If you are ‘getting up there’ in years like me, you may notice that you are waking up on or about 3 o’clock in the morning most days.

Yeah, it’s annoying, isn’t it?

I recall when I was in my 20s I worked for a woman who was about the age I am now, and she complained of this often. I thought, ‘Wow, I am not looking forward to getting old.’

Turns out, your 50s aren’t exactly old, but if you are over 40, you are in the zone of hormone changes. This happens to both men and women, but women have a whole lot more hormone ‘stuff’ going on than men. So, we ladies tend to chalk up things that go wonky in mid-life to peri-menopause or menopause. (Though, I have a male friend who swears manopause is a real thing).

Regardless of your gender, we do all share a hormone that is the culprit for the early morning wake-up call. It’s cortisol, and it is the hormone that activates when we’re in danger.

I discovered this one 3 a.m. when I woke up, grabbed my phone, and rather than doom scroll set the intention of finding the answer. And I found an article that explained it.

Turns out, cortisol naturally rises around 3 a.m. because it is preparing us to wake up and start our day. But if we’ve been running on a treadmill or experiencing stressors throughout the day before, it can really kick you in the teeth when it does its ramp-up thing.

What do you do about it? The solution is simple, though not perfect. We live high-stress lives due to a number of factors. But there are things you can do to calm your cortisol down before bed: 

1. Don’t watch the news or doom scroll at least 2 hours before bed. In fact, leave your phone out of your bedtime routine all together - don’t even update your Facebook status. (Blue light filters don’t count, by the way).

2. Eliminate sugars at least four hours before bedtime (this especially includes that glass of wine or night cap).

3. Use a guided sleep meditation to calm yourself down as you lay in bed. My go-to faves are The Honest Guys and Hay House’s EmpowerYOU audio app.

Doing these things may not eradicate every early-hour wake-up, because it depends on your day. You may need some additional hacks to get your nervous system to reset its panic point overall to find lasting relief. But these three simple things are a start, and you have to start somewhere, right?

Wishing you a restful night’s sleep,

Gayle

PS: I do have some great suggestions for lowering your panic point that I will share in upcoming newsletters, so if you haven’t yet subscribed, you can do so here.