What happens when you wake up before the alarm goes off? Advice from three sleep experts

Many people dread the sharp sound of an alarm clock, signaling the start of a busy working day. Others wish they weren’t already awake and that the sound actually woke them up.

Sleep experts tell CNN that waking up minutes or even hours before your alarm goes off isn’t a new phenomenon, but it can cause people incredible inconvenience. The additional stressors of the pandemic have exacerbated collective sleep struggles.

More than a third of Americans sleep fewer hours per night than the recommended minimum of seven hours, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [por cá, 46% dos portugueses com idade igual ou superior a 25 anos dormiam menos de seis horas por dia em 2018]. According to the US National Institutes of Health, studies worldwide show that 10% to 30% of the population suffers from insomnia, which is defined as persistent difficulty falling asleep and the inability to fall back asleep after falling asleep.

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Those who suffer from insomnia may have a combination of “nocturnal awakenings” and what is classified as “morning awakenings,” according to a 2009 study by the Center for Research in the Epidemiology of Sleep at Stanford and other universities. The study concluded that some people may experience early awakening without other symptoms of insomnia, such as “difficulty initiating sleep”, “nocturnal awakenings” and “non-restorative sleep”, meaning non-essential sleep even with the recommended hours.

“There’s a bit of a myth that insomniacs are just having trouble sleeping,” explains sleep expert Rebecca Robbins, MD, instructor in the department of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School. “A common complaint is excessive sleepiness and waking up feeling little rested.”

While insomnia treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy and medication, other daily tips can also have an effect on waking up early in the morning. A severe sleep disorder may play into the role of a person who does not suffer from chronic insomnia but who gets up early.

“Sleep is an effect of wakefulness,” Robbins says. “If you’re experiencing hardship or trauma or something upsetting happens…these events pretty much extend into our sleep.”

Constant waking up before this daily sound is associated with extreme frustration at not sleeping. Stress can leave you feeling isolated and consumed, taking precedence over the sleep-wake problem.

“You start ruminating, and then you start doing things that make your insomnia worse,” says Rajkumar Dasgupta, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “Don’t start telling yourself…I’m going to make myself stay in bed until I fall asleep.”

So what can you do?

Don’t watch your watch or phone

If you wake up suddenly – in what feels like the wee hours of the morning – resist checking your watch. Finding out it’s 3 a.m. when your alarm is set for 7 a.m. can cause even more stress about the hours of sleep you were hoping to achieve.

“The anxiety and frustration build up… Watching the clock becomes habitual, and that habitual frustration and anxiety response also causes a stress response in the body,” explains sleep expert Wendy Troxel, senior behavioral scientist at Rand Corp.

When stress takes precedence, cortisol levels rise and the body becomes alert. This process is counterproductive to maintaining sleepiness. The brain becomes hyperactive.

“You look at the clock. 3 a.m. is sharp, and instantly the stress can make your teeth clench. You think of all the demands…how awful it would be when you were sleep-deprived,” says Troxell. “All of this mental processing and arousal interferes with the sleep state. It makes you more alert and aroused… versus sending a signal to the brain that it’s okay to drift off.”

If the alarm is on your phone, checking the clock may be an even more important motivator. Consider getting an alarm that isn’t tied to your phone.

“Our phone is the strongest signal of waking life,” says Troxell. “You get light exposure from your phone, which can directly stimulate your circadian signal to be alert. The content we consume on our phones can be very energizing, whether you’re browsing social media or reading the news. Emotional states can all be triggered.” that are more active than relaxed.”

Get out of bed

So, paradoxically, experts say get out of bed. Yes, until 3 am.

“Give up the idea of ​​going back to sleep,” says Troxell. “When you do that, when you get rid of the pressure that is making sleep ineffective, sleep is more likely to return.”

In the stimulus control technique, you can distract your mind with a mundane task to help restore sleepiness faster than getting frustrated in bed. Robbins confirms: “As soon as you hear that soft sound, change the environment. Get out of bed.” “Try to reset the brain and keep the lights low.”

Mentally assigning a bed to sleep helps people associate positive thoughts about sleep and their space. Leaving the bedroom when a commotion strikes can separate the frustration from the bed.

Anything from reading a book to knitting or listening to relaxing music (but without using the phone) can distract the brain positively. As soon as the drowsiness begins again, go back to bed.

Record what works and what doesn’t

Dasgupta recommends tracking not only your sleep and wake time on a given night, but calming techniques, environmental factors—and even the nutrition and exercise regimen that seemed to help you sleep that day.

“Perfect sleep is like a jigsaw puzzle, and you need all the right pieces,” says Dasgupta. “People with insomnia lose some of their personal hygiene pieces while they sleep.” When you give your recommendations, such as muscle relaxants, that’s probably not what you’re missing. Maybe the sound wasn’t the main part. Maybe you need your blanket more.”

It also depends on our specific circadian rhythm, or the 24-hour solar cycle our body lives in that alerts us when sleepiness begins at night. Dasgupta explains that if any environmental factors change—such as travel, work hours, or lighting—the body’s circadian rhythm may stall, signaling an uncomfortable early wake-up call before the alarm clock. In this case, changing the lighting in a particular room or having alternative lighting can help.

Progressive muscle relaxation can work — start at your toes, squeeze the muscle for three seconds and then release. Breathe through this process. Dasgupta says a 4-7-8 breathing exercise combined with muscle relaxation can be a hit. Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and then exhale for 8 seconds.

Others may find that yoga, meditation or reading can help when they wake up before their alarm goes off.

The key here is to get out of bed, too.

The same methods don’t work for everyone, but practicing the different strategies that can affect sleep is essential, and eventually building a well-followed routine.

“Forward by leaps and bounds,” Robbins says. “That’s why we consciously use this word before bed, because it’s the perfect strategies to incorporate into your routine. It’s your toolkit.”

If the problem persists for more than three times a week for three months, Robbins recommends talking to a sleep specialist. It may take more than a simple change in habits.

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*Article originally published June 2022