Neurologist named 8 reasons why a person wakes up at night at the same time

Today is World Sleep Day. Nighttime rest is essential for the health of both the brain and internal organs. But stress, hormones and other health problems “wake” almost all of us up every two to three hours. What else could this be related to?

neurologist, neurophysiologist, pediatric neurologist, scientific director of the Clinic of Restorative Neurology.

The cause often lies not in external stimuli: noise, light, uncomfortable temperature in the room or uncomfortable mattress. Frequent awakenings during the night are a form of insomnia (the inability of a person to sleep fully, given the opportunities and conditions). It is the most common symptom of adults seeking medical attention.

As a result of prolonged sleep disturbance, changes occur in the internal organs and in the brain – in particular, in the brain tissue accumulate products of neuronal activity, which are the cause of the common Alzheimer’s disease.

There are several varieties of insomnia. These can be:

• difficulty falling asleep – when a person cannotfall asleep for a long time;

• difficulty maintaining sleep – falling asleep, but then the person wakes up several times during the night and has difficulty falling asleep again;

• early awakenings – waking up earlier than desired and then it is very difficult or impossible to fall asleep again;

• restless sleep – the personsleeps through the night but does not feel awake and rested during the day.

Insomnia can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term). The latter can be diagnosed if sleep disturbances occur at least three nights a week for at least three months.

The ability to fall asleep at the desired time and maintain sleep without frequent awakenings depends on many things. Identifying these causes is at the heart of treating insomnia.

They can be thought of as a combination of predisposing, triggering, and supporting factors that change over time.

Predisposing factors (factors that increase the risk of sleep disorders):

• Personality traits of anxiety, excessive sensitivity, and moodiness;
• chronic mental disorders, depression or anxiety;
• shift work or erratic sleep/wake patterns;
• chronic pain syndromes.

Provoking factors are conditions that cause insomnia in a person predisposed to sleep disturbance. As a rule, this is a chronic or acute stressful situation (illness, family problems, loss of loved ones, change of profession, etc.).

Supporting factors are the conditions under which the sleep disorders that began are consolidated and pass into a chronic stage. They include violation of sleep hygiene:

• prolonged stay in bed, watching TV in an attempt to fall asleep;
• prolonged daytime naps;
• fear of not falling asleep;
• taking stimulants during the day;
• taking sleeping pills.

There can be many causes of sleep disturbance

They can be categorized into several groups:

1. Psychological causes – anxiety disorders, depression, prolonged psychotraumatic situation, emotional burnout. Unfinished work and personal affairs can cause a person to worry, tension and insomnia.

2. Somatic diseases – diseases of other organs and systems: diabetes mellitus, thyroid pathology, pathology of the heart (shortness of breath, palpitations, heart pain), lungs (coughing, shortness of breath), kidney and urinary tract diseases (frequent urges to urinate), tumor diseases, any acute illnesses, prolonged illnesses.

Frequent awakenings at night can also be caused by the urge to go to the toilet, for example, due to taking diuretics or prostate diseases.

3. Taking medications. Many stimulants have an effective half-life of more than 10 hours and can therefore interfere with both falling asleep and maintaining sleep. Antidepressants can also cause insomnia. Sometimes the negative effects after taking them are temporary.

4. Causes related to the reproductive system. Pregnancy, menopause, premenstrual syndrome.

5. Micronutrient deficiencies. For example, deficiency of vitamin D3, magnesium, B vitamins, iodine, iron, lack of tryptophan in food.

6. Diseases of the nervous system. Multiple sclerosis, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injuries.

7. Lifestyle disorders. Abuse of stimulants (coffee, energy), long daytime sleep, low physical activity, violation of sleep hygiene.

8. Other sleep disorders accompanied by symptoms of insomnia. Restless legs syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, circadian sleep disorders – jetlag, shift work schedule with night shifts.

internist, pulmonologist, somnologist.

The most common cause of sudden awakenings at night is sleep apnea. Night rest consists of one and a half hour cycles. In each of them alternate between shallow sleep, deep sleep and dreaming sleep. In the last phase, muscle tone, including the muscles of the pharynx, decreases. It is at this point that loud snoring and respiratory arrest in sleep occur. From this a person wakes up to start breathing again. Such interrupted sleep does not bring refreshment. People feel a headache in the morning and drowsiness during the day. In this case, it is worth contacting a specialist.

As we have already said above, a full healthy sleep depends on many factors, identifying and eliminating the cause of sleep disturbance and lie at the heart of effective treatment of insomnia.

Do not forget about simple rules that improve the quality of night rest:

• the room where you sleep should be quiet, dark and cool (temperature below 20°C);
• you should not drink strong tea, coffee and sweet carbonated drinks a couple of hours before bedtime;
• try to get more than seven to eight hours of sleep. If this is not possible, the minimum duration of sleep should be six hours.