Preventing and reducing nighttime awakenings involves trying to understand their organic causes, sometimes subtle, which can often be resolved in simple ways.
In France, sleep disorders are a major problem. People sleep little and especially poorly. Difficulties falling asleep and/or nighttime or early awakenings affect a significant portion of the population with strong impacts on daily health.
Indeed, 1/4 of French people complain of lack of sleep, especially on workdays, and 1/3 report suffering from sleep disorders.
How to explain these problems and overcome them to simply improve our quality of life and prevent more harmful consequences?
Insomnia and Nighttime Awakenings
Insomnia is defined by an insufficient sleep quality and quantity, even when all external conditions are conducive to sleep - no noise, no bright light, adequate temperature...
It is characterized by:
- Difficulty falling asleep: after going to bed, even very tired, one struggles to find sleep.
- Nighttime awakenings: after falling asleep more or less quickly, one wakes up in the middle of the night with an inability to fall back asleep quickly.
- Early awakening: bedtime and night proceed normally, but one wakes up very early, around 4:30 - 5:00.
- A feeling of not having recovered enough.
One may also experience nighttime agitation. One sleeps, but sleep quality is poor. It can cause agitation, conflicting dreams or nightmares, night sweats, sleepwalking, etc.
During the day, insomnia results in difficulty concentrating, decreased vigilance, memory problems, irritability, physical and psychological fatigue, and drowsiness, which have individual and collective consequences.
Moreover, the long-term health impact is far from negligible: chronic pain, hypertension, diabetes, weakened immune system, increased risk of stroke, obesity, depression...
Faced with sleep disorders, people are tempted to "help" themselves with sleeping pills which can be harmful in the long term, causing side effects and dependencies.
Traditional Chinese medicine can help better understand awakenings and nighttime agitation and find gentle methods to remedy them.
According to it, energy circulates through the body along energy circuits called meridians that connect the body's organs. Energy moves and travels around the meridians, connected to our biological clock, in 24 hours. Waking up every night at the same time may indicate that an organ or function of the body is malfunctioning and in overdrive. And at each hour its organ.
I wake up between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Waking up in the early hours of the night may reveal a dysfunction of the gallbladder. It serves to store energy absorbed during the day and redistribute it throughout the body. When it does not function properly, it stores too much bad fats. During the day, this results in difficult digestion, nausea, bowel problems, a pasty mouth, migraines or a certain aversion to fatty foods.
To improve the functioning of your gallbladder:
- Avoid fatty foods: fatty meats, cheeses, game, dishes in sauce, sour cream, butter...
- Also be wary of spices, chocolate, and alcohol.
- Give preference to fruits and vegetables.
- Think about raw black radish or juice, onion which, thanks to its cholagogue power, facilitates the contraction of the gallbladder.
In terms of herbal medicine, opt for:
- Artichoke, known to relieve digestive discomfort related to poor gallbladder and liver function,
- Turmeric, which also has cholagogue virtues,
- Nettle, which contains secretin, an excellent hormonal stimulant of the digestive glands of the stomach, intestine, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.
- I wake up between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
Waking up around 1 to 3 am may indicate an overactive liver. This is normally the time when it becomes active to eliminate toxins and purify the body. But when it is in overdrive as it happens, for example, during the end-of-year celebrations where we abuse heavy and hearty dishes, we wake up. In this case, our liver needs a little "help" to help it fulfill its functions fully.
To avoid overloading your liver:
- Avoid, first and foremost, wine, aperitifs, and other cocktails and digestives. Indeed, the liver processes almost all the alcohol circulating in the blood. However, alcohol is a real toxin that attacks it, especially when consumed in large quantities in a short time.
- Also banish candies, spreads, industrial cakes, pastries... all refined sugar which once transformed into fat by the liver leads to its inflammation.
- Limit fatty meats and charcuterie, rich in saturated fats and cholesterol which increase the liver's workload.
- Enjoy a cup of coffee (without sugar!) per day. It would have protective effects on the liver.
- Think about garlic and onions. The trisulfides (sulfur compounds) they contain activate liver enzymes and allow it to function better.
- Don't forget black radish, raw, grated, or cooked like turnip. It has the ability to help drain the liver and promotes the elimination of waste that can clog it.
Put grapefruit on the menu. The naringin and auraptene it contains promote the elimination of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.
In terms of herbal medicine, you can use:
Artichoke which supports liver activity by increasing bile production, which facilitates digestion and lipid elimination.
Dandelion known to promote elimination in the context of kidney and digestive functions.
I wake up between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.
According to Chinese medicine, this is the time of the lungs. Waking up between 3 and 5 a.m. may indicate a lack of oxygenation against which you can remedy by quitting smoking, avoiding pollution, and taking advantage of your time to go for a walk in the forest or by the sea and doing sports.
But symbolically, this "asphyxiation" can also refer to a feeling of oppression and anxiety.
To reduce anxiety:
- Practice physical activities during the day to release endorphins and serotonin, two hormones that play a beneficial role against stress.
- Take breaks.
- Try meditation and/or abdominal breathing.
- "Disconnect" from your work and screens at least 2 hours before going to bed.
- Use hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapies that show rapid and lasting results in terms of anxiety.
- In terms of phytotherapy and nutritherapy, do not hesitate to help yourself:
Magnesium which acts on the structuring of sleep phases and its recuperative quality and helps reduce anxiety and modulate stress during the day.
Melissa which has a calming action on the anxiety induced by too brutal stress. It promotes relaxation and maintains a positive mood.
Hawthorn which acts on the central nervous system with a notable effect on irritability or worry in everyday life, without habituation or dependence.
Passiflore which contains specific alkaloids and flavonoids, known for their relaxing properties.
I wake up at dawn
Early morning corresponds to the large intestine. An early awakening between 5 and 7 am may reveal a digestive problem because it is the time when we finish eliminating the last toxins from our body. It is often a sign of a diet that is too rich or, on the contrary, too poor, or of problems related to irritable bowel syndrome and in particular to constipation.
To remedy this:
- Eat balanced meals, respecting your energy needs.
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
- Adopt a low FODMAP diet that limits foods containing carbohydrates or sugars that are said to be "fermentable". These carbohydrates are fermented by colon bacteria and cause digestive symptoms that may wake you up very early.
- Eat slowly and calmly and chew well.
- To rebalance your intestinal flora, do not hesitate to take a probiotic cure and supplement yourself with glutamine which helps to restore intestinal permeability.
Early awakenings can also be manifestations of underlying depression:
Expose yourself to daylight to rebalance your internal clock.
Exercise regularly.
Give preference to omega-3s in your diet (fatty fish, nuts, rapeseed oil) and if necessary, use dietary supplements. They contribute to the construction of brain cells and would have, according to some studies, antidepressant effects.
Take a magnesium cure that stimulates nerve impulses and helps fight stress, which is one of the factors of depression.
Consume vitamin D. Several studies suggest a link between vitamin D deficiency and depression, especially in the case of seasonal depression.
Preventing and reducing nighttime awakenings also involves trying to understand their organic causes, sometimes subtle, which can often be resolved in simple ways.