WHAT CAUSES… WAKING AT 3AM?

Professor David Nutt, a psychiatrist and sleep specialist, says that women in particular experience more broken sleep as they get older and as a result can find themselves inexplicably wide awake around 3am. He says, “Changing hormones lead to deficits in the brain neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which helps to calm and reduce activity in the brain and is necessary for sleep maintenance. Most deep sleep is over by 3am and you are in a lighter sleep phase, which means it is easier to wake up at this time. If you regularly find yourself awake, think about possible causes. For example, did you drink too much alcohol? Is this partly a hangover? Alcohol disturbs your natural sleep cycles.

“To try to get back to sleep it’s important not to allow yourself to become angry about being awake. Anger is the worst emotion for sleep. Instead, say to yourself, ‘I have a further four or five hours to sleep. Lucky me!’ Do relaxation exercises in bed, such as clenching your muscles and then relaxing them all the way down your body. If you don’t drop off within 15 minutes, get out of the bedroom and do something useful, such as emptying the dishwasher, so you aren’t wasting time or stressing about not sleeping. Make sure your bed is warm as warmth will help you nod off. You might want an extra blanket on cold nights or an electric underblanket. Then go back to bed and try again.”

Professor Nutt has developed Sentia Spirits, a plant-based non-alcoholic drink that aims to boost natural GABA levels to replicate the relaxing feeling of alcohol without the sleep disturbance.