;Resize=(1200,627)&hash=784b73a2f38a93871bfbae1c3c7a14dbdaf92485abeeece943d4a1de87b25849 "Woke up in the middle of the night? So you fall asleep again quickly")
Sleep researcher gives tips: Woke up in the middle of the night? This is how you fall asleep again
Wednesday, 04/05/2023, 11:14 am
Restful sleep is extremely important for our health. But sometimes we wake up at certain times and can’t go back to sleep. Sleep researcher Hans-Günter Weeß explains what’s behind it and which tricks help to find a deep sleep again.
Why do we wake up at certain times of the night?
Sleep has been a very dangerous process for most of human evolution. We slept in the wilderness, behind bushes, on trees, in hollows or caves. The time in which we live in sheltered dwellings and sleep is no longer a dangerous state is far too short. Our “sleep genes” are still Stone Age. From an evolutionary point of view, being awake at night was essential for the survival of the human species. After all, it was important to recognize dangers in good time in order to be able to flee or attack. Just because we wake up regularly at night, you are sitting here in front of the screen and can read these lines. If we didn’t wake up in our sleep, the human species would have died out long ago.
Depending on our age, we wake up between 10 and 25 times a night. Are you wondering how that can be? After all, you often have the feeling that you rarely or not at all wake up at night. Our brain can only remember nightly waking phases the next morning if they lasted at least one to three minutes. Only then is the information transferred from short-term to long-term memory. If we go back to sleep faster, waking up is not saved, we don’t remember it the next morning and think we slept through the night.
So waking up in the night is something completely normal. It is part of our sleep. However, if we “turn on the light” in our heads when we wake up at night, ie think about the big and small worries of everyday life, set the thought carousel in motion or even develop fears of not falling asleep again, then we become tense and develop difficulty sleeping through the night. Tension is the enemy of sleep. Only when we are completely relaxed, break away from everyday life, don’t want to sleep and just snuggle up on the pillow and think about nice things, then sleep will quickly come back on its own with relaxation.
To what extent is the internal clock responsible for waking up at certain times?
Humans have a very precise sleep-wake clock. We can get used to certain sleeping, waking or even getting up times very quickly. For example, many people are familiar with the phenomenon of waking up of their own accord in the morning just before the alarm clock rings. It is also possible that we get used to being awake and brooding at night and our sleep-wake clock regularly wakes us up to brood at the usual time.
Book tip: “Sleep works wonders” (ad)
How do we avoid waking up at night?
Nighttime awakenings cannot be avoided entirely, but we can influence their frequency by completely relaxing at night and thereby reducing the release of the stress hormone cortisol. Also, once we’re awake, we shouldn’t look at the alarm clock, start counting how long we’ve been asleep, how long we’ve been awake, or how much time we have left to sleep.
If you want to sleep, stay awake. There’s no better way to stay awake than trying to sleep. A relaxed approach to sleep is crucial. Pressure to fall asleep again creates tension, and tension is the enemy of sleep. Likewise, we should avoid dwelling on everyday worries. Brooding around at night also leads to sleep disturbances.
About the expert
Hans-Günter Weeß has been dealing with the topics of sleep and sleep disorders for more than 25 years. He is a board member of the German Society for Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine and head of the interdisciplinary sleep center at the Pfalzklinikum Klingenmünster. Weeß has written several books on the subject of sleep, among others “Sleep works wonders” and “The Sleepless Society”. He also has the online program “Fit through healthy sleep” developed.
Do nighttime awakenings at fixed times indicate possible health problems or sleep disturbances?
Occasionally, frequent nocturnal awakenings can also indicate organic diseases or other sleep disorders. For example, low blood pressure, a sharp drop in blood sugar at night or a malfunctioning thyroid gland can encourage periods of wakefulness at night.
Certain medications such as cortisone, drive-enhancing antidepressants or beta blockers can also lead to problems falling asleep and sleeping through the night.
Anyone who suffers from pathological nocturnal snoring with breathing pauses, sleep apnea, also has many nocturnal waking reactions. These arousal reactions end the nocturnal pauses in breathing, but they also lead to unrefreshing sleep and can occasionally lead to problems sleeping through the night.
The syndrome of restless legs (restless legs syndrome) can also lead to increased waking reactions and problems sleeping through the night. Those affected often complain about a strong urge to move their legs or arms, especially in the evening and at night. This urge to move is caused by abnormal sensations such as tingling, burning or pins and needles.