If you find that you keep on waking up in the middle of the night over and over, then you may want to stick around. It’s not common for your body to go from a sleeping state and in just a couple of hours, wake up again. This is not normal, so you need to pay attention to the causes. It could be any number of things, from your body structure, your lifestyle, things you eat and sometimes, the things that are on your mind. It’s vital that you pinpoint the cause as one treatment will not work for all causes. Here are just some of the things you should be considering to help you get a better night’s sleep.
Your septum
If you have a deviated septum, you will find that the cartilage in the middle of your nose is bent. It makes one nostril appear larger than the other and it can also do something very worrying. Since one nostril is larger than the other, the nostril that is being squashed by your cartilage can cause that side to lack the pressure needed to breathe without being impeded. This can cause an irregular heartbeat, put stress on your lungs and it can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night. This can be due to the stress on your respiratory system. It’s a great idea to speak with your doctor about this and or go to a plastic surgeon who can fix the problem without doing rhinoplasty.
Your Teeth
Your dental health can interfere with your sleep in several ways. For example, a common sleep issue is a condition called bruxism, where people grind their teeth in their sleep. This can affect up to 50% of children and becomes less common as patients get older. Bruxism doesn’t just potentially damage your teeth, but it can cause joint pain, neck pain, and headaches.
Bruxism is related to stress and can misalign your teeth. Braces and other dental treatments can correct this misalignment, as well as fix other conditions that may interfere with your sleep. Contact a nearby dentist to look into different types of braces that could help.
Back pain
If you have back pain, this can translate into odd breathing. If you have pain in your lumbar spine, you won’t be able to fully extend your diaphragm which can impede breathing. You will feel pain in your lower back each time you inhale and this can lead to your body rolling around. It does this because it is trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but it can easily wake you up in the middle of the night. Speak with a Chiropractor about this pain and it’s highly likely that they will be able to find it and take care of the issue.
A spinning mind
When you go to sleep while your mind is spinning, this can translate into stress and your body reacts to it. If you go to sleep thinking about a million different things and you don’t slow your mind down beforehand, this can lead to your body suddenly waking up in the middle of the night. Your mind thinks there is still more to do during the day and consequently, it wakes you up from your slumber. So you should drop what you are thinking about during the day, about 1 hour before bed. Read a book, listen to music or talk about something unrelated to work.
It’s not normal to wake up in the middle of the night. Your body is trying to tell you something. Take action and change your sleeping pattern to be more predictable and pleasant.