Why do I keep waking up at 2am and how do I get back to sleep?

"I have no trouble falling asleep. Most nights, my head hits the pillow, and that's all I remember. But several times a week, I find myself wide awake at 2.00am stressing about a work deadline, wondering if my daughter is adjusting to her new school or making a note on my phone to get the car washed. Usually, I get back to sleep in an hour, but when my 8am alarm goes off, I feel groggy, wishing I'd had that extra shut-eye."

"This inability to stay asleep is called maintenance insomnia, says Dr Julia Kogan, a health psychologist and insomnia specialist based in Chicago. While it's common to wake at night, some people have trouble getting back into slumber. Anxious thoughts are a common cause. People wake and cannot shut their mind off, which interferes with their ability to fall back asleep, says Kogan. The sleep disorder can impair a person's daily function, but there is treatment."

Maintenance insomnia involves waking in the middle of the night and being unable to return to sleep, producing fragmented rest and morning grogginess. Brief nocturnal awakenings are normal at the end of sleep cycles or to use the bathroom and often go unnoticed. Maintenance insomnia features longer, remembered awakenings that disrupt sleep continuity. Anxious, racing thoughts commonly prevent falling back asleep. Maintenance insomnia can occur alone or with sleep-onset or early-waking insomnia. One 2014 study found nearly 20% of people with insomnia symptoms experienced extended middle-of-the-night wakings. Effective treatments exist to address the condition.

Read at www.theguardian.com