"I wake up at night very often!" - that's what some people say. Sleep for humans is an extremely important ritual. This is an integral part of life, which is necessary not only for relaxation, but also for the normalization of the brain, to make up for the lacking energy of the body. Increasingly, a variety of sleep disorders are observed among citizens. Either insomnia or constant awakenings. Is this normal? When is a regular nightly climb considered normal? Are there reasons for concern? How to deal with this situation? In fact, sorting out all these issues is not as easy as it seems. After all, the human body is individual. It’s difficult to say exactly why a person says: “I wake up at night”. There are many options for the development of events. Therefore, it is often necessary to select a treatment method by "trying on" one or another basis of night awakening.
A bit of history
In order not to start to panic ahead of time, you should study historical facts. The thing is that earlier it was customary to go to bed with the onset of darkness and wake up with the first rays of the sun. Such a routine took place when electricity was a mystery. Many peasants could not afford candles and other lighting fixtures. Therefore, at night they slept, and as soon as dawn came, they woke up.
It should be noted that earlier 8-hour sleep was not considered the norm. People slept much less. Therefore, complaining: “I wake up at night, I don’t know if this is normal,” it’s not always worth it. Intermittent sleep can be explained by the fact that it was exactly like that until about the 19th century.
How to sleep before
How exactly did people sleep before? Intermittent sleep was often practiced quite often. The fact is that in ancient times, people slept until about midnight. Then they woke up. Due to the fact that it was dark, it was not possible to do the usual things. Therefore, after midnight, usually people prayed or reflected on their actions. Whispering was also allowed.
After some time, people fell asleep again. Already until the morning. And then, as a rule, they were engaged in ordinary, familiar to all, affairs. Therefore, waking up in the middle of the night was normal. Especially considering that it gets dark early in the winter. And before midnight, you could get enough sleep without any problems.
It is likely that if a person wakes up in the middle of the night, then his body works in exactly the same way as before. Usually, after some time, you can again fall asleep. Sleep continues until the morning.
The experiments
To prove that night awakenings are sometimes the norm, some scientists have conducted different experiments on people. For example, psychiatrist Thomas Ver decided to study whether intermittent sleep is really dangerous. He will offer to select several volunteers. Further, people were placed in pitch darkness from 18:00 to 8 in the morning. The behavior of the volunteers was carefully studied.
At first, all participants slept well throughout the night. Awakening was only in the morning. Over time, volunteers began to experience sleep disturbances. More precisely, people just woke up at a certain time. For example, at first it was possible to sleep for 2-3 hours, then followed by a rise, after several hours of wakefulness, the time of rest again came, which lasted until the morning.
Thus, Thomas Ver was able to prove that the "wake up at night" complaints are not always dangerous. The brain simply has no need for sleep. As soon as the body makes up for the deficiency of sleep, it does not allow a person to sleep for a long time. No need to panic. It is recommended to somehow get distracted and go about your business. Or just a little thought - soon again will be able to fall asleep. You have to get used to the fact that the brain does not need rest throughout the night.
Situation
But it happens that a variety of factors affect sleep. Far from always, night awakenings are the norm. Indeed, the majority of the world's population can now be diagnosed with chronic lack of sleep. This is a condition in which you want to sleep. So, the body needs as much time as possible to relax.
In some cases, the awakening is sharp, in a cold sweat. In this situation, it is recommended to look at the environment in which a person falls asleep. It is likely that the body feels uncomfortable. For example, the room is stuffy, hot or cold. Having an overly thick or thin blanket that is not suitable for the season is another factor that can disturb sleep.
This behavior of the body can be called normal. But for a person this phenomenon is not the norm. After all, if a citizen complains: “I sleep badly, I wake up in sweat at night,” it is recommended to normalize the situation. It is better to ventilate the room before bedtime, pick up the blanket according to season. In general, to do everything so that you can fall asleep with comfort. Once the situation is normal, intermittent sleep will go away.
Disease
In some cases, the phenomenon under study becomes a clear indicator of disease. This is actually a fairly rare situation. As a rule, waking up at night is not dangerous. Diseases rarely manifest themselves in this way.
“I wake up in a cold sweat every night , ” people who suffer from a disease called hyperhidrosis can say so. This is an increased sweating. An explanation has not yet been found for this phenomenon. With hyperhidrosis, the body produces sweat in large quantities for no reason.
Also, the phenomenon under study is a consequence of cancer. A small clarification - it should be accompanied by fever. For example, people with tuberculosis or AIDS sometimes wake up at night in a cold sweat. In bone diseases, a similar reaction is observed.
Hormones
The next reason is usually observed in women, but men are not safe from it. The thing is that if a person says: “I often wake up at night in sweat,” you should pay attention to his hormonal background. It is recommended to take tests to make sure that the hormones are normal.
If this is not the case, do not be surprised. It is better to consult a doctor who will help normalize the hormonal background of the body. Then intermittent sleep accompanied by the release of cold sweat will stop.
Bad habits
Sleep disorders often affect people with bad habits. This is especially true for smokers. Doctors say that they have so-called nicotine starvation during night sleep. After all, a healthy rest is 8 hours. So much an organism can’t “stretch” without tobacco, so it wakes up a person to make up for the deficiency of one or another component.
How to deal with a similar phenomenon? There are not many options. Either smoke or quit bad habits. Sometimes you can consult a doctor for help, but he is unlikely to help. By the way, in smokers, awakening is also quite often accompanied by sweating.
Emotions
Why do you wake up at night? A common phenomenon in the modern world is the awakening from an overabundance of emotions. Or, in general, sleep disturbances are observed. It doesn’t matter which - positive or negative - emotions take place. The main thing is that the brain is not able to rest and process a strong flow of information.
If a person complains: "When I sleep, I wake up often at night," you should pay attention to his life. Any emotions, a busy day or just a large amount of information perceived by the day - all this contributes to sleep disturbance. It is recommended to relax before bedding, as well as ventilate the room. Evening walks sometimes also help.
In some cases, you can contact a psychologist or a neurologist. If a problem with sleep disturbance manifests itself often, doctors are able to prescribe either a sedative or sleeping pill. Not the best, but not a bad option to combat the disease. When the emotional tension disappears, the sleep returns to normal.
Fear and excitement
“I wake up at night, cry, hysteria” - such words can be heard from some people. Sometimes the cause of restless sleep is fear and excitement. Even at a subconscious level, a person may not think about them at all.
The only logical solution is to visit a doctor. The therapist will help detect fears, as well as overcome them. Only in this way will it be possible to return the body to a normal state.
Gender and age
It should be remembered - the older a person, the more he has problems with sleep. This is the device of the body. It's no secret that the old people are able to doze off during the day, but at night they are awake. This fact must be taken into account. Panic should not be raised. Nothing will succeed in doing it anyway - unless taking sleeping pills.
Women are prone to sleep disturbances more often than men. And at any age. This may be a consequence of menopause or its approximation. Also, during pregnancy, a girl can wake up for many reasons: pain, uncomfortable position, internal unrest - all this affects sleep. During lactation, many wake up at night not at all because of the crying baby, but because of thirst. When breastfeeding, this is normal - the body is simply trying to make up for the lack of fluid, albeit at night.
If woke up at night
Many people think: "What if I wake up at night?" There are some helpful tips to help you deal with the problem. Among the most common recommendations, the following points are highlighted:
- Do not spend much time in bed. If a person wakes up at night, it is better to go to bed later. Spending more time in bed is the dumbest thing that can ever be.
- Do not doze off during the day. Even with great fatigue. Then at night the body will need more time to sleep.
- Refuse or limit bad habits. It has already been said that smokers may experience nicotine deficiency. The same applies to other bad habits.
- Control emotions and stress. Disturbed emotional state leads to sleep problems.
- It is also recommended that you do not look at the clock and do not count how much time is left to sleep.