What I Learned From Waking up at 3 a.m. Every Day for Two Years (2024)

FAQs

What are the benefits of waking up at 3am? ›

Mental health boost

Many studies show people who wake earlier are far less likely to develop depression, anxiety or other mood disorders. Researchers believe one reason could be those who wake up earlier have more access to daylight, which is a natural mood booster.

Your 3 a.m. awakenings may occur infrequently and be nothing serious, but regular nights like this could be a sign of insomnia. Altering your sleep habits, reducing stress, and seeing your doctor about factors that may cause disrupted sleep can help you avoid these unwanted awakenings.

Waking up at 3 am is not considered good as it is also known as the Devil's hour. It is believed that at this time strange things happen which includes free passage of two dimensions. This is believed to be the time when the line between the living and the dead thins down.

You might wake up frequently throughout the night or, like many of our readers, find yourself wide awake at 3am. It can be caused by a range of factors, including stress, medical conditions, or slipping into habits that could interrupt your sleep like too many coffees during the day or too much screen time before bed.

Core body temperature starts to rise, sleep drive is reducing (because we've had a chunk of sleep), secretion of melatonin (the sleep hormone) has peaked, and levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) are increasing as the body prepares to launch us into the day.

Cortisol's Natural Rhythm: Our bodies follow a natural circadian rhythm for cortisol, with levels peaking in the early morning (around 3am) to promote alertness upon waking. As the day unfolds, cortisol levels should gradually diminish, reaching their low point at night.

At three o'clock in the morning, our liver is actually detoxifying. So if a woman keeps waking up all the time at this, at this stage of their sleep, then it's an indication that the liver is struggling to detoxify or offload for the night.

Factors that keep people waking up in the middle of the night may intersect with natural body rhythms like your circadian rhythm or sleep cycle. Insomnia, stress, aging, hormones, medications, and pain are among the possible factors impacting your nightly sleep.

In the Western Christian tradition, the hour between 3:00 am and 4:00 am was considered a period of peak supernatural activity—this time is also referred to as the "Devil's hour" due to it being a mocking inversion of the time in which Jesus supposedly died, which was at 3:00 pm.

What is the story behind 3am? ›

Written by Rob Thomas, Jay Stanley, John Leslie Goff, and Brian Yale, the song was inspired by Thomas dealing with his mother's cancer as a teenager. The song was officially serviced to US modern rock radio in October 1997 and was given a commercial release outside North America the following month.

Environmental factors, sleep disorders, and health conditions can contribute to waking at 3 a.m. Daytime disruptions to circadian rhythm or lifestyle may influence the risk of waking from sleep. A consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine helps to promote sleep quality and duration.

So if you wake up at 3 AM, when Liver energy peaks, you may be suffering from Liver Qi stagnation, which could be related to an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol consumption, unresolved anger or high levels of stress.

Waking up at 3am may indicate a disrupted sleep cycle, possibly due to stress, anxiety, or underlying health issues. It can disrupt sleep quality and lead to daytime fatigue.

“Consuming too much fluid, in general, as well as drinking close to bedtime, can cause nocturia episodes,” says Hadjinian. “The type of fluid can cause nocturia, too, such as caffeine and alcohol.” Other dietary factors like a high sodium diet can also cause nocturia, Hadjinian says.

“Everyone wakes up multiple times per night,” says Wu. “It's very common for people to wake up around 2 or 3 a.m. because this is when our sleep architecture (the pattern of our sleep stage cycles throughout the night) naturally has a shift from more deep sleep to more REM sleep.

“Generally, waking up between 6am and 8am is considered ideal because it aligns with our natural sleep-wake cycles. This time frame allows exposure to sunlight, thereby regulating sleep patterns and producing the sleep hormone melatonin,” he explains.