Don't sleep on it : Why you keep waking up at 3 am every night?

A new survey finds that 61% of Indians got less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night in the last 12 months. Doctors tell you the reasons behind frequent night waking that is quietly damaging your health.

Dim lights, cosy bed and peaceful silence with the soothing sound of rain splattering playing in the background. Sounds like the perfect environment for a good night's sleep? But boom, you wake up at 3 am only to toss and turn for the rest of the night until you fall back asleep once the sun is almost up.

Does this sound familiar? If yes, you might want to ask why you keep waking up every night. The answer lies in your daily habits.

Sleep disruptions have become a growing problem. Surveys conducted by LocalCircles in the past couple of years have shown that an increasing number of citizens have problems getting uninterrupted sleep for even seven hours.

As per the latest survey findings, 61 per cent of Indians got less than 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night in the last 12 months.

Dr Aravinda S N, Lead Consultant - Internal Medicine, Aster RV Hospital, Bengaluru, says people who experience waking up at 3 am is mostly because their body clock and sleep patterns are disturbed.

"The main reason people develop this condition is insomnia which includes sleep maintenance insomnia because it prevents people from remaining asleep after falling asleep," Dr Aravinda said.

The major triggers for this condition are stress and anxiety. Stress hormone, known as cortisol, increases during the night, causing the brain to enter a state of wakefulness and make the nervous system overly active

Stress and anxiety maintain a state of partial brain alertness which results in multiple sleep interruptions.

"The condition causes people to wake up suddenly while their mind experiences uncontrollable racing thoughts which prevents them from returning to sleep. Blood sugar levels which go through variations during the day become another reason for this problem. The body responds to nighttime drops in its glucose levels through the release of stress hormones like adrenaline which causes people to wake up suddenly," Dr Aravinda explained.

Women, he added, experience frequent morning wakefulness due to hormonal changes that occur during their menopause stage.

"People's sleep patterns depend on their lifestyle choices. People who use screens at night and consume caffeine and follow inconsistent sleep patterns will experience disruptions to their sleep patterns," Dr Aravinda emphasised, while adding that some people who experience sleeping difficulties need to treat underlying conditions like sleep apnea or depression.

He warned that the practice of waking up at the same time every night, particularly at 3 AM, also signals health problems.

"The body experiences sleep disruption because it fails to enter deep sleep states which last for extended periods. If it keeps happening frequently and beyond normal limits, the body requires an evaluation of stress levels, lifestyle patterns and potential medical conditions," Dr Aravinda opined.

If not diagnosed and treated early, Dr Aravinda said, it will attract severe health problems because poor sleep continuity decreases immunity and hinders focus. It also raises metabolic disorders risk.

Then there are those for whom falling asleep is anything but easy. With racing thoughts and hypothetical scenarios running on constantly in their mind, all they want is to fall asleep.

And even counting sheep does not work for them.

While insomnia, stress and anxiety remain the primary causes for most sleep-related disorders, your screen time might also be making your nights miserable.

"People's sleeping patterns get affected by their daily activities. People who use screens for extended periods before sleeping lose their ability to produce melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone, which makes it difficult to fall asleep. Even irregular bedtime patterns and environmental conditions like noise could trigger it," Dr Murali Krishna, Visiting Consultant - Psychiatry & Counselling Services, Aster RV Hospital, Bengaluru, said.

Such people need to combine three main elements which include proper sleep practices, stress control methods and appropriate medical assistance.

However, not only poor sleepers are facing the brunt of sleep disorders. There are those who are blessed with a long and good night's sleep. But even after nine-long hours of sleep, they wake up tired. Here, sleep apnea and hypersomnia are to be blamed.

"People who sleep extensively yet remain exhausted experience a frustrating situation which results from their body not receiving adequate rest. Sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, causes people to experience breathing interruptions during night time hours, which prevents them from reaching deep quality sleep. Even people who sleep for eight-nine hours experience sleep disturbances throughout their entire sleeping period," Dr Krishna explained.

Hypersomnia causes people to experience ongoing daytime sleepiness even when they obtain sufficient night-time rest. And, again, it all boils down to one's daily routine and stress levels.

"People who experience ongoing and prolonged tiredness should get themselves assessed for thyroid disorders, anemia and nutritional deficiencies," Dr Krishna advised.