Why waking up between 2am and 3am could actually mean something serious
A doctor has warned about the health risks that are linked to waking up between 2am and 3am, after admitting it 'destroyed' his life.
Waking up in the middle of the night is a regular occurrence for many people, unless you have a perfectly operating bladder that doesn't wake you up to go for wee.
However, a doctor has warned that consistently waking up between 2am and 3am may be a warning sign that something isn't right.
Dr Eric Berg DC, who educates people online about looking after their bodies, has urged people to pay closer attention to when they are waking up throughout the night.
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Dr Berg's story
In a recent clip shared to YouTube, Dr Berg explained that cortisol - which is known as the stress hormone, should be at its lowest during the hours of 2am and 3am.
Yet some individuals actually experience a peak during this time, leading to a lack of quality sleep and havoc being wreaked onto their daily lives.
The renowned medic also noted that magnesium is a regulator for cortisol, and recommends those suffering with poor sleep to visit their GP, as this is what could be to blame.
After describing himself as an 'expert in insomnia' - and admitting he struggled with the problem for as long as 10 years - he began his latest video by asking his followers: "How do you go back to sleep if for some reason you wake up between 2-3am in the middle of the night? I would consider myself an expert in insomnia because I had this for over a decade and it was destroying my life."
Dr Berg continued of his own experience: "It was not just getting up at 2-3am in the morning, sometimes I wouldn't even sleep for one minute the entire night, I would lay there. It was basically torture."
Why 2am?
Later in the clip, the doctor then honed in on the hour of 2am in particularly, opening up about something known as the circadian rhythm, and how it can be affected by cortisol.
"Cortisol should be at the lowest point in this rhythm at 2am and the highest point at 8am," Dr Berg continued. "For me everything was backwards I was very awake at 2am, but I was extremely tired at 8am in the morning."
If you're wondering how a lack of sleep could really be so detrimental, it turns out that the two have been linked in the forms of cardiac problems, dementia, and diabetes.
How to help
Thankfully, Dr Berg says some practices can be used to lower cortisol in the body whilst sleeping, so as to avoid that mid-morning wake-up call.
"One big one is magnesium," he explained, adding that a deficiency in this can lead to elevated cortisol.
As well as prompted muscle relaxation, magnesium can assist in the regulation of the nervous system, and can reduce both anxiety and irritability.
"If you're watching right now and you have any tightness in your muscles - your upper back, lower back or if you point your toe and it cramps - that's a sure sign that you are deficient in magnesium," Dr Berg went on.
Asked how is best to medicate such high cortisol, he added of magnesium supplements: "You want to take it at night before you go to bed.
"Towards the later part of the morning, right around 6am, is when you have the least amount of magnesium in your tissues, this is also probably why a lot of health problems occur in the early morning - like heart attacks, stroke restless leg syndrome, because a lot of these things are influenced by magnesium."
Other causes:
Dr Berg believed it important to note, however, that there could be several other reasons as to why you're unable to sleep at that particular hour.
"Low blood sugar can increase cortisol and cause you to wake up at night," he continued. "If your diet is high in carbs, your blood sugar may decrease while sleeping, and your body will increase cortisol levels to normalize your blood sugar."
The medic went on: "If you're waking up at 2am, evaluate what you ate the day before. Refined starches, MSG, alcohol, snacking, and eating late can disturb sleep.
"Salt cravings can signify a sodium deficiency. Sodium helps lower cortisol, so add more sea salt to your meals throughout the day if you're having salt cravings."
Dr Berg concluded his warning by explaining: "The liver detoxifies the body between 1am and 3am. Night waking during this time frame could signify a problem with the liver.
"Milk thistle before bed can help."
Who knew, eh?
Topics: Advice, Health, Sleep, Mental Health
Mia Williams