Nightmares and Witching Hour

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

Image by Thomas Wolter from Pixabay

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.

Waking up 3 Am – 5 Am:
Oh, the witching hour. In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons, and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Nah, that’s just folklore, but I guess waking up feeling anxious and scared, especially after a frightening nightmare, people thought it was the devil’s doing. Waking up at this time of the night most like is due to the suffocating feeling of being trapped and you wish to break free from something constricting. Maybe trying to end a bad relationship but you don’t know how, or it could also be fear of something such as the result of a medical test.
Try:
Running away from seemingly unsolvable problems simply creates more problems and anxiety. This is where a good support system or counseling proves to be helpful. Talking things over with a trusted person and looking at things from a different perspective often solves the most difficult situations, or at least gives you hope that you can break free and move toward a brighter-looking future.
​   
Why do most heart attacks occur in the morning?
As you wake up, your body releases stress hormones to get your body up and going for the day. In addition, your body tends to be dehydrated by the time you wake up and for some people, this combination of added stress hormones plus dehydration may be enough to trigger a heart attack.
However:
Drinking lots of water too close to bedtime can interrupt your sleep cycle and negatively impact heart health. You must drink enough water throughout the day to avoid dehydration and prevent excess water intake at night.

I hope you've found this article helpful!
Please share, and don't forget to click on my books on the sidebar or read my portfolio below.
​You might find something you like.

Read my portfolio:
https://online.fliphtml5.com/cmebw/yrgf

Click to read my portfolio