After a long and tiring day of work and all kinds of tasks, you go to sleep, but when it's 3 am, you wake up abruptly and can't sleep anymore… How frustrating, right? But could it be your routine to blame? Have you been preparing for bedtime and relaxed enough for sleep to come?
Why do we wake up in the middle of the night?
The reasons that lead us to wake up in the middle of the night are diverse and quite individual. Some are due to our behavior, like going to sleep stressed or not having relaxed properly, but some can be health problems, like having slow digestion or body aches.
To understand exactly why you wake up during the night, the ideal is to look for an expert on the subject and consult with him, because that way you can understand exactly what happens and fight the evil at its root, but there are some things you can do for the your routine and that will help you to have calmer and more peaceful nights sleep, such as meditating, avoiding cell phones when you wake up or doing some activity after a period of insomnia.
We've prepared in the topics below some tips that can help you get back to sleep when you wake up and get a better night's sleep overall. But don't forget, if the problem persists, to seek a specialist to solve the situation. Nights of sleep are essential for our health to catch up.
Meaning of waking up at 3 am
Spiritually, there are some meanings to waking up often at 3 am. It is something that older people talk about quite often and that has its origins in the beliefs of some religions.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the time we wake up in the middle of the night, if this awakening is sudden, not caused by outside interference, this is a sign of emotional problems. If you wake up at 3 am, it is an indication that you have been feeling very sad lately.
According to some Catholics, for example, 3 am is a time associated with the Devil, as it is opposite to 15 pm, the time when Jesus Christ was crucified. As this can be an indication that bad spiritual forces are trying to disturb your sleep, the best thing to do is pray for protection and then go back to sleep.
For spiritualists, it is not so much a negative sign, but an indication that spirits are trying to communicate. Regardless of their intentions, say a prayer, ask for protection, and try to fall asleep again.
Tips to get back to sleep quickly
As the reasons that lead us to wake up in the middle of the night are very diverse, individual and often directly connected to other factors, such as health problems, it is impossible to determine certain tips that will work specifically for you, so it is important that you do some testing and try to incorporate some of these habits into your routine, if you wake up often, to understand what works for you.
Here are tips to get back to sleep quickly:
Control the lighting: many people have the habit of sleeping with the light on in the bedroom or with another light on, such as the one in the hallway that leads to the bedroom, but this is very harmful when you wake up during the night, because the light it's a stimulus that can lead the brain to associate that the day is already bright, so it's time to get up. If you have this habit, change it;
Manage the temperature: sometimes we wake up during the night because we are too cold or too hot, so pay attention to your body and if you are feeling one of these sensations, fight it immediately to go back to sleep peacefully. In case of heat, remove blankets or turn on a fan or air conditioner. In case of cold, add another blanket, for example;
Watch out for noise: Trying to sleep in a noisy environment can be very frustrating, especially when noise interrupts our sleep. To avoid this, controlling noise is essential. Try talking to that neighbor who makes the most noise at 3 am or install soundproof windows to block out street sounds;
Avoid cell phones, computers and tablets: the worst thing we can do when we wake up in the middle of the night is to check WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, our inbox… In addition to the artificial brightness of the screen, which is very harmful to sleep, these activities leave us “switched on” and with the brain in full working order, instead of relaxed;
Try not to get out of bed: if you suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, relax, unless you need to go to the bathroom, of course. Avoid getting out of bed as soon as you wake up and just relax your body and mind to try to go back to sleep peacefully;
Don't raid the fridge: that fridge raid may seem like a good idea, since sometimes when we eat we feel a little "soft", right? But the truth is that the process of digestion gets in the way of the relaxation that provides sleep;
Focus on relaxing thoughts: Find thoughts that make you relax. It could be the expectation for the next vacation, to be with the loved one or with the family, a childhood memory, a dream you want to achieve, the taste of a victory conquered... Finally, discover a thought or a memory that promotes relaxation. in your mind and focus on it;
Escape from Stress and Anxiety: Also, any thoughts that cause you stress or anxiety should be completely avoided at times when you are in bed. You'll have a whole day to solve your problems when you wake up, so try to relax to have energy and strength precisely to solve these situations, which you need to avoid in moments of rest;
Control your breath: Many people associate meditation with a spiritual activity, but meditation is nothing more than breath control and absolute focus on the present moment. Focusing on your breath is a good way to do this. When you lose sleep, pay attention only to your breathing and take a deep breath and calm down;
Don't look at the clock: One of the worst things you can do is wake up in the middle of the night and keep checking the clock to see how much sleep you've lost. This causes anxiety and stress. Don't look at the clock and just try to relax and sleep again;
Set a tolerance: avoid looking at the clock, but also don't spend the night tossing about in bed without being able to sleep. Your mind needs to associate the bed with a place of rest, not the stress and frustration of not falling asleep. So if you've been awake for what feels like a long time, get out of bed, avoid screens and television, and go do something relaxing for your mind, like reading a book or listening to music.
What to do to have uninterrupted sleep?
If you want to determine the exact way to get to sleep faster and with better quality, you can consult a general practitioner or, depending on the case, a neurologist. He will be able to understand what is happening to you and why you have been losing sleep, so you can sleep more peacefully.
But some more general tips and habits can help you get a more restful and relaxing night's sleep. Check out:
Set hours: when you set times to go to bed and get out of bed, your mind associates a certain time with the time to sleep, so create a routine and try to follow it to have more quality nights sleep;
Practice physical activities: spending energy is essential for the body to feel the need to rest every day, so practice physical activities daily or as often as possible, even if it's a walk or a half-hour run;
Meditate: Meditation has two applications, one spiritual and one for relaxation of the mind. When you meditate and focus only on your breath, avoiding other thoughts, your mind relaxes and just stays in the present moment, which helps you get sleepy. In addition, spiritually, meditation helps you to get rid of negative energies and to “cleanse” yourself to live a life more in accordance with your essence;
Take care of spirituality: depending on your religion, dedicate the moments before sleep to your spirituality. Say prayers or prayers, talk to your god or gods, do meditations, read the religious book of your belief, among other activities that relax you and put you in touch with your spirituality;
Avoid long naps: throughout the day, avoid napping more than an hour or more than once a day, because it messes up your mind and “steals” hours of sleep from your day. If you need to relax, nap during the day, but set just 30 or 45 minutes of nap time;
Relax before bed: if you try to go from a mind-blowing movie or a stressful work task directly to a light, peaceful night's sleep, you can end up frustrated. With the mind “in a million” because of the previous activity, it can be difficult to fall asleep, so avoid going to bed as soon as you finish an activity that demands a lot of your mind and do some more relaxing activities before lying down to sleep;
Turn off appliances: many people tend to sleep with the television on, watching videos on their cell phones or with their laptops on their laps, but this is very harmful, because in addition to the brightness of the screens and the stimuli that the programming brings, we do not associate the moment of going to bed with rest, which can mess with the mind. Turn everything off and just lie down to sleep;
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Use essential oils: Essential oils can be applied to pillows, blankets and pajamas to relax the mind and body, promoting a better night's sleep. Consult an essential oil expert to find out which ones can help you get a good night's sleep and use them to your advantage;
Do therapy: we often cannot sleep because, at the moment we lie down, the mind seeks disappointments, frustrations, stresses and anxieties that make us worried and prevent the mind from relaxing and from sleeping peacefully. Having therapy with a psychologist is a great option for us to deal more adequately with these negative thoughts and sensations.
Getting a good night's sleep is essential to have a good day afterwards and to keep your health and mood up to date. Waking up in the middle of the night, in addition to being tiring, can be very frustrating, so incorporate some habits and tips that we have listed in this article to have a lighter routine and better nights sleep.
