Always waking up at 3 am? Expert reveals habit to blame

Woman waking up at 3 am — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Around the world, eyes fly wide open every night at 3 am. It's something of a phenomenon - not 1 am or 4 am, but this inconveniently early (or late) hour.

If you're up at this time, you'll know the feeling of your brain suddenly racing with thoughts of what you need to do, things you've forgotten, or unpleasant reminders you thought you'd long forgotten, and no sign of wanting to get back to sleep. Courtneyrose Chung, clinical director at My Denver Therapy in the US, says this wake-up time is really common and she describes it as a “perfect storm of biology and stress response”. “Understanding what's actually happening in your body and brain during these moments can help you respond more effectively,” she explains.

What causes our 3 am wake up?

Circadian rhythms

Courtneyrose says that at 3 am our bodies enter a natural ‘circadian dip’, where we move from deep sleep into lighter REM sleep, which can increase the likelihood of waking up.

“This is a natural vulnerable window,” she says. “Your body is shifting gears, and if there's any underlying stress or anxiety, this is when it's most likely to pull you out of sleep.”

Cortisol

Our cortisol levels are naturally high in the morning to get us up and ready for the day. However, Courtneyrose says when we’re stressed, our bodies might release cortisol earlier than normal - for example in the early hours of the morning.

“Your brain interprets that cortisol spike as a signal that there's a threat,” she notes. “It starts scanning for problems even if there aren't any real ones.”

This can lead to us worrying about things we did, or didn’t do, the previous day, or about a stressful meeting or event we’ve got coming up.

Our brains operate differently in the dark

Worries can feel a lot worse in the middle of the night. Once our brain starts catastrophising at 3 am, it can be really hard to get back to sleep.

“The prefrontal cortex, which handles rational thought and perspective, is largely asleep during these hours,” explains Courtneyrose. “Meanwhile, the amygdala, which is your brain's fear and emotional centre, is wide awake and running the show.”

The sleep-effort trap

The more we panic about being awake at 3 am, the harder we will find it to drift off. This is because we’re releasing more stress hormones, which keep our nervous systems on high alert and keep us awake.

Tossing and turning is a sleep habit the experts recommend avoiding. Instead, go into the kitchen, make a cup of (non-caffeinated tea) or have a glass of water. Turn minimal lights on, and read a book (not a page-turner, though). This should help your brain relax enough to feel tired again and fall back to sleep.

“Stop treating wakefulness as an emergency and start treating it as a temporary state that will pass, so your nervous system can finally relax,” Courtneyrose suggests. “The goal is to re-associate your bed with rest, not rumination. When you feel genuinely drowsy, go back to bed.”

Scrolling before bed

We all know that we shouldn't scroll on our phones before bed. Blue light prevents melatonin production, the hormone needed for sleep.

This constant stimulation means our brains don’t get a rest, even at night, making us more prone to light sleep and waking up.

Kat Storr has been a digital journalist for over 15 years after starting her career at Sky News, where she covered everything from world events to royal babies and celebrity deaths. After going freelance eight years ago, she now focuses on women's health and fitness content, writing across a range of UK publications.

From perimenopause to the latest fitness trends, Kat loves researching and writing about it all. She's happy to give any fitness challenge a go and speaks to experts about wellbeing issues affecting people every day.

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