Why is Waking Up So Hard
Out of all the difficult things we have to do on a regular basis in our lives, waking up in the morning, is something that may sound trivial but what we all go through push through every single day.
If you are like me, the toughest part of the day is waking up in the morning. I am not a morning person, never have been and the fact that I am also a night owl, makes waking up even more difficult.
Have you ever woken up and immediately felt like you have been hit by a train and there is absolutely no way you are going to get out of bed? Have you ever felt like the bed is your best friend and sleep is that seductive mistress that you just don’t wanna leave? Well, me too!
To understand why waking up is so difficult, we need to understand the different stages of sleep. Yes, sleep is not so straightforward as you may think. It is not just closing your eyes and reopening them 7 hours later. There is a slew of things that happens in between. Did you know that our brains are more active when we are sleeping? Something to ponder upon.
Stage 1
This stage lasts for a relatively short amount of time; just 5-10 minutes. During this stage, we close our eyes and are ready to sleep. In this stage, we transition from wakefulness to “lightly asleep” but can quickly go back to fully awake at a moment’s notice. We don’t even feel asleep in this stage.
Stage 2
In the next 20 minutes, the body gets into stage 2. This stage is characterised by the slowing down of the heart, decrease of the body temperature and a production of rapid bursts of activity by the brain which are called sleep spindles.
All this happens so that you may then enter a deep sleep stage. The first and the second stage are often referred to as light sleep.
Stage 3 (Delta Sleep Stage)
This is the deep sleep stage. It commonly starts after 35-45 minutes of falling asleep. During this stage, the brain activity comes in the form of delta waves. It is also in this stage that we don’t react to outside disturbances like noise or someone calling out our names.
Stage 4 (REM Sleep)
This is the stage where the ‘magic’ happens, and by that I mean that we dream in this stage of sleep. Also, our eyes move rapidly in all directions. This stage lasts around 10 minutes and kicks in after having slept for 90 minutes or so.
The gradual transition from Stage 1 to Stage 4 is not a one time thing. In a single night, we repeat the process 4-5 times. When we go to sleep, we transition from stage 1 to 2, then 3 and 4. Then we go back to stage 2, then 3 and 4. This phenomenon repeats 4-5 times.
Coming Back to the Point…
So, lets get back to the point of this article. The reason why many people find it so difficult to wake up in the morning is because of the Stage 3 sleep. Deep sleep is very important for our health. But, if you happen to wake up while you were in stage 3, you will feel disoriented for a while.
This is called sleep inertia. This happens because the hormones that keep you asleep in stage 3, are still flowing through your body but instead of being a sleep, you are actually awake. This leaves you feeling groggy and frustrated.
We deal with it by snoozing our alarm clocks or stopping it altogether and going back to sleep or by waking up feeling like life is playing a practical joke on us everyday. You might tell your spouse or friend that you need just 5 more minutes of sleep. But scientifically, that makes matter worse, as you are repeating the whole cycle again.
So, in summary, the reason why it is so hard to wake up in the morning is because of waking up at the wrong time. The wrong time being the wrong stage of sleep here.
Some Healthy Sleep Tips
- Don’t use your phones just before you sleep as the blue light emitted from the screen messes up with your sleep cycle.
- Get some exposure to daylight as soon as you wake up as it tells your body to wake up.
- Stick to a fixed schedule of going to sleep and waking up.
- Make your bedroom sleep-friendly by ensuring less noise and appropriate temperatures.
- Exercise daily.
- Don’t take long naps in the day.
- Don’t go to bed either hungry or too full.
- Don’t drink tea or coffee before going to bed.
- If you find difficulty falling asleep, listen to some meditational music, or read a book.
I read somewhere, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, that a form of torture was to inflict severe pain, like an electrical shock, just as someone was entering deep sleep. They would become so afraid of sleeping that they'd fight it, yet it came anyway, only to result in the shock again. Without the cycle completing, they never really rested. After about three days they would start losing it. I can't verify that it happened, because the files are still far far away. Ironically, it's possible that I've forgotten because I've slept so many times since then.
I had read something similar to but not in a galaxy far far away but here on earth, on my computer!
I think it was a subject of a Russian creepy-pasta. I am not sure though!
That was a good story, this post made me think of that lol
I actually paid about $300 for an alarm clock several years ago that has you wear a head-band that monitors your sleep cycles. You tell it what time you want to wake up in the morning, and for 30 min before that time - if it sees you come out of REM/deep-sleep into light sleep, it will wake you up then. Its really nice, although I don't use it all that often because the head-band is kind of annoying.
Yeah, there are better ways of achieving the same thing. Mainly through apps. You don't have to wear a headband or anything. You can try it :D
That's an interesting gadget. Too bad it's not comfortable!
It is especially hard for those of us with lots of estrogen.
Excuse the analogy, mammals are mammals...like a sleeping dog, "let sleeping dogs lie, true" but wake up the female ones, they are more likely than males to snap or bite you as they are groggy.
That's what I think of when I wake up super bitchy.
I have no...uh...rooster...to wake me up
Haha! I agree with you 100%, I have had some "experiences" that support this LOL
This post and the replies made me think of lots of things--how new parenthood and medical residency are both sort of like the torture @anotherjoe described, how rarely people get to sleep until they wake naturally, and how lucky I am that I rarely have to wake to an obnoxious alarm clock.
I spent miserable years getting up before I was ready--or oversleeping--because I would stay up too late to allow myself adequate sleep. I stayed up too late because it was the only way to get enough quiet time to meet my introvert need, especially when I had evening activities.
Now, it's my body that makes me get up before I'm ready, but I think I wake up in the lighter cycles of sleep, so I don't usually feel super groggy. When I first left the world of employment, I thought, Ah, I'll sleep until 9 or 10 a.m. But horses clopped along the street outside our first apartment, and construction noises echoed off the mountains. Another place was next to a school, and the children hit the playground at 6:30 a.m.
Now, I'm in more rural place, and if I stay up late, the only thing that usually wakes me other than my bladder or lungs is maybe a precious little girl with a high, squeaky voice or my desire to see the volcanoes in the clear morning light.
It's true. The modern lifestyle has turned us all into robots. Doing the exact same things everyday, including waking up at undesirable hours. This has had an adverse effect on our psyche.
By the way, you are lucky that you get to live in such a calming place! :D
I know how lucky I am. It was a long journey--in many different ways--to get here.
Very interesting article @sauravrungta. I like how you broke down the pattern. I have had a hard time waking in the morning for so many years. I live on the west coast, so sunshine is short lived. I just chocked it up to my natural melatonin being out of whack since it's always dark till after 7am. I have to force myself to turn on the light and burn my eyes with sudden brightness, lol. I bought a Fitbit tracker and love it. It tracks sleep pattern (which I've learned is not great. I sleep 6 out of 7.5). Now if I could only figure out why I wake so much.
Well, the body adapts to the environment so the natural melatonin shouldn't be out of whack. Maybe it's something else!
Thanks for reading! Glad you followed me :)
Oh and I'm following so I catch more posts from you
Great post. I hear CD quality music when I'm in stage 1, falling asleep and waking up in the morning, but as soon as I listen to it I wake up and forget most of it, except a snipet of melody.
I used to find waking up pure evil, like I'd been drugged and kicked about but recently I realised that I can lay in bed and meditate for 5-10 minutes after I wake up and feel pretty good even after say, 5 hrs sleep, but I've only done it a few times in an emergency.
Also, if I try to meditate I fall asleep straight away unless I'm drunk, in which case I can meditate my self sober in 1 hr. I did it at parties many years ago when I accidentally got too drunk, the way young people tend to. People used to be amazed because I'd speak to them normally when an hr before I couldn't speak or even walk, sometimes.