Can’t Fall Back Asleep After Waking up to Pee? 5 Tips

Why Are You Waking Up in the Middle of the Night?

The above tricks don’t just come in handy when you can’t fall back asleep after waking up to pee. They can also help you drift off if you’re awakened for other reasons.

Here are some of those common causes of sleep disturbance:

1. Your Blood Sugar Is Low

Did you wake up at 3 a.m. alert and ready to go? It might have something to do with your blood sugar.

When you sleep, your body is essentially fasting for eight-ish hours. But if your blood sugar drops and your brain believes you’ve run out of fuel, it’ll start producing the stress hormone cortisol to kickstart the metabolic process, Breus says.

In other words, your body will feel hungry and wake you up to eat.

Snacking before sleep could help, although what you eat before bed matters. Some healthy options include Greek yogurt with sliced banana, cottage cheese on whole grain crackers, and a handful of almonds, according to Northwestern Medicine.

2. You’re Overheating

Waking up sweaty is another source of sleep disruption. For sound shut-eye, the optimum room temperature is approximately 60 and 67 degrees F, according to Cleveland Clinic. Anything that makes our body’s thermometer rise (heavy blankets, for example) will rouse us from sleep.

Indeed, higher temps let the body know it’s time to get up and move around, Breus says.

Overheating at night — and hot flashes in general — are especially common in people going through perimenopause. This surge in body heat, which happens as a response to a drop in estrogen, can sabotage your slumber, Breus says.

3. It’s Your Body’s Natural Rhythm

If you’re awakened before the sun’s up, it could be your body’s natural rhythm.

“There is a natural rhythm to your core body temperature that makes you sleep a bit lighter between 2 and 3:30 in the morning, which is when most people tend to wake up,” Breus says.

In this case, stick with the above strategies to get you back to dreamland ASAP.

If your sleep is disturbed so regularly that it interferes with everyday functioning, visit your doctor to determine if a sleep disorder like insomnia is to blame, advises Mayo Clinic.