After a long day of stress and endless tasks, nothing beats a good night's deep and restful sleep to recharge your batteries and wake up on the right foot. However, sometimes our sleep is disturbed and we wake up one or more times during the same night. Discover the 13 most common reasons for nighttime awakenings.
13 reasons why you wake up at night:
Cough :
Sometimes the stomach's acidic content rises up into the esophagus, irritating the back of the throat and causing a coughing fit. To avoid this, do not consume too much food before bedtime and sleep on an incline.
Need to urinate:
If you drink a lot, it is normal for your body to remove excess fluids through the urine. However, too frequent urination, especially during the night, may be a symptom of diabetes, prostate hyperplasia or cystitis or a side effect of the use of certain medications.
A short breath:
Symptoms of nocturnal asthma, shortness of breath during your sleep can wake you up at night and disrupt you. It is usually due to contact with dust and dust mites in the room and bedding. This is why a rigorous hygiene of the latter is essential.
Dizziness :
In some people, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo syndrome may be the cause of nocturnal awakenings. Due to a rapid change in the position of the head, it lasts an average of a few seconds and appears following a trauma, a disorder of the central nervous system and in most cases for unknown reasons.
Back pain:
An uncomfortable sleeping position, can cause pain in the back. To avoid this, choose a suitable mattress that supports the weight of the body, neither too soft nor too hard, and place a pillow under the head and another under the knees to maintain proper alignment of your spine.
The feeling of being too hot:
Hot flashes are common during menopause or pregnancy, but they can also occur in people who consume a lot of alcohol or are on antidepressants. In some cases, the feeling of being too hot may be the result of high ambient temperature or the use of too many blankets, but in other, rarer ones, it may reveal more serious health problems such as tuberculosis or lymphoma.
Drunkenness of sleep:
This is the confusion that occurs when a person is awakened abruptly or during the transition from deep sleep to light sleep. However, when it happens at night, this may be the result of heavy drinking, smoking, or being overweight.
Headaches :
If you wake up for several nights in a row with an intense headache, you probably have Cluster headaches. Of vascular origin, these localized pains around one eye and the temple on the same side are accompanied by tearing and a drooping eyelid. During an average of 20 minutes, several times a day, they fade after a few days.
Cramps in the legs:
Circulatory disorders, taking statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) and magnesium deficiency can all cause leg cramps. To remedy this, try regular physical activity, take a relaxing bath before going to bed, and increase your magnesium intake, under the advice of your doctor.
Hunger :
If you often wake up at night with a wolf hunger, you probably suffer from the night-feeding syndrome, which is characterized by the consumption of more than 25% of the caloric intake after dinner, or during at night, 2 or more times during the night. It is usually caused by stress or depression.
Oral pain:
Pulpitis or toothache is one of the most common causes of nocturnal awakenings. Due to caries, inflammation of the gums or recent dental procedure, it is favored by the recumbent position that increases pressure on the neck and head.
Stress or depression:
In times of stress or depression, cortisol levels increase in the body. But this hormone works like a swing with the sleep hormone melatonin. Thus, the higher the rate of cortisol, the lower the melatonin, which causes sleep disorders.
The thirst :
It may appear following the consumption of salty or sweet foods before sleeping. However, it can also be a symptom of diabetes, especially if it is accompanied by weight loss, frequent nighttime urination, and vision problems.