Re-blogged: Nightmares and Witching Hour

 Are you persistently waking up at night at the same time?

Please note:

Although this article contains some medical facts, it’s mostly my own observation of patients and talking to patients throughout my nursing career.

Can’t sleep 6-8 hours straight without waking up?

If you’re persistently waking up at night at the same time, it might be because your body and mind are trying to tell you something. Our bodies and minds work like an amazing computer system. The body is “resetting” the physical body, and the mind is organizing the previous day’s events, thoughts, and feelings. We need a restful sleep to help our body, but sometimes our sleep is interrupted.

Waking up 10 Pm – midnight:

Waking up at this time of the night might be due to stress and anxious thoughts throughout the day that hasn’t been resolved before going to sleep. You might be feeling pressured at your job, in your family life, or you have a lot on your “to-do” list and having a hard time keeping up.

Try:

Take a warm bath before bed, watch, or read a relaxing story, or listen to calming music. Think about the positive things you’ve accomplished. Next, put the unresolved issues and to-do list in your mind to a mental file “to be solved another day”.

Waking up midnight – 1 Am:

This is when your mind is dealing with anger issues and the pent-up, unresolved anger tends to wake you up at this time of the night. Anger might manifest itself as a bad dream or nightmare.

Try:

Before bed try to stretch, do some light yoga exercises, and think about what made you angry throughout the day. Remember, some things you cannot change, follow the philosophy of a dog. If you can’t change it, don’t waste time being angry about it. Piss on it, kick some dirt on it, and move on.

Waking up 1 Am – 3 Am:

The feeling of hate is keeping you up around this time of the night that related mostly to self-hatred. You might hate your aging or sick body, weaknesses of your personality, or situations you got yourself into.

Try:

Have a good talk with yourself and point out what you like about your body and personality. Embrace the positive things and make fun of the negative ones. Yeah, my boobs have been taken over by gravity and moving to the south, but with the help of a push-up bra, they can still look perky. Remember, just because people put on a cheerful mask, every single person is dealing with problems that life throws at us, even with occasional self-doubt and self-loathing. You’re not alone. Accept yourself, the whole package, and don’t pick on little things that are only temporary.    

Forgive others who hurt you. Remember, when you keep a grudge alive, you carry the much-hated person with you 24/7 in your mind. Drop them like a hot potato and move on.

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