Britt Jones
A sleep specialist has recommended a sleep method to try if you’re finding yourself regularly wide awake at 3 a.m.
There is simply no greater frustration in the morning than the inability to drift back off to sleep again. Tossing and turning in bed at night and in the wee hours of the morning can lead to serious annoyances, frequent trips to the bathroom, and even potential health problems if it persists for too long.
Experts at Harvard Health dubbed this consistent issue 'sleep maintenance insomnia', which they describe as when people wake up suddenly after hours of sleeping, and sadly, women are more susceptible than men to developing this condition.
"For many reasons, women transitioning through midlife may be more vulnerable to sleep disturbances," the experts said. "Midlife is often a time of psychological stress: children may be leaving home, a partner may be lost through death or divorce, and roles may be changing at home and work."
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There are also potential health issues that cause this, which can include chronic pain, mental health problems, or sleep disorders.
However, a doctor claims that a specific sleep method can help you sleep if you find yourself waking up at night, not due to stress, but because you need to urinate, which he calls the '3-2-1 sleep method'.
Dr Michael Breus, a double board-certified clinical psychologist and clinical sleep specialist, revealed how the method works on his TikTok page, and it's all about the time between ingesting fluids and food.
In the clip, Dr Breus said: "Get me wrong, I want you to drink water. However, I think people underestimate how little water they should be drinking before bed and how long before bed we should probably cut off hydration.
"Three hours before bed, stop alcohol. Two hours before bed, stop food. One hour before bed, stop water. Assuming that your doctor says it's okay, right?
"That's kind of the big fix here. Everyone is different, but capping most fluids one to two hours before bed is the best way to stop those frequent bathroom trips."
The Sleep Foundation website further states that frequent nighttime urination, aka nocturia, is more common among elderly people.
It reads: “Frequent nighttime urination often gets worse for older men and people assigned male at birth. Some estimate that around 50% of men in their seventies have to wake up at least twice per night to urinate.
"Nocturia also frequently occurs during pregnancy but may go away within a few months after giving birth."
There's also a similar method called the '10-3-2-1-0' rule, which Health Hub says involves cutting off caffeine 10 hours before bed, no food or alcohol three hours beforehand, no more work two hours before going to sleep, and one hour before hitting the hay, and ceasing to use any screens, like a phone or laptop.
And zero times hitting the snooze button in the morning.
Of course, there might be other reasons you’re getting up in the early hours, and for that, a GP could help you figure out what’s causing it.