Waking up in the middle of the night can be incredibly frustrating. If you are waking up in the middle of the night and struggling to fall back asleep, you’re not alone. A Sleep Medicine study found that about one-third of American adults experience this at least three times a week, with many suffering from “sleep maintenance insomnia.” Understanding the reasons for this disruption is the first step toward fixing it. Here are eight common causes and actionable tips to ensure uninterrupted sleep.
1. Your Room is Too Hot, Cold, Noisy, or Bright
The reason why a number of people wake up during the night is that their environment isn’t sleep-friendly enough. So what does this mean? Well, light, the temperature in the bedroom, and the noise, among the rest, all contribute to this and can easily disturb the sleeping cycle. Sleep experts recommend a cool, dark, quiet bedroom to avoid disruptions and enhance sleep quality. Some practical tips they offer are using blackout curtains to block the light from the street light, if there are any nearby, white-noise machines that help block sounds, and keeping the room cool, at around 18-21°C, to help your body maintain its natural sleep rhythm. These adjustments are all part of something called “sleeping hygiene” that experts recommend for the sake of reducing waking during the night and improving sleep quality in general.
2. Anxiety is Keeping You Awake
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