Real reason you're waking up at 3am every night revealed by sleep guru - and how to stop it

An influencer has left those with sleep issues intrigued after revealing why they could be waking up at 3 am every night, but not all experts are too sure.

Dave Asprey, an author specialising in longevity - living a longer, healthier life - recently took to to claim that fluctuatingcould well be to blame for those frustrating 3 am wake-ups. Explaining that a dip in and adrenaline levels could be jolting dreamers from their slumber, Asprey said: "For most people who wake up between 3 to 5 am and can't go back to sleep, it is usually [because of a ] crash in your blood sugar."

Urging followers to snack on 'raw honey, collagen, MCT oil' or all three mixed together', Asprey, who goes by the Instagram handle @daveasprey, continued: "The problem is, cortisol and adrenaline wake you up. While the brain gets what it wants, you don't get your sleep."

In recent times, there's been an uptick in interest among health-conscious individuals when it comes to cortisol, a hormone that regulates a wide range of bodily processes, including blood glucose levels. But could it also be the reason why you're yawning away during your early morning commute?

To find out more, the spoke with sleep expert Dave Gibson, who advised that, while Asprey's advice is 'factually correct', there are 'more mechanisms at play' than just a rise in cortisol, which is actually 'supposed to start rising at this time as part of our natural wake-up cycle'.

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Gibson, founder of told us: "Human sleep architecture consists of different stages with unique functions. The deepest stages restore the body, while lighter stages, including REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, help reboot the brain, especially through dreaming.

"These stages repeat in cycles of about 90 minutes, with an average of five cycles in a full night's sleep. However, each cycle has a different composition; the first few cycles are rich in deep sleep, while the later cycles, especially after 3 a.m., include more of the lighter sleep and REM sleep stages.

"This means we're more likely to wake up due to sounds, light, or temperature changes later in the night. Additionally, as we age, we tend to get less deep sleep, so night awakenings become more frequent."

According to Gibson, by this point, we've likely had several hours of kip. This means we have less need for shut-eye, lessening our "' sleep pressure'—or drive to sleep." This is why it can be so tricky to drift back to the land of nod, should you find yourself jolted awake at this unfortunate hour. Pointing to studies on the topic, Gibson has listed stress as the primary factor that disrupts sleep, with use and alcohol also being common culprits.

With this in mind, Gibson has encouraged Mirror readers to 'deal with your stress before you get to the bedroom', which could include writing a to-do list, and making sure to have a relaxing evening routine - complete with a soothing bath if at all possible.

On a similar note, Gibson has also emphasised the importance of learning to meditate, which he claims will help you 'get out of your mind and into your body', and improve your sleep quality. Considering bedtime no-nos on the flip side of the coin, Gibson warned: "Never use your phone in bed even with a night-time or blue light filter - it's the biggest robber of sleep."

The Mirror also spoke with Nicole Ratcliffe - aka - who admitted to feeling partly 'frustrated' by what she views as Asprey's 'blanket statement'. Expressing concern that such an assertion could be used as 'a way to sell more stuff', Ratcliffe told us: "If we don't sleep well, we will produce less leptin which is the hormone that suppresses our appetite, this then increases our appetite stimulation hormone ghrelin. Grehlin is mostly released in the second half of the night and kicks off our urge to eat, so in some ways what Dave is saying makes sense, but I wouldn't say that this is as common as he makes it out to be.

"Cortisol is both a wakeful hormone and a stress hormone, and it tends to be at its highest first thing in the morning as it is what gets us out of bed. However, if we don't have the best sleep hygiene in the run-up to bed, and we are not giving our sleepy hormone melatonin a chance to kick in, and we go to sleep with higher cortisol levels as we are stressed, we are naturally going to be waking up around 3 to 5 am because our cortisol levels are too high, and I don't think any amount of oil will change that."

Rather than spend money on potentially pricey products, Ratcliffe has instead encouraged any sleep-deprived readers to rethink their sleep hygiene practices and get to the bottom of any slumber issues on a deeper level. Ratcliffe said: "I also don't think we need to be telling people to spend more money to get better sleep, especially as sleep is free and needed for survival, and we have been doing it since the beginning of time without these additional supplements.

"Personally, I believe that understanding why we may be having trouble sleeping, and making positive changes in the run-up to bedtime and within our daytime activities, we can improve sleep naturally. Education is the missing piece, not another financial outlay that is adding more financial pressure to people."

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com

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