Waking up in the middle of the night can be associated with various factors, from concerns and stress to physical causes and unhealthy habits. However, psychology explains that repeated episodes of nocturnal vigil are related to disorders such as Depression, anxiety, excessive use of social networks, negative thoughts or alcohol consumption.
The problem worsens when it becomes difficult to recover sleep. In these cases, the quality of the rest -and not only the amount of hours – It becomes essential to evaluate the effect on health.
For the Specialized Mayo Clinic site, “waking up in the middle of the night is known as insomnia and is a common problem.” In addition, he explained that doing so “in full sleep is something that usually happens during stress periods”
What does it mean to wake up several times in the early morning, according to psychology
The doctor Myriam Monczor, Psychiatrist and Specialist in Dream of Elderly, explained in Infobae that over the years “the surface phases of the sleep increase and the deepest decrease”: “perhaps the awakenings during the night are also increased due to different causes. For example, the presence of pain.”
The lack of continuous rest can generate irritability, concentration problems and mental confusion. Over time, these alterations can also have an impact on the physical and mental health.
What is sleep quality
According to the US Dream Foundationmost people can describe their dream as good, bad or something intermediate. “In fact, many aspects of sleep quality can be observed directly. The way in which you describe your dream or information that the tests and sleep technology can collect is classified mainly into four different elements,” he said.
- Sleep latency: how long it takes to fall asleep.
- Awakens: The number of awakenings during the night.
- Awakening after the start of the dream: the amount of time that is awake after falling asleep for the first time.
- Sleep efficiency: the relationship between sleeping time and time lying on bed.
As explained by the doctor Daniela Silva, specialist in internal medicine by Men’s Healthadults can wake up up to five times per night, usually at the end of each sleep cycle. These awakenings are usually so short that they are not rememberedsince the brain goes through short alert phases before starting a new cycle.
But if people wake up at night, people cannot go back to sleep, this can denote a problem that affects sleep quality and impacts health.
Dreams and psychology
According to specialists, adults can wake up up to five times per night, usually at the end of each sleep cycle.
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Wake up in the middle of the night: what are the psychological causes
When listing the reasons why a person wakes up in the middle of the night, the following factors can be mentioned:
- Stress. The doctor in neurology and author of the book “The Route of the Dream”, Stella Maris Valiensi, published by the Ediciones Hospital, of the University Institute of the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aireshe explained to Infobae that stress affects people 24 hours a day.
“Produces changes in hormonesin the neurotransmitters and in him dream. Affect what is called adrenal hypophysary hypothalamus system. It produces that we have a fractional dream and awakening early. And, in some cases, we cannot sleep. Therefore, stress can cause insomnia (both sleep reconciliation and maintenance and awakening early) and nightmares that are a parasomnia of what we call sleep or fast eye movements, ”he said.
- Depression. Meanwhile, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “People with insomnia, for example, may have a ten times greater risk of developing depression than those who sleep well at night. And among people with depression, 75 % have problems reconciling or staying asleep”
- Social Network Addiction. The habit of reviewing devices before bed Melatoninthe hormone that regulates sleep.
- Negative thoughts. These impact from the state of concern, which makes it difficult to reconcile and maintain sleep.
- Medical conditions. Among the most common are sleep apnea, acid reflux, excess abdominal fat, coldsthe frequent need for peea room too hot and the Age. The sleep apneain particular, it implies that the person stops breathing repeatedly during the night, which can cause sudden awakenings.
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The habit of reviewing devices before sleeping attempts against melatonin production, the hormone that regulates sleep.
If sleep interruptions are accompanied by Persistent tirednessdifficulties in facing the day or symptoms of anxiety and depression, it is essential to consult a specialist in mental health or sleep medicine.
Doctors Valiensi and Monczor recommended the following habits to improve rest:
- Regular schedules of sleep: Try to get up at the same time.
- Suitable environmental conditions for sleepingas a comfortable temperature, darkness and silence.
- Avoid abundant meals near bedtime and coffee after 17.
- Avoid alcoholbecause it can fragment the dream.
- Limit stimulating substances in the afternoon.
- Reduce time in bed: “If sleep is not reconciled in 20 or 30 minutes, change atmosphere, relax and try again,” Valiensi advised.
- Avoid long naps: that they do not exceed the 30 minutes.
- Regular physical exercisepreferably in the morning.
- Reduce exposure to screens at night.
- Repeat night routines That prepare to sleep.
- Practice relaxation before bedtime.
- Do not self -medicate.
Source: Ambito

I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.