The new trend that no one wants to start: Why we’re all waking up at 3am and how to stop doing it

Do you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night — specifically around 3 or 4 am? If so, you’re not alone.

There has been an increase of Google searches for “waking up at 3am”, and TikTok videos about the phenomenon have garnered between 30,000 and 2.5 million likes, and even more views.

Theories about why people are waking up in the middle of the night range from the spiritual to hormonal, i.e. increased cortisol levels.

To get to the bottom of why you’re waking up in the wee hours of the morning, Dr Ana Krieger, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Here’s what she says about what can cause these late-night sleep disturbances, and how to fix it.

‘We overlook the importance of having good sleep habits before we go to sleep’

“Sometimes we overlook the importance of having good sleep habits before we go to sleep,” Dr Krieger says. “People say, ‘Oh, I don’t have difficulty falling asleep. I just have difficulty staying asleep.’”

Certain behaviors leading up to bedtime and some aspects of your sleep environment can increase your chances of snoozing peacefully through the night, she notes.

Factors that can improve your sleep quality and quantity, according to Dr Krieger are:

• Developing a relaxing nighttime routine
• Putting your electronics away before starting your bedtime ritual
• Abstaining drinking alcohol
• Avoiding caffeine after noon
• Keeping your bedroom quiet, dark and cool

But if you’re optimising your environment for optimal sleep and still waking up at 3am your sleep problems could be stress-induced.

“It could also be that they have stressors or anxieties that seep in through their sleep cycles and interfere with their ability to sleep through the night,” Dr Krieger says.

Additionally, if you have sleep conditions like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome or insomnia, each can interfere with your sleep. Speaking with a sleep medicine doctor or expert can be useful for people who are interested in learning whether or not they have those conditions.

Avoid certain behaviours when you wake up in the middle of the night

If you find yourself up at 3am, there are certain things you shouldn’t do if you want the late-night wake-ups to end.

“If they use their phones, or they check the time, or they turn on the light, or they start reading something that is very interesting, that may perpetuate that insomnia because they learn those habits,” she says.

“Number one would be for them to keep a very quiet routine and to try to minimise the excitement and the activities they do when they wake up at night.”

Instead of stimulating activities like using your phone, engage in relaxing behaviours like meditation or deep breathing exercises to lull yourself back to sleep. Dr Krieger recommends the 478 breathing technique where you breathe in for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds and exhale for eight seconds.

“Try not to do much. Try to feel relaxed and embrace that. Because if (you) start worrying about sleep, you’re going to make your sleep worse.”