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In the small hours
Why we often stress more at 3am , and what we can do about it .
Greg Murray interviewed by Eleanor Campbell
Waking up at 3am and worrying is a common experience , and researchers have unpacked why we have late night sleep disturbances and how we can avoid it .
Professor Greg Murray , a clinical psychologist and director of the centre for mental health at Swinburne University of Technology , said that our brains are wired for “ systematic bias ” in the middle of night .
“ If you haven ’ t got distractions , all you ’ ve got is your thoughts , and you really are in danger of being led astray ,” Murray told Campus Review .
A recent survey by Mental Health Australia found that experiences of fatigue , tiredness and issues getting to and staying asleep were major mental health impacts being reported by health workers .
Murray said that people working on shifts and in distressing environments should not put pressure on themselves to fall asleep , and should try to debrief at the end of each day .
Murray spoke to Campus Review about the 3am sleep phenomenon , how the pandemic has affected our circadian rhythms , and the tools we can use to have a more restful sleep .
CR : What does the research say about how the pandemic has affected the way that we sleep ? GM : The latest review that I read said that something like 40 per cent of the world is reporting some degree of sleep difficulties at the moment , and 20 per cent are meeting criteria for insomnia . That ’ s about a 25 per cent increase .
We have done some research on the impact on circadian rhythms , which is the body clock which plays a part in sleeping , and we found a really interesting pattern showing that lockdowns and social isolation have disturbed people ’ s daily routines , their sense of a routine rhythm of life . And the more your routines have been disturbed by COVID , the more likely you are to be experiencing poor sleep and depressive symptoms .
Your recent article spoke about why we wake up in the middle of the night plagued with worrying thoughts . Why does this happen and why do our brains tend to worry more in the middle of the night ? Biologically we are predisposed to move into lighter sleep in the second half of the night . So for the first half of the night , things like melatonin are helping us go to sleep and stay asleep . But that peaks by about the middle of the night and from about three o ’ clock in the morning , cortisol levels start to rise to launch us into the day . Apparently it takes a fair bit of work so there ’ s a countdown that starts from about three o ’ clock in the morning .
It is entirely normal to sleep more lightly in the second half of the night from about three o ’ clock on . The theory is that if you put someone under stress , the normal light sleep that you ’ d be going through in that second half of the night can become full conscious awakenings . And that ’ s the risk factor for going down a path of negative thinking .
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