How To Avoid Becoming Part of the 3am Club

Posted on - 20th April 2020

Many of us find ourselves awake in the early hours of the morning; something referred to as the 3am club.

Many of us find ourselves awake in the early hours of the morning; something referred to as the 3 am club.

Now you may be wondering if there is a particular reason for this?

Luckily, it is quite common and harmless as long as you drop back off to sleep soon after. Waking up once in the night does not mean you cannot sleep or have insomnia.

Here at Dial-a-Mattress, we understand better than most the best ways to guarantee a comfortable night's sleep. For our latest blog, we are going to take a deep dive into our sleep patterns and how we can keep them consistent.

Analysing Sleep Cycles

Waking up during the night is not a problem, as we wake several times a night, whether from noise, partner disturbance or being too hot or cold. Most of the time we don't realise, except maybe when we need to go to the loo. Sleep runs in 90-minute cycles where we will go through different stages. These are punctuated with brief awakenings, but considering we spend more time having lighter sleep these occurrences can feel more pronounced.

What If I Can't Get Back To Sleep?

If you wake up and cannot get back to sleep immediately, you could find yourself tossing and turning or thinking about tasks you need to complete tomorrow or simply clock watching.
You could start to experience anxiety, worry or frustration which could start your mind racing, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure.

Do not start clock watching as anxiety will begin to set in and prevent you from falling back asleep. If you cannot sleep within 20 minutes we would recommend getting up and doing something relaxing such as reading or grabbing a milky drink. Staying in bed decreases your sleep efficiency and means you could associate your bed with being awake, planning or worrying and not getting your 40 winks.

Practising Good Sleep Hygiene

Consistency is the key for sleep, so aim to go to bed around the same time and set your alarm for the same time, creating a programme you can stick to.
Give yourself roughly 30 minutes to wind down before bed, letting go of any negativity that has built up during the day. This could be a warm bath, reading, listening to chilled out music or meditating.
Keep your bedroom environment cool, quiet and dark to ensure you have no disruptions plus make sure you have invested in a quality bed (something Dial-a-Mattress can help with).
Also, it is widely known that people who exercise regularly get a better night's sleep, releasing any pent up tension and banishing any stress.
Try to resist scrolling through social media, emails or watching television before bed. The blue light from the screens hinders melatonin production, which helps to ensure we get enough sleep.

Talk to the Sleep Doctor at Dial-a-Mattress

If you have any questions about getting more sleep, check out Dial-a-Mattress’ brand new Knowledge Hub where you get all the answers you need in one place.

Dial-a-Mattress stock the widest range of bed frames and mattresses for customers in Telford and Shrewsbury; get in touch for more information.