Why You Wake Up at 3 AM Every Night: Causes and Solutions

Waking around 3 AM is common: later in the night, sleep gets lighter and easier to wake from. Stress, anxiety, and alcohol are common triggers. If it happens, leave your phone alone. If you can't fall back asleep in about 20 minutes, get up and do something calm in dim light. If it keeps happening, see a doctor.

Waking in the middle of the night is very common. In a 2008 study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, which surveyed nearly 9,000 adults in three US states, 35.5 percent said they woke up during the night at least three nights a week. It tends to happen in the second half of the night: you get most of your deep sleep early on, and as the night goes on you spend more time in lighter sleep, which is easier to wake from, according to the Sleep Foundation.

Stress, anxiety, and alcohol are common triggers for these awakenings.

Stress and anxiety are frequent culprits. The Sleep Foundation notes that cortisol, which naturally rises in the early morning to help you wake up, can pull you out of sleep if it spikes too early. Alcohol helps you fall asleep faster but disrupts the second half of the night, according to a 2013 review in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Other causes include sleep apnea, acid reflux, needing to urinate (nocturia), and a bedroom that is too hot, noisy, or bright.

Don't check your phone: light exposure stops the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps you sleep, according to the Sleep Foundation. If you can't fall back asleep after about 20 minutes, which is what sleep experts recommend, get up and do something calm in dim light: reading, deep breathing, or meditation.

Don't force sleep: anxiety about not sleeping can make the problem worse. Accept the awakening, do something relaxing, and go back to bed when you feel sleepy.

Good sleep habits are your first line of prevention. The CDC recommends going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, keeping your bedroom quiet and cool, turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed, and avoiding caffeine in the afternoon or evening. And don't use alcohol as a sleep aid.

If the awakenings continue after you improve your sleep habits, the Sleep Foundation recommends talking to a doctor, since they may indicate sleep apnea or another treatable disorder. Set Kairo for your real wake time and protect your sleep until then. A fixed wake time is easier to keep when your friends see you prove it every morning.