According to the Spanish Society of Neurology only 18% of the population get maintain uninterrupted sleep. So it’s quite common to wake up in the middle of the night while sleeping. Although it seems that there is a specific time when people wake up the most, it’s three in the morning.
According to science, waking up between three and four in the morning is linked to normal sleep cycles. When we sleep, we go through different phases. Sleep can be divided into two main phases: non-REM sleep and REM sleep. In the first half of the dream, this is done in a percentage of non-REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) is the sleep time that the body uses to physically rest.
It is divided, in turn, into three parts:
- Phase I: This is the transition from wakefulness (being awake) to sleep. This is a light sleep and if the person is awake at this time, they will not remember that they were asleep. It does not last long.
- Phase II: This is the longest phase, it allows the body to rest and conserve its energy.
- Phase III: This is a deep sleep. In this part it is very difficult for a person to wake up. Night terrors and sleepwalking appear.
He the next step is the REM phasewhere rapid eye movements occur. It mainly serves to consolidate memory, to retain or forget information. This is the time when dreams appear, as well as nightmares. In this phase, the brain is very active and the brain stem blocks the motor neurons so that people cannot move. These phases are repeated several times a night, each lasting between 90 and 120 minutes.
The reason you get up at three in the morning
After the first sleep cycle, which lasts about three hours, the level of alertness is more fragile, which occurs in the REM phaseand it is more common to get up around three in the morning because the first sleep cycle ends at that time.
You can also It happens that around two or three in the morningThere is an increase in stress and cortisol, with a small spike in this hormone. But if waking up at this time becomes habitual, it is best to consult a specialist.
