Do you suffer with broken sleep? Is it something you are worried about? Be reassured that broken sleep is normal, especially short awakenings between sleep cycles.
In this blog, Dr Lindsay Browning explores normal short awakenings, what happens when broken sleep occurs and how to reduce this, if it is becoming overly disruptive.
What is broken sleep?
Broken sleep is where you are aware of waking up during the night.
Sometimes, you are aware of waking between sleep cycles, which is perfectly normal. Normal sleep cycles are around 90-110 minutes long and repeat across the night, and everyone usually stirs briefly between each sleep cycles. You are sometimes aware of this and sometimes not. However, other times, you may wake within a sleep cycle itself. This is more damaging to our sleep.
Sleep apnoea, a condition when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep, is a common cause of this. If this is the reason you are experiencing broken sleep, then you should speak to a professional. Learn more about sleep apnoea on the NHS website here.
If you do not have sleep apnoea, remember broken sleep isn’t a major problem, especially if your awakening isn’t too long and you can get back to sleep relatively quickly.
Why do we experience broken sleep?
As mentioned above, waking briefly between sleep cycles is quite normal. If it is due to a sleep issues, then, there can be a myriad of reasons.
You are more likely to be aware of waking up during the night if you are stressed, if there are external noises or disruptions, or if you have drunk a lot of alcohol. Awakenings also tend to get more noticeable as we age.
Is broken sleep associated with age?
In a way, yes, this is true. As we get older, we tend to wake for longer during the night, and awakenings that were short when we are younger may become long enough for us to realise we are actually awake.
Also, our sleep cycles themselves change as we get older, as we tend to get less deep sleep.
Children have much more deeper sleep than adults, and as we age, our deep sleep tends to decline. Also, although 18-64 year olds are recommended to have 7-9 hours’ sleep per night, older adults (65+) probably only need 7-8 hours’ sleep.
What is sleep maintenance insomnia?
Sleep maintenance insomnia is a bit different from standard broken sleep. It is about maintaining or staying asleep throughout the night. Whilst normal broken sleep often involves waking and then falling back to sleep, sleep maintenance insomnia is where someone falls asleep ok, but wakes after a number of hours sleep without being able to return back to sleep, to complete their nightly sleep needs.
With broken sleep, even if it takes short while, you should be able to get back to sleep, and get enough sleep before needing to up to start your day. If instead, you wake at 3am or 4am and struggle to return to sleep until a few hours later, usually not leaving much time before having to be up again, this is associated with insomnia.
How can we stay asleep better?
Falling asleep more easily is often associated with good sleep hygiene, as well as a consistent bedtime routine – our bodies love habits and routines, after all.
In terms of staying asleep, however, there are a few things we can also consider. Although, as mentioned above it is natural to wake briefly between sleep cycles.
Avoid alcohol consumption
Avoiding alcohol consumption can reduce broken sleep. Alcohol is a sedative and so you may find you fall asleep quicker having had a drink, however, it can be disruptive and your sleep will be negatively affected for the remainder of the night.
Turn off devices
It is recommended that we do not use electronic devices due to the blue frequency LED light they emit, which impacts our ability to produce melatonin (our sleep hormone), because it can reduce the ease with which we fall off to sleep. However, the beeps and notifications our phones and devices give off at night time can also cause broken sleep, waking us during the night, as we are tuned in to these sounds.
Make sure your bed is comfortable
Consider the comfort of your bed. How comfortable is your mattress, pillow or duvet?
If your mattress or pillows are not providing the right level of support for your sleeping style, or they are too old and have lost their composition, then it is likely that your sleep will suffer. You may wake during the night more frequently if you are in pain or uncomfortable.
Generally, a mattress has a lifespan of around 7-8 years, and should be replaced after that time. Learn more about choosing the right mattress here.
Also, pillows and duvets need regular washing to stay hygienic as they can absorb a great deal of sweat and other body matter during the night. If you get too hot in bed, or too cold, then your duvet may be the incorrect tog. You might want to change your duvet thickness from winter to summer, and if you get too cold in bed while your partner is too hot – you could consider using two separate single duvets of different thicknesses (tog) in bed so that you are both comfortable.
From broken sleep to more serious sleep concerns
Broken sleep is normal in some cases and short awakenings are not necessarily something to be concerned about. However, if the time that you are awake at night is increasing or you are starting to struggle to get to sleep too, then it may be time to seek professional help.
For a professional consultation, get in touch with us today.