Frequent early awakening may be a disease. What time is considered "early"?

Have you ever had this experience: you woke up before the alarm went off, looked at the clock and it was still early, but after waking up you could not fall asleep again

Due to life pressure, environmental factors and other factors, some people have poor sleep. They often wake up in the middle of the night. After waking up, they stare at the ceiling and cannot fall asleep.

After waking up early, I couldn't fall asleep. My eyes were bloodshot, I felt dizzy, my heart was pounding, and my chest was stuffy. I felt light-headed, as if I was floating in the clouds...

Today we will explore: When is waking up early? Is frequent early waking a disease? How to sleep through the night?

What time is considered early?

Early awakening is a common symptom of insomnia . It is characterized by waking up suddenly after sleeping for a while, entering a very awake state and finding it difficult to fall asleep again. So, what time is considered early awakening?

Zhang Haisheng, deputy chief physician of the clinical psychology department of Hangzhou First People's Hospital, said that in clinical medicine, waking up between 2 and 4 a.m. and not being able to fall asleep again is called early awakening .

People who wake up early usually do not get enough sleep , feel tired the next day, have difficulty concentrating, and are inefficient at work. Long-term early awakening may also cause some physical discomfort , such as palpitations, chest tightness, diarrhea, etc.

Is waking up early often a disease?

As people age , the body's secretion of melatonin and growth hormone will decrease, which will to a certain extent lead to a decline in the quality of deep sleep and light sleep, resulting in frequent early awakenings .
If you find that someone around you wakes up too often or it has directly affected the quality of sleep, you should pay attention. Frequent early awakening may be a warning signal from your body:

1. Depression and anxiety <br /> One characteristic of insomnia caused by depression is early awakening. At least one hour earlier than usual, and more often two hours or more earlier.

When the content of one of the neurochemical transmitters, serotonin , decreases in a certain area of ​​the brain, people may become depressed. Serotonin has a similar effect on sleep. If the content is insufficient, sleep time will become shorter, which manifests as early awakening.

2. Breathing problems <br /> Seasonal allergies and colds can cause people toss and turn at night to a certain extent. Factors such as deviated septum, nasal polyps, and enlarged tonsils can also narrow the airway , thus affecting people's sleep quality.

3. Thyroid problems <br /> An overactive thyroid gland causes a faster heartbeat and a surge in adrenaline, which can lead to insomnia and anxiety ; while hypothyroidism increases the likelihood of sleep apnea by 35% .

4. Vitamin D deficiency
Harvard University researchers have found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor sleep quality. Vitamin D directly affects the part of the brain that plays a role in sleep, so vitamin D deficiency may affect sleep and increase the probability of waking up early.

5. Watching your phone before bed <br /> The “routine” of browsing social media and watching TV shows before bed is meant to relax and fall asleep faster.

However, Life Times published an article saying that the blue light from mobile phone screens will hinder the body's production of melatonin to a certain extent. The reduction in melatonin secretion may lead to the inability to fall asleep, affect the quality of sleep, and increase the probability of waking up early .

6. Drinking before bed <br /> In the first few hours after falling asleep, the body metabolizes alcohol, affecting the rapid eye movement phase of sleep. This will make people restless in the second half of the night, greatly reducing the quality of sleep and easily causing early awakening.
Ways to improve sleep quality

Sleep is a very important physiological activity for human beings. People restore their state through sleep so as to cope with their daily work and life.

Healthy China once published an article stating that one-third of a person's life is spent sleeping . In order to have a better sleep, many people have tried various methods, but it is still difficult to improve their sleep quality and they still often suffer from insomnia.

Xiao Ke has compiled the following sleep misunderstandings. Come and see if you have fallen into any of them!

1. Prepare in Advance
Some people think that in order to get a good night's sleep, they need to go to bed earlier than usual. In fact, this is more likely to cause insomnia . If you can't fall asleep in a short period of time, you will start to have random thoughts, which will make your brain more excited and affect your sleep.

2. Drinking alcohol to help you sleep <br /> After drinking alcohol, people may have the illusion of falling asleep , but it is usually a shallow sleep . After falling asleep after drinking, alcohol can easily suppress breathing, leading to restless sleep, disrupting sleep structure, and making people feel light-headed when they wake up the next day.

3. " Warm-up " before bed
Many people do some exercise after dinner every day, but people with long-term insomnia should not exercise excessively , because exercise will make already tired muscles more tense and the brain more awake.

Some people read before going to bed, but they should also choose the right books before going to bed. If you read a novel with a tense plot before going to bed, it will make your brain more excited.

4. " Excessive " pursuit of sleep time <br /> Everyone's sleep time is different, and occasional reduction in sleep time will not have a big impact. Don't be afraid that not getting enough sleep will affect your life, and mental stress will also affect sleep .