Expert reveals the real reason why people wake up at 3am every night and how to fix it
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: JB Lacroix/ Getty Images / Getty Stock Images
There's one lifestyle change you need to make to stop waking up during the night, according to an expert.
If you're a victim of waking up at unheard of hours, there could be an answer for your disrupted sleep issues.
Dave Asprey, an author and longevity influencer, has explained exactly why you could be waking up in the middle of the night.
In a video to his one million Instagram followers, he explained that waking up during early hours of the morning could be due to fluctuating blood sugar (or glucose) levels.
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If these levels dip, it triggers the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline to be released into the body - and annoyingly wake you up.
In the clip, he said: "For most people who wake up between 3 to 5am and can't go back to sleep, it is usually [due to a] crash in your blood sugar."
Asprey added that cortisol and adrenaline trigger the release of extra glucose, which is stored in the liver. However, this isn't the only thing that peaks cortisol and adrenaline.
Research says that chronic stress can raise levels of these hormones - impacting your sleep.
The expert continued: "The problem is, cortisol and adrenaline wake you up. While the brain gets what it wants, you don't get your sleep."
So, what is the solution to the problem?
Whilst many sleep experts have warned not to eat directly before your sleep for multiple reasons, Asprey actually suggests a 'small snack before bed'.
But before you go to justify half a tube of Pringles before bed, he noted that the snack should consist of either 'raw honey, collagen, MCT oil or mix all three together'.
MCT oil is made up of a type of fat, which can also be found in coconut oil. Research suggests that these products can all provide sustained energy without the blood sugar crash that we are looking to avoid.
But this isn't the only thing the multimillionaire spends his time on.
The 50-year-old has spent $2 million of his wealth attempting to reverse the ageing process. Wouldn't that be handy?!
He claims that his lab tests define his age as 39, and predict that he will live to the age of 180.
We're not exactly sure we'd like to live until that old anyway!