Sleeping Through the Night: Understanding Nocturnal Awakenings
Waking up in the middle of the night is a common occurrence for many individuals. If you find yourself tossing and turning, unable to fall back asleep, you’re not alone. But what exactly causes these nocturnal awakenings? And what can you do to ensure a restful night’s sleep?
Sleep architecture, a term used to describe the different stages of sleep that we cycle through, plays a crucial role in understanding why we wake up during the night. According to Dr. Brandon Peters-Mathews, a neurologist at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle, sleep architecture consists of four stages that occur in 90 to 120-minute intervals.
The first stage of sleep is characterized by light sleep, which then transitions into deeper sleep in the second stage. The third stage is the deepest sleep, known as slow-wave sleep, and the fourth stage is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, where brain activity increases to levels nearly equivalent to wakefulness. It is during this REM stage that we commonly wake up naturally, only to enter another sleep cycle once we fall back asleep.
Our natural sleep patterns combined with our consistent bedtime routines often result in waking up at the same time in the middle of the night
