rise, sleep drive is reducing (because we've had a chunk of sleep), secretion of melatonin (the sleep hormone) has peaked, and levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) are increasing as the body prepares to launch us into the day.