“I keep waking up at 3 a.m. with my mind racing. Is it just stress?”
I hear this question a lot. And the short answer is: stress is probably involved. But the version of “stress” most people have in mind — work pressure, responsibilities, things keeping them up mentally — is usually only part of the picture.
There are at least four categories of stressors that can drive 3 a.m. wakeups and make it harder to return to sleep. Most of them aren’t what comes to mind when someone says “I’m stressed.” Some of them have nothing to do with what’s happening in your life at all.
If you’ve been attributing it to stress and nothing you’ve changed on that front has moved the sleep pattern, this video covers what else is likely in play.
If this pattern sounds familiar, I’d love to hear what you’ve tried. Leave a comment below or reply to this post.
—Kat
P.S. If you want to learna bout the one strategy that has helped some of my clients who have already dialed in their sleep hygiene solve up to 90% of their sleep issues, you can check this out here.
