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Why do I keep waking up too early in the morning?

247 Answers
Last Updated: 10/15/2018 at 2:53pm
Why do I keep waking up too early in the morning?
★ This question about Sleeping Well was starred by a moderator on 5/12/2016.
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Tracy-Kate Teleke, PsyD, M.A., LMFT

Marriage & Family Therapist

I assist adults and couples in CA experiencing relationship challenges and interpersonal struggles including anxiety, depression, and a myriad of other life challenges.

Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
July 8th, 2015 12:47am
It depends on what time you go to bed, but even if you're sleeping at 1am and waking up at 6am. It could just be your body's clock. That's what it's used too.
Anonymous
July 8th, 2015 5:51am
the reason that i kept waking up too early in the morning was because i live by a main road and the cars where all that i heard.
HisBestFriend1030
July 8th, 2015 9:18am
I would wake up early because my body got used to an early schedule and could no longer sleep as late as I normally would. It may be because you are going to sleep too soon or your body is just not tired anymore. I know my problem was I got hooked on a different time zone when my partner was deployed but you can train yourself to ignore the time of day and if you feel tired stay awake just a tab bit longer and see if that helps in getting you to sleep later.
ColdestHandsWarmestHeart
July 8th, 2015 1:49pm
This could be due to a number of things, waking up too early could be due to the environment you are in, maybe it is too hot/too light ect.., It also could be if you have had a sudden change in your sleeping times which can mess up your sleep pattern all together. However, one of the main reasons you could be getting up too early could be because of you worrying about something or have something bothering so much you cant sleep x
Haley622
July 8th, 2015 7:13pm
When I wake up early in the morning it's usually out of stress dreams or hunger. If I don't relax before going to sleep and have a lot going on, I struggle to sleep well. This also happens if I deprive myself of food the night before/day before sleeping, then I wake up early because my body is craving and screaming for food.
Anonymous
July 8th, 2015 9:46pm
Do you have an alarm or something? That might be why. If not, you're sleep deprived. I suggest seeing someone about it.
AlwaysHereForYouCB
July 9th, 2015 1:22am
Do you go to sleep super early? I wouldn't necessarily say that waking up early is a bad thing, maybe you're just a morning person! :)
considerateBeauty68
July 9th, 2015 10:33am
Anxious, not sleeping well, having a lot on my mind, worried, scared, and sometimes it can be excitement.
DipityEnigma
July 9th, 2015 11:53am
There could be multiple reasons for this one of which is your body clock needs reset by going to bed at a reasonable hour or you're going to bed way too early and therefore, waking up early. It could also be any light that may be waking you up that's coming in your window. If you're truly worried about your sleep, you might want to go see your GP. They'll know more about than what we do and will be able to help you further.
Personalitikhum
July 9th, 2015 2:30pm
The only times I've woken up to early in the morning is when I have to do some errands early in the day!
Anonymous
July 9th, 2015 6:07pm
your internal clock may be little messed up, or you need to talk to your doctor about what may be the issue
Anonymous
July 10th, 2015 1:38am
Sometimes we tend to wake up early because the evening before, when we headed to bed tired, something was bothering us and we fell asleep with this bother in our head. So in our dreams we worry about it and then wake up with a nasty nightmare still stuck in our head. Stress and these related nightmares can cause your whole system to go upside down, hence why it is so important to work on it to sort it out and find ways to relax and distract ourselves!
MoonlightPrimrose
July 10th, 2015 1:40am
that is probably a sign of bad sleep quality and that's a possible symptom for depressions... but there could be other reasons too. Maybe you are influenced by light or noises in the morning...
Anonymous
July 10th, 2015 5:37am
It could be a sign of depression. Early morning wakenings or sleeping past your usual rise time can both be seen in an individual suffering from depression.
Caledra
July 10th, 2015 12:41pm
This is not a habit, this is a lifestyle. Don’t just wake up early without a purpose. Be early. Be there before others. Look for opportunities and embrace them. Waking up early means keeping your eye open to every available opportunity.
wonderfulhugs31
July 10th, 2015 5:26pm
sleeping late at night and waking up early and being sleepy the rest of the day can be the symptoms of insomnia. you must learn more about this from wikipedia or other websites
butterflykisses27
July 10th, 2015 7:13pm
I think its because I have a time clock body clock going off in my head. But sometimes its the same time because I have to go too the bathroom.
Anonymous
July 10th, 2015 11:16pm
Maybe you have insomnia or your body is use to certain type of sleeping schedule, there is many reasons why that happens
thateurasian
July 11th, 2015 2:42am
Because you are probably a morning person. Another reason can be because you are going to bed early, so you have enough of sleep that you wake up really early.
Iam80Here
July 11th, 2015 10:54am
This is a very annoying thing, but hey, it's not the end of the world - this happens to a lot of people. I have never had this, but it seems to me that these are the reasons which are mainly prevalent: 1. You might have been waking up at a certain time of the day all the way through, and you've suddenly switched it altogether. It might cause a boomerang and make you wake up early. 2. If you are too stressed, you might not have a good sleep and wake up pretty early. 3. If you have had a different sleep routine and now you're looking to change it, you might experience this. 4. Going to sleep with thousands of thoughts in mind and not dealing with them might be a reason. 5. Suffering from insomnia or sleeping disorder(s) can cause you to wake up early. 6. Besides, it might seem irrelevant, but you might need to have a second thought on your diet too! If all of these are occurring, and you're just too disturbed, maybe watching a few helpful videos on YouTube can help, or you might want to consult a specialist, a friend/loved one.
zaix
July 11th, 2015 3:18pm
Just try to go back to sleep, there isn't much you can do, for some people they have that habit because of school schedules and now it's summer and some people just can't seem to sleep in during the summer thanks to school.
YourNotAlone27
July 11th, 2015 6:11pm
maybe you go to bed to early and it causes you to wake up so early in the morning. Try going to bed later
Pheremike
July 11th, 2015 9:55pm
Waking up too early could be an indicator of many things such as insomnia, restlessness, or the most common, too many thoughts brewing a storm in your head.
Anonymous
July 11th, 2015 11:24pm
The primary cause of difficulty staying asleep near morning is insomnia, which is defined as difficulty falling or staying asleep, or sleep that's simply not refreshing. These awakenings may occur throughout the night, but they tend to be more frequent in the second half of the night, due to a diminishing ability to sleep toward the morning hours. The ability to sleep is linked to two processes, one called the homeostatic sleep drive and the other being the circadian rhythm (which will be discussed more later). The homeostatic sleep drive is the gradual desire for sleep that builds the longer a person stays awake, and relates to the gradual accumulation of a chemical within the brain called adenosine. This "sleepiness signal" eventually helps to initiate sleep; during sleep, it's cleared away so that midway through the night, the desire for sleep is depleted. Tips for falling back alseep! 1. Preserve the darkness. Keep the room dark when you wake up. Keep a small book light or mini flashlight next to your bed and use it to navigate your way to the bathroom, or put a dim night-light in the bathroom and leave the door cracked, so you can find your way there. Whatever you do, don't turn on the overhead light in the bathroom once you're inside. 2. Move the clock out of reach. Constantly checking the clock and calculating how long you've been awake only feeds your anxiety: "Oh no, now I'm only going to get five hours of sleep." Set the alarm, then move the clock where you can't see or check it. 3. Write it down, then let it go. On your bedside table, keep a notebook and pen devoted solely to nighttime "worry lists." Using a dim night-light, write down each thought that's bothering you. Then, after you write it down, make a conscious effort to cross it off the list in your mind. In the morning, transfer the action items to your to-do list. Over time, you'll develop faith in yourself that writing down your worries equates with getting them done. 4. Breathe and ease. In his book The Worry Solution, anxiety specialist Martin Rossman recommends a three-step approach to sleeplessness that really works. First, do "belly breathing," which means breathing deeply enough that your diaphragm rises and falls. Next, isolate each part of your body, from your feet up to your neck, by tensing and relaxing it. Finally, imagine yourself in a favorite place, such as lying in the sun on the beach. Use all of your senses; imagine that you're hearing the waves and smelling the salt air. If it doesn't work the first time, do all three steps again in the same order.
Anonymous
July 12th, 2015 9:14am
It is possible that you may simply be going to bed too early as well! Perhaps, instead, your body is simply used to waking up early, and has gotten into the habit of doing so. There are any variety of reasons, any of which may be the cause of your problem. If you're concerned about this problem, I recommend speaking with your primary care physician about it, and see if they can't give you some sleeping tips or refer you to a specialist.
KintsugiLady
July 12th, 2015 4:12pm
The reasons can be many: a change in your environment, a change on your routine, depression, worrying... even hormonal and chemical imbalances can make it so your sleep pattern is disturbed in such a way. If you find yourself waking up too early, ask yourself what has changed and proceed from there. There's always a reason, although it is not always the same.
freehugsforyou
July 16th, 2015 12:05am
It could be dye to stress of the morning you are about to face. I suggest listening to music before you go to sleep. Do this a few times so your brain will get used to the song. Associating it with sleep. Then when ever you need to sleep just play the song. I suggest a calm song. None rock
DanTheMan1997
July 16th, 2015 10:31am
Its possible that you are maybe going to bed to early. Possibly try going to bed a little later and staying in bed until a time when you want to get up and slowly this will being to set your body clock to wake up at a reasonable/chosen hour.
OliviaLaurence
July 16th, 2015 6:03pm
This can be a frustrating problem, as sleep fuels emotional, mental, and physical necessities not found elsewhere! I find I wake up too early in the mornings when I go to bed the night before high-strung and worried. Try cutting out sugar for your last meal of the day, and give yourself an hour before the last thing you eat and the time you're ready for bed. Drink some tea, read a book, do things that relax the receptors in your head and so your brain does not feel inclined to start working before you're ready to!
ChasingInsomnia
July 17th, 2015 5:17am
In my experience, I sometimes wake up too early when I am stressed about something that happens the next day. For example, if I have a test in the morning, I might wake up too early because I'm nervous.