Why do we wake at 3am and worry?
We’ve all had one of those nights, where you wake up at around 3am and your mind slips into a spiral of negative thoughts.
All your worries suddenly take on more importance in the middle of the night, leaving you worried and fretful and unable to get back to sleep,
Yet during the day these concerns no longer seem that serious – turns out you lost sleep over nothing. So, what’s going on?
What will I learn in this blog?
• That sleep can be disturbed by anxiety
• There are physiological reasons why we worry more at 3am
• That good quality sleep is vital for your health and wellbeing
• How hypnosis could help you enjoy the benefits of better quality sleep
How does stress affect sleep?
In a normal night’s sleep, our neurobiology reaches a turning point around 3 or 4am. 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.
Remarkably, all this activity happens independent of cues from the environment such as dawn light. We actually wake up many times each night, and light sleep is more common in the second half of the night. When sleep is going well for us, we are simply unaware of these awakenings. But add a bit of stress and there is a good chance that waking will become a fully self-aware state.
Not surprisingly, there is evidence the pandemic is a sleep-disturbing stressor. So if you’re experiencing 3am wakings at the moment, you’re definitely not alone.
Stress also impacts sleep in insomnia, where people become hyper-vigilant about being awake. Concerns about being awake when one “should” be asleep can cause the person to jolt themselves into anxious wakefulness whenever they go through a light sleep phase.
If that sounds like you, be aware that insomnia responds well to psychological treatment with hypnotherapy. There’s also a strong link between sleep and depression, so it’s important to speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your sleep.”
Why 3am?
Around this time in the sleep cycle, we’re at our lowest ebb physically and cognitively. From nature’s viewpoint, this is meant to be a time of physical and emotional recovery, so it’s understandable that our internal resources are low.
But we also lack other resources in the middle of the night – social connections, cultural assets, all the coping skills of an adult are unavailable at this time. With none of our human skills and capital, we are left alone in the dark with our thoughts. So the mind is partly right when it concludes the problems it’s generated are unsolvable at 3am, most problems literally would be.
Once the sun’s up, we’re listening to the radio, chewing our toast and pushing the cat off the bench, and our 3am problems are put in perspective. We can’t believe the solution of just ringing this person, postponing that thing, or checking such-and-such was overlooked in the wee hours.
The truth is, our mind isn’t really looking for a solution at 3am. We might think we are problem solving by mentally working over issues at this hour, but this isn’t really problem solving; it’s problem solving’s evil twin – worry.
Worry is identifying a problem, ruminating about the worst possible outcome and neglecting the resources we would bring to bear should the non-preferred outcome actually occur.
What can I do about it?
Have you noticed the 3am thoughts are very self-focused? In the quiet dark, it’s easy to slide unknowingly into a state of extreme egocentricity. Circling round the concept “I”, we can generate painful backwards-looking feelings like guilt or regret. Or turn our tired thoughts to the always uncertain future, generating baseless fears.
Bringing your attention to your senses is a good idea if you can’t get back to sleep, specifically the sound of your breathing. When you notice thoughts arising, gently bring your attention back to the sound of breathing (pro tip: earplugs help you hear the breath and get out of your head).
One last tip: It’s important to convince yourself (during daylight hours) that you want to avoid catastrophic thinking.
The Sleep Foundation (https://www.sleepfoundation.org/), also have some good tips for helping you get a good night’s sleep.
Does hypnosis for sleep work?
Sleep hypnotherapy works in reducing the stress factors that can disturb sleep, and in enhancing the depth and quality of natural sleep.
If you’d like to find out more about using hypnosis for sleep, take a look at our sleep page: https://thehypnosisclinic.com/services/sleep/.
Or take a look at our sleep blog for some top tips: https://thehypnosisclinic.com/blog/use-hypnosis-for-great-sleep/
We offer a free consultation, so feel free to come and meet us.
What did I learn here?
That stress can cause sleep disturbances, and sleep hypnotherapy can help to restore a good sleep pattern.
At The Hypnosis Clinic, we offer a free initial consultation about using hypnosis for sleep, either by a Telehealth video link or at our clinic right in the heart of London’s Regent Street.