Waking up between 2 and 3 am can be because of a spike in THIS hormone

It is common for many of us to wake up in the middle of the night, only to struggle falling back to sleep again. A former nutritionist who has now turned into a health guru on social media says this could be because of a health condition. Dr Eric Berg DC says if you find yourself waking up frequently in the middle of the night, especially between 2 and 3 am, it could be because of cortisol, a hormone triggered by stress.

Dr Berg has 13 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and is known for his knowledge of healthy ketosis and intermittent fasting.

He says that cortisol can wreak havoc and greatly affect our sleep. When people wake up in the middle of the night, it might be because of a spike in cortisol. This causes people not only to wake up but also frequently leads to disturbed sleep.

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Dr Berg talks about how he underwent the same and struggled to get good sleep for years. He says people with wayward cortisol levels due to stress should get their magnesium levels checked. A lack of it can be the reason for problems with sleep patterns.

Surrey Live quoted Dr Berg as saying, "How do you go back to sleep if for some reason you wake up between 2-3 am in the middle of the night? I would consider myself an expert in insomnia because I had this for over a decade and it was destroying my life."

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He added that sometimes he "wouldn't even sleep for one minute the entire night".

Why do people wake up at 2 am?

Dr Berg says that 2 am is a unique point of time. At this time, cortisol levels should be at their lowest point in the circadian rhythm. Cortisol should be highest at 8 am. "For me, everything was backwards I was very awake at 2 am, but I was extremely tired at 8 am in the morning," he said.

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Magnesium for sleep

He advises magnesium as a likely solution. "One big one is magnesium. Magnesium has the ability to lower cortisol and your cortisol can actually go up if you're deficient in magnesium."

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According to research, magnesium can play a role in reducing cortisol levels. The stress hormone is aided by the lack of magnesium, according to experts, and when cortisol rises, the former adds on to make handling pressure extremely difficult.

Further, high cortisol can affect muscle relaxation and nervous system regulation. A sufficient amount of it can help one react calmly to stressful situations. But it is a bit of an oxymoron since high cortisol is also known to deplete magnesium levels. So it is important to consciously ensure the right amount of magnesium to deal with stress, consequently leading to a reduction in cortisol, hence leading to proper sleep.