Why Do I Keep Waking Up at 3 a.m.? Breathing & Hormones

I often find that the things I write about here are the same things I'm exploring in my own life.

Lately, I've been waking in the early hours more than usual. Not every night, but often enough to make me stop and pay attention. Whenever something changes in my own body, I become curious. Rather than jumping to conclusions, I start asking what my body might be trying to tell me.

The truth is, sleep is rarely about one thing. It's influenced by lots of different systems working together, including our breathing, hormones, nervous system, blood sugar, stress levels, daily habits and overall health. That's why I think it's so important to stay curious about these middle of the night wake ups rather than looking for one simple answer.

One area I don't think gets talked about enough is the relationship between breathing and hormones. Many people are surprised when I tell them our breathing isn't fixed. It changes throughout our lives and, for women especially, it can change throughout the month as hormones naturally rise and fall.

After ovulation, progesterone increases and acts as a natural respiratory stimulant. In simple terms, we tend to breathe a little more during the second half of our cycle. That shift can influence carbon dioxide levels, which can change how we feel. Some women notice they're slightly more aware of their breathing, feel a little more breathless or find exercise feels different compared with other times of the month.

Sleep often changes too.

Some weeks we seem to sleep deeply and wake feeling refreshed. Other weeks we wake more easily, feel restless or notice we're more sensitive to stress. Hormones are rarely the whole story, but they're often an important piece of the puzzle that doesn't get enough attention.

The same thing happens during perimenopause and menopause. As oestrogen and progesterone fluctuate, and eventually decline, many women notice changes in both their breathing and their sleep. They wake more often during the night, feel hotter, struggle to get back to sleep or suddenly develop sleep problems they've never experienced before.

What I find so interesting is that none of these systems work on their own. Hormones influence breathing. Breathing influences the nervous system. The nervous system influences sleep, and sleep influences hormones. Everything is connected.

Then there's the breathing itself.

While we're asleep, our breathing continues to shape the quality of our rest. If it becomes disrupted through mouth breathing, snoring, airway restriction or an inefficient breathing pattern, the brain may briefly wake us to restore balance. Those awakenings can be so short that we never remember them, but they can still leave us feeling tired the next morning.

When someone tells me they're waking during the night, there are a few things I'm naturally curious about. Do they wake with a dry mouth? Has anyone noticed they snore? Do they spend plenty of time in bed but still wake exhausted? Have these changes happened alongside changes in hormones, stress or their health?

None of those questions gives us the whole answer, but together they often start building a picture.

Then we have the nervous system.

I often say that your nervous system doesn't suddenly switch off because you've climbed into bed. If you've spent the day rushing around, juggling responsibilities, overthinking, caring for everyone else or pushing through exhaustion, some of that activation often comes with you into the night. Your body might be tired, but your nervous system may still feel as though it needs to stay alert.

There's another piece to this as well.

Cortisol is often called our waking hormone because it naturally starts to rise during the early hours of the morning. That's a healthy part of our body clock and one of the reasons we wake feeling ready for the day. But if hormones are fluctuating, blood sugar drops overnight or the nervous system is already under more pressure, that normal rise in cortisol can sometimes wake us earlier than we'd like.

The more I learn, both personally and through my work, the more I'm reminded that sleep is a conversation between lots of different systems. Breathing, hormones, the nervous system, stress, recovery, lifestyle and overall health all influence one another.

So if you've been waking at three o'clock in the morning, it might be worth becoming curious rather than frustrated. Has your breathing changed? Could your hormones be shifting? Is your nervous system carrying more than you realise? Are there small things in your day that might be influencing your nights?

I've found that understanding what's happening underneath the surface often changes the way we respond. Instead of feeling as though our body is working against us, we can start supporting the systems that are asking for a little more attention.

If you'd like to learn more, I run functional breathing and deep dive breath workshops throughout the year.

Mel

P.S. Change your breath. Change your life.