THE ESSENTIAL
- Nocturnal awakenings are a normal phenomenon.
- Sleep disorders must be treated because they can cause or aggravate many pathologies.
Almost every night, sound asleep, do you wake up in spite of yourself, and then have difficulty getting back to sleep? What time do you get up? Although they are painful and exhausting, these nocturnal awakenings are benign and can be likened to sleep disorders.
According to a study from the Health Watch Institute and MGEN dating from 2015, 73% of French people wake up at least once a night for about 30 minutes. These intermittent nights negatively affect not only the quality of sleep, but also the state of health and mood.
Common and mild nocturnal awakenings
However, according to several sleep specialists interviewed by the Huffington Postno need to panic, especially since these nocturnal awakenings are common. “Everyone strings brief awakenings – five to seven on average – between each sleep cycle, throughout the night. These awakenings are absolutely normal, we usually go back to sleep quickly, and we don’t remember them in the morning. “explains Shelby Harris, a clinical psychologist who specializes in sleep.
However, waking up at the same time every night and not being able to go back to sleep can create problems by altering sleep cycles. “Without the consolidation phase, one is tired, lethargic and comatose during the day, not to mention the reduced nighttime rest and the deterioration of the depth of sleep”continues Dr. Harris.
Long-term health consequences
Sleep disorders, such as frequent insomnia or sleep apnea, can also have an impact on the state of health if they persist and are not treated. For example, several studies have shown that prolonged nocturnal awakenings impair concentration and memory, increase the risk of work or traffic accidents, and promote diseases, such as obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure.
As for sleep apnea, it can “cause many health problems, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks or diabetes”, as described by Mark Aloia, behavioral innovation leader at Philips Healthcare, in the Huffington Post.
Failure to regularly follow the natural rhythm of one’s internal clock can also affect mood and mental health. In a 2018 study published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry, researchers at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, have shown that people who do not track their sleep-wake cycle are more likely to have a history of bipolar disorder or major depressive disorder. Additionally, researchers have found a correlation between lower circadian rhythm amplitudes and the onset of mood disorders, such as depression, neuroticism, feelings of loneliness, emotional instability, or less attention to his own health.
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