Perhaps you just get enough sleep. But in other cases, this may indicate health problems.
It’s still dark outside the window, the alarm clock is far away, and you are lying and cannot close your eyes – this condition is familiar to many. Awakening too earlier – the problem is more serious than it seems. She does not fully relax overnight, violates sleep and wakefulness, and also causes irritability and bad mood during the day. Lifehacker figured out why this could happen and how to deal with it.
What can lead to early awakening
Awakening two to three hours before the alarm clock not only upset, but can also cause chronic fatigue and increased fatigue, nervousness, reduction of performance and scattering attention.
Periodic lack of sleep is harmful for both mental and physical health. Here is an incomplete list of its negative effects:
- increased appetite and the development of obesity;
- violation of immune protection mechanisms;
- an increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes;
- increasing blood pressure;
- increased risk of developing mental diseases;
- Reducing the likelihood of starting a child.
Therefore, it is worthwhile if you regularly began to wake up without an alarm clock neither light nor dawn.
What to do if you have already woken up and cannot fall asleep
If you woke up too early and try to fall asleep again, the following tips can help you:
- Try not to open your eyes. Do not look at the clock. Use the mask if it’s too light in the morning. The less you react to the world around, the faster you fall asleep again.
- Think about sleep and rest and try to relax.
- If possible, exclude all sources of noise and light. Perhaps they don’t let you sleep.
- Go to the toilet if you feel need. She will not let you fall asleep. You have to get out from under a warm blanket, but it is better than lying and enduring, not leaving yourself even a chance to plunge again.
What reasons can cause early awakening
Early awakening can be caused by a variety of reasons, and each of them needs its own approach.
1. Features of the body
How much we sleep depends on circus rhythms – the internal biological watches of our body. For each person they are individual. It is believed that on average adults are enough from 7 to 9 hours of sleep.
Like the duration of sleep, the optimal time of falling asleep with each person. For example, if your eyes stick together at ten in the evening, and your body is quite enough 7 hours of sleep, it is not surprising that you wake up at five in the morning. Perhaps you just got enough sleep.
What to do
If your circus rhythms do not bother you and you are quite satisfied with early upsurges, then there is nothing to worry about. But if you think that you fall asleep too early, then you can try to shift the time to go to bed. Start small: go to bed 15-30 minutes later than usual. After some time, when the body gets used to it, try to add the same amount of time. So gradually you can fall asleep in the preferred time and without consequences for the body.
2. Adverse conditions for sleeping
Often normal and healthy sleep interfere with the conditions in the bedroom. For example, your room may be too hot or cold. At night the body temperature decreases: this signals the body that it is time to sleep. But if the room is too warm (for example, after sunrise), the body can decide that it is time to wake up.
The optimum air temperature in the bedroom is 19–22 ° C.
Also in the bedroom there can be too much light, too noisy or not enough oxygen. Another reason for early awakening may be too warm sleep clothes or a non -hearing bedding.
What to do
There are a number of rules of sleep hygiene, the purpose of which is to create favorable conditions for a night’s rest. Here are some of them.
- Do not drag smartphones, laptops and other gadgets with screens into the bed – their glow knocks out circus rhythms.
- Make it dark and quiet in the bedroom so that no external stimuli did not bother you, and the bed is pleasant and convenient. And remember: this is a place for sleeping and sex, and not for work, eating and anything else.
- Improte the room before bedtime.
- Try to use clothes made of breathing materials for sleeping. There are also studies that the worn socks help to fall asleep faster and less likely to wake up.
3. Sleep disorders
Early awakening can also be one of the forms of insomnia. It stands on a par with such symptoms of this ailment as difficulties with falling asleep, a heavy rise in the morning and a restless dream. Most often, people of middle and older people face such a problem.
Another violation of sleep, causing awakening ahead of schedule, may be apnea. This is a state when a person has breathing stops during sleep. In addition to early awakening, it may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
- loud chronic snoring;
- headaches in the morning;
- high blood pressure;
- a sense of strong fatigue in the daytime;
- difficulties with a morning rise.
What to do
Sleep disorders are often caused by physiological causes and lifestyle characteristics. Here are some tips on how to improve the situation.
- If you suspect apnea, ask your partner if you sleep not alone, if you have noticed the symptoms of this disorder – snoring, restless sleep, intermittent breathing.
- Contact a specialist: a therapist, a neurologist or a somnologist. He will help to understand what caused your insomnia. Perhaps you will be sent to screening in a dream and prescribed treatment. Do not take sleeping pills without a doctor’s appointment.
- Eat correctly.
- Reduce alcohol use or abandon it completely. As a stimulant, it does not act immediately, but some time after use. Therefore, alcohol will help you quickly fall asleep, but can also lead to early awakening. Nicotine contained in tobacco also negatively affects the mechanisms of falling asleep and awakening.
- Limit the use of coffee, tea and chocolate before bedtime. Caffeine is also a stimulator that can violate circus rhythms.
- In order not to get up to the toilet at four in the morning, after which it is difficult to fall asleep, try not to drink a lot of liquids at night.
- Install a quiet and relaxing ritual before bedtime. For example, take a warm shower or listen to calm music.
- Play sports regularly. But the loads should not be excessive. And exercise in the evening, shortly before bedtime, is not worth.
4. Some diseases
Insomnia can cause health problems: because of them, a person can also wake up at the wrong time. Among them:
- thyroid problems and hormonal disorders;
- arthritis, neuropathic and other chronic pains;
- allergies or asthma;
- problems with the gastrointestinal tract;
- Neurological diseases.
What to do
In this case, only contacting a doctor and treatment of a detected disease can help. Do not postpone the visit to the doctor if, in addition to sleep disturbances, you noticed other symptoms, for example, the pains that are simple for several days (head or in the body) or exacerbation of the cold in the morning.
5. Psychological problems
Psychological health is also an important factor affecting sleep. In a state of stress or anxiety, the heartbeat blooms, the temperature rises, the centers of the brain responsible for vigilance are activated, the cortisol hormone is produced. Reason in this state jumps from one thought to another.
Experiences related to work, family problems or other reasons can cause a sense of anxiety that arises in the most inappropriate points. All this violates our internal mechanisms of wakefulness and sleep: a person can wake up both in the middle of the night and early in the morning.
A clear sign of such a violation of sleep is cheerful health and fast brain work immediately after awakening.
What to do
A good remedy for insomnia caused by stress is a course of cognitive -behavioral therapy. Also, with anxiety, as the cause of poor sleep, you can fight with medication by prescription of the doctor. A good decision would be to combine medication with a visit to a psychologist or psychiatrist.
The technique of relaxation and awareness helps to defeat anxiety, as well as meditation. The main thing is not to ignore stress. It is better to fight him right now, and not at four in the morning, when restless thoughts will wake you.
6. Age -related changes
Although our internal chronotypes are quite stable, during life they gradually change. So, people over 65 years old, unlike younger ones, are enough 6-7 hours to get enough sleep. This is due to age -related changes in the phases of recreation: the number of stages of deep sleep is reduced over time. And this leads to the fact that a person often wakes up due to noise, light or touch.
The risk of insomnia or apnea also increases in old age. This is due to the fact that the circus sleep alarm is a mechanism speaking to our body when sleeping, and when to wakefully, weakens over time.
In addition, women’s sleep problems may appear during the transition to menopause. Up to 61% of women complain of insomnia during this period. The echoes of heat and sweating caused by fluctuations in the estrogen hormone in the body interfere in a dream and can even wake up.
What to do
Cognitive -behavioral therapy helps a lot in the fight against insomnia and the elderly. It allows you to adjust the time of sleep and increase its quality.
The replacement therapy of estrogen helps to get rid of the side effects of menopause – taking hormonal drugs. An alternative to it can be a reception of products and additives with a high content of calcium, vitamin D or soy.
7. Pregnancy
During pregnancy in the body of a woman, especially in the early and later stages, significant changes occur. For example, body temperature rises. This can cause sleep problems, including early awakening. It can also cause attacks of malaise (nausea and vomiting), abdominal discomfort, chest pain, bright dreams and more frequent urge to the toilet.
What to do
All the above symptoms and ailments, as well as lack of sleep in the first months of pregnancy are considered normal. Snow problems caused by pregnancy pass after the birth of a child, you only need to adhere to the regimen of the day. But if you feel that you develop symptoms of postpartum depression, seek help from a specialist.
Sleep is an important part of life on which our health and psychological state depend. Therefore, any problem with sleep is a reason to get a habit. If you suffer from insomnia or early awakening for more than a month, consult a doctor.
It’s still dark outside the window, the alarm clock is far away, and you are lying and cannot close your eyes – this condition is familiar to many. Awakening too earlier – the problem is more serious than it seems. She does not fully relax overnight, violates sleep and wakefulness, and also causes irritability and bad mood during the day. Lifehacker figured out why this could happen and how to deal with it.
What can lead to early awakening
Awakening two to three hours before the alarm clock not only upset, but can also cause chronic fatigue and increased fatigue, nervousness, reduction of performance and scattering attention.
Periodic lack of sleep is harmful for both mental and physical health. Here is an incomplete list of its negative effects:
- increased appetite and the development of obesity;
- violation of immune protection mechanisms;
- an increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes;
- increasing blood pressure;
- increased risk of developing mental diseases;
- Reducing the likelihood of starting a child.
Therefore, it is worthwhile if you regularly began to wake up without an alarm clock neither light nor dawn.
What to do if you have already woken up and cannot fall asleep
If you woke up too early and try to fall asleep again, the following tips can help you:
- Try not to open your eyes. Do not look at the clock. Use the mask if it’s too light in the morning. The less you react to the world around, the faster you fall asleep again.
- Think about sleep and rest and try to relax.
- If possible, exclude all sources of noise and light. Perhaps they don’t let you sleep.
- Go to the toilet if you feel need. She will not let you fall asleep. You have to get out from under a warm blanket, but it is better than lying and enduring, not leaving yourself even a chance to plunge again.
What reasons can cause early awakening
Early awakening can be caused by a variety of reasons, and each of them needs its own approach.
1. Features of the body
How much we sleep depends on circus rhythms – the internal biological watches of our body. For each person they are individual. It is believed that on average adults are enough from 7 to 9 hours of sleep.
Like the duration of sleep, the optimal time of falling asleep with each person. For example, if your eyes stick together at ten in the evening, and your body is quite enough 7 hours of sleep, it is not surprising that you wake up at five in the morning. Perhaps you just got enough sleep.
What to do
If your circus rhythms do not bother you and you are quite satisfied with early upsurges, then there is nothing to worry about. But if you think that you fall asleep too early, then you can try to shift the time to go to bed. Start small: go to bed 15-30 minutes later than usual. After some time, when the body gets used to it, try to add the same amount of time. So gradually you can fall asleep in the preferred time and without consequences for the body.
2. Adverse conditions for sleeping
Often normal and healthy sleep interfere with the conditions in the bedroom. For example, your room may be too hot or cold. At night the body temperature decreases: this signals the body that it is time to sleep. But if the room is too warm (for example, after sunrise), the body can decide that it is time to wake up.
The optimum air temperature in the bedroom is 19–22 ° C.
Also in the bedroom there can be too much light, too noisy or not enough oxygen. Another reason for early awakening may be too warm sleep clothes or a non -hearing bedding.
What to do
There are a number of rules of sleep hygiene, the purpose of which is to create favorable conditions for a night’s rest. Here are some of them.
- Do not drag smartphones, laptops and other gadgets with screens into the bed – their glow knocks out circus rhythms.
- Make it dark and quiet in the bedroom so that no external stimuli did not bother you, and the bed is pleasant and convenient. And remember: this is a place for sleeping and sex, and not for work, eating and anything else.
- Improte the room before bedtime.
- Try to use clothes made of breathing materials for sleeping. There are also studies that the worn socks help to fall asleep faster and less likely to wake up.
3. Sleep disorders
Early awakening can also be one of the forms of insomnia. It stands on a par with such symptoms of this ailment as difficulties with falling asleep, a heavy rise in the morning and a restless dream. Most often, people of middle and older people face such a problem.
Another violation of sleep, causing awakening ahead of schedule, may be apnea. This is a state when a person has breathing stops during sleep. In addition to early awakening, it may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
- loud chronic snoring;
- headaches in the morning;
- high blood pressure;
- a sense of strong fatigue in the daytime;
- difficulties with a morning rise.
What to do
Sleep disorders are often caused by physiological causes and lifestyle characteristics. Here are some tips on how to improve the situation.
- If you suspect apnea, ask your partner if you sleep not alone, if you have noticed the symptoms of this disorder – snoring, restless sleep, intermittent breathing.
- Contact a specialist: a therapist, a neurologist or a somnologist. He will help to understand what caused your insomnia. Perhaps you will be sent to screening in a dream and prescribed treatment. Do not take sleeping pills without a doctor’s appointment.
- Eat correctly.
- Reduce alcohol use or abandon it completely. As a stimulant, it does not act immediately, but some time after use. Therefore, alcohol will help you quickly fall asleep, but can also lead to early awakening. Nicotine contained in tobacco also negatively affects the mechanisms of falling asleep and awakening.
- Limit the use of coffee, tea and chocolate before bedtime. Caffeine is also a stimulator that can violate circus rhythms.
- In order not to get up to the toilet at four in the morning, after which it is difficult to fall asleep, try not to drink a lot of liquids at night.
- Install a quiet and relaxing ritual before bedtime. For example, take a warm shower or listen to calm music.
- Play sports regularly. But the loads should not be excessive. And exercise in the evening, shortly before bedtime, is not worth.
4. Some diseases
Insomnia can cause health problems: because of them, a person can also wake up at the wrong time. Among them:
- thyroid problems and hormonal disorders;
- arthritis, neuropathic and other chronic pains;
- allergies or asthma;
- problems with the gastrointestinal tract;
- Neurological diseases.
What to do
In this case, only contacting a doctor and treatment of a detected disease can help. Do not postpone the visit to the doctor if, in addition to sleep disturbances, you noticed other symptoms, for example, the pains that are simple for several days (head or in the body) or exacerbation of the cold in the morning.
5. Psychological problems
Psychological health is also an important factor affecting sleep. In a state of stress or anxiety, the heartbeat blooms, the temperature rises, the centers of the brain responsible for vigilance are activated, the cortisol hormone is produced. Reason in this state jumps from one thought to another.
Experiences related to work, family problems or other reasons can cause a sense of anxiety that arises in the most inappropriate points. All this violates our internal mechanisms of wakefulness and sleep: a person can wake up both in the middle of the night and early in the morning.
A clear sign of such a violation of sleep is cheerful health and fast brain work immediately after awakening.
What to do
A good remedy for insomnia caused by stress is a course of cognitive -behavioral therapy. Also, with anxiety, as the cause of poor sleep, you can fight with medication by prescription of the doctor. A good decision would be to combine medication with a visit to a psychologist or psychiatrist.
The technique of relaxation and awareness helps to defeat anxiety, as well as meditation. The main thing is not to ignore stress. It is better to fight him right now, and not at four in the morning, when restless thoughts will wake you.
6. Age -related changes
Although our internal chronotypes are quite stable, during life they gradually change. So, people over 65 years old, unlike younger ones, are enough 6-7 hours to get enough sleep. This is due to age -related changes in the phases of recreation: the number of stages of deep sleep is reduced over time. And this leads to the fact that a person often wakes up due to noise, light or touch.
The risk of insomnia or apnea also increases in old age. This is due to the fact that the circus sleep alarm is a mechanism speaking to our body when sleeping, and when to wakefully, weakens over time.
In addition, women’s sleep problems may appear during the transition to menopause. Up to 61% of women complain of insomnia during this period. The echoes of heat and sweating caused by fluctuations in the estrogen hormone in the body interfere in a dream and can even wake up.
What to do
Cognitive -behavioral therapy helps a lot in the fight against insomnia and the elderly. It allows you to adjust the time of sleep and increase its quality.
The replacement therapy of estrogen helps to get rid of the side effects of menopause – taking hormonal drugs. An alternative to it can be a reception of products and additives with a high content of calcium, vitamin D or soy.
7. Pregnancy
During pregnancy in the body of a woman, especially in the early and later stages, significant changes occur. For example, body temperature rises. This can cause sleep problems, including early awakening. It can also cause attacks of malaise (nausea and vomiting), abdominal discomfort, chest pain, bright dreams and more frequent urge to the toilet.
What to do
All the above symptoms and ailments, as well as lack of sleep in the first months of pregnancy are considered normal. Snow problems caused by pregnancy pass after the birth of a child, you only need to adhere to the regimen of the day. But if you feel that you develop symptoms of postpartum depression, seek help from a specialist.
Sleep is an important part of life on which our health and psychological state depend. Therefore, any problem with sleep is a reason to get a habit. If you suffer from insomnia or early awakening for more than a month, consult a doctor.