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Is anyone else suddenly waking up super early for no reason?

For the last week or so, I've been waking up several hours earlier than normal and not being able to get back to restful sleep. I've never had this problem before, I'm just getting more exhausted by the day because I'm not getting to sleep much earlier

Then I find out other people are experiencing the same thing, same timeframe - around a week ago it just started for seemingly no reason

37 comments
  • How old are you? When I hit my mid 30s, I started sleeping far less. I'm 45 now and sleeping 12-8am is completely impossible, even with sleeping pills, patches, melotonin- it's all useless and makes NO difference.

  • I was just reading about nocturnal hyperglycemia waking people up during the night just the other day. So, it could be a blood sugar crash

  • Yes! Used to be a night owl but I've been getting up at 5am for no reason for a while now. I quite like it tbh. I feed birds on my windowsill, play with my cat, have coffee and breakfast and check the news, all without feeling like I should be doing something else because there's only so much you can do this early. I'm also no longer late all the time.

  • Sleep has always been a challenge for me. I medicated I will either not be able to fall asleep until 2-3 in the morning, or will fall asleep around 11-12, and wake up at 4-5 am.

    Throughout the years I’ve tried various modifications to my sleep routine, and am no stranger to medications to help me sleep. (Doctor supervised, while paying attention to all side effects and interactions. Do not try to manage your own sleep without significant research. Case in point: Long term use of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) has been linked to dementia.)

    I’ve found that of the things in my sleep routine, the melatonin is the best tool I have to facilitate falling asleep, and having an outlet for my energy during the day is the best way to ensure staying asleep.

    It’s also useful to note your surroundings. During winter I’m woken up a lot at exactly 4:40 am, because a neighbor uses their remote start, which causes their car to beep 4 times. (It’s very annoying, because they park on the street outside of my place and start their car as they’re walking to it, so it’s not as if the beeping is for a useful purpose.)
    Is something else environmental happening?

  • I wake up every day between 4-5AM (I like how quiet the city is this early in the morning, it's my favorite working time), and I never needed much sleep to begin with, so I may not be the best suited to tell you how to sleep better but:

    • Does it happen yearly? Change of season can do a lot...
    • As other have suggested: stress is a frequent explanation.
    • Have you changed anything in your evening habits? I don't know, more screen, new food, new anything? Or stopped doing something else?
37 comments