There is more to good sleep than just uninterrupted sleep. If you wake up many times throughout the night, do not be alarmed.
There is a lot more to sleep than meets the eye
As per a new study from the University of Copenhagen, it is perfectly normal even if you wake up more than 100 times a night.
Researchers explained the stress hormone and transmitter chemical known as noradrenaline causes you to wake up several times a night. This hormone is associated with the body’s fight or flight response. Though hormone levels may increase during stress, it also helps stay focused.
Ph.D. Student Mie Andersen, co-author of the study explains, “Neurologically, you do wake up because your brain activity during these very brief moments is the same as when you are awake. But the moment is so brief that the sleeper will not notice,”
Noradrenaline levels and degree of ‘awakeness’ are connected
The research shows that the level of noradrenaline in the body is constantly increasing and decreasing in a wavelike pattern when we sleep. Low levels of noradrenaline mean that you are asleep. However, high levels of noradrenaline imply that your brain is awake, albeit briefly.
“Approximately 30 seconds pass from one ‘top’ to the next, which means that your noradrenaline levels are constantly changing. At the same time, we could tell that the deeper the ‘valley’, i.e., the better the sleep, the higher the subsequent top, and the higher degree of awakening,” says Mie Andersen.
