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How to stop waking up each night at 3 or 4 in the morning

The good news is that there are ways to get back to sleep and stop the downward anxiety spiral.

via Polina Kovaleva/Pexels

A woman with her eye mask on in bed.

Do you often wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. with an intense feeling of anxiety? Do you get stressed that you’re awake and begin making a mental laundry list of everything you need to do the next day? Do you start thinking about fights you once had with your spouse or ponder how you have let yourself down in the past?

If so, you’re not alone. It’s common for people to wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. regularly and there’s a reason why we choose this time to catastrophize and worry. The good news is that there are some steps we can take to get through that awkward phase of the night so we can wake up refreshed.

Why do I wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. every night?

Many of us reliably wake up in the middle of the night because after we’ve had a good chunk of sleep, our bodies start to slowly prepare us for the day by reducing melatonin, the hormone that puts us to sleep and increasing levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

That biological phase of sleep is why we start to feel stressed.



insomnia, sleep, sleep hacks, how to sleep better, melatonin, stress A woman struggles with insomniaImage via Canva


After the big hormone release at 3 or 4 in the morning, if you are dealing with stress in your life, you are more likely to wake up. If your life is calmer and you don’t already have a stress baseline, you will probably wake up, fall asleep quickly and forget that it happened.

Why do I wake up feeling stressed in the middle of the night?

If you’re already experiencing stress in your life, that extra cortisol kick is going to cause you to wake up with a feeling of anxiety. The problem is that when we’re lying in bed in the middle of the night, we are in a vulnerable position. “Around this time in the sleep cycle, we’re at our lowest ebb physically and cognitively. From nature’s viewpoint, this is meant to be a time of physical and emotional recovery, so it’s understandable that our internal resources are low,” Greg Murray, a psychology researcher with expertise in mood, sleep, and the circadian system, writes in The Conversation.

“But we also lack other resources in the middle of the night – social connections, cultural assets, all the coping skills of an adult are unavailable at this time,” Murray continues. “With none of our human skills and capital, we are left alone in the dark with our thoughts. So the mind is partly right when it concludes the problems it’s generated are unsolvable – at 3 a.m., most problems literally would be.”


insomnia, sleep, sleep hacks, melatonin, stress, anxiety A woman struggles with insomniaImage via Canva

At this moment, when we’re stressed and feeling vulnerable, stuck in bed with no way out, we can begin to spiral. This is when we ruminate on why we forgot to feed the dog that one day in 1994 or contemplate why things went bad with your first significant other at 21. It’s when we start recalling a disagreement with a friend and plotting out what we’ll say the next time the issue arises.

At this point, if we don’t stop spiraling, we’ll be up until 5 a.m. and will feel like garbage when it’s time to go to work.

The good news is that there are ways to get back to sleep and stop the downward anxiety spiral.

Make a list

Dr. Jade Wu says that if you wake up and feel stressed about things you need to take care of, walk out of your room (so you don’t associate it with stressors) and make a list to read in the morning. This will free you of your worries, because you know you can care for them when you are awake.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Pay attention to your breath

Murray says you should redirect your attention from your thoughts to your breath, which is a form of meditation. “I bring my attention to my senses, specifically the sound of my breath. When I notice thoughts arising, I gently bring my attention back to the sound of breathing,” Murray writes in The Conversation. This works in 2 ways: first, it takes your attention away from your spiraling thoughts and second, the breathing exercise helps you relax.


Have a bite to eat

Sometimes, we wake up in the middle of the night because we’re hungry and our blood sugar is dropping. “The first question I ask [my patients] is, ‘When was the last time you ate?’” Michael Breus, Ph.D. psychologist specializing in sleep disorders, told Sleep.com. “Often, they’ve finished their last meal at 7 p.m.; now it’s 3 in the morning — that’s eight hours later — so guess what? They’re out of fuel.” If you’ve woken up because of a drop in blood sugar, experts recommend eating a small snack that includes protein and fat, like peanut butter.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Hospice nurse reveals the exact time most people die and the reasons why are fascinating

It's called the "letting go hour"

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There is a three hour window of time when most dying people pass away.

Death is hard to think about and harder still to talk about. Some people get panic attacks just imagining the inevitable end of their life. It's an extremely uncomfortable and inescapable fact of living. For some people, learning as much as they can about what it's like and how it works is the one thing that brings them a little bit of comfort.

That's where Julie McFadden comes in. McFadden has been working as a hospice nurse for nine years. She has been educating people about the dying process on social media for almost as long, racking up millions of views with her gentle, reassuring, and highly informative FAQs.

In a recent video, Hospice Nurse Julie tackles a big, scary question: What time do people usually die? And can we actually predict someone's time of death?

"When is the most common time to die? I think you might be surprised what research says," she begins the video.

McFadden says even she was surprised when she started digging into the data and research. She noted that in her own work, she hasn't really seen a trend, but after poring through studies and speaking to colleagues throughout the hospice industry, she was taken aback to discover there was a clear answer to her question.

"Research and anecdotal evidence... it does show that most people die between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.," she says. She explains that some professionals refer to this window as the "letting go hour."

Other studies and experts have a slightly different take, citing the most common time as 6 a.m.—8 a.m., or even peaking at 11 a.m. But the truth remains that there is a definitive pattern of a high percentage of people passing away in the wee hours of the morning or middle of the night.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"So, why does that happen? That's where my brain went. And to me, the reason why is the most fascinating part," she explains.

There are a few different factors, McFadden says, that explain such a narrow death window. The first relates to the normal cycle of our body's energy and alertness.

"Biologically, we have a circadian rhythm... And between the hours of two and five, that is when our body's energy level is the lowest. Our temperatures drop, our blood pressure drops, and our breathing slows."

She mentions that those late night/early morning hours are also typically very quiet, without a lot of interruption and stimulation that might unwittingly keep a patient engaged with the outside world. "There's less people kind of trying to hold you there."

The dying person's personality also plays a role. McFadden says she sees over and over that some patients will wait until the entire family arrives before they "let go," while others will wait until things are quiet and they're alone. More outgoing people may wait to be surrounded before they pass, while introverts may prefer to pass in solitude. For the folks who prefer peace and quiet, those nighttime hours make a lot of sense.

death, dying, death doula, hospice, hospice nurse, mortality, aging, seniors, love, family, fear, afterlife Learning about death is uncomfortable, but it helps us in the long run. Photo by Sijmen van Hooff on Unsplash

McFadden then shared a pretty wild story of a patient of hers who "chose" when to die. Viewers then chimed in with their own.

Most people who have lost a loved one absolutely insist that dying people are aware of, and have some level of control over, when they decide to let go. You should watch McFadden's video to hear her best story, but the comments were full of even more.

"My good friend Donna was dying in hospice from a brain tumor and a week before she passed things looked pretty grave so she wasn't expected to last another 2 days. Her sister was by her side and said it's okay you can go but she opened her eyes and said no I'm not going yet I'm waiting for my birthday, I'm dying on my birthday. Her birthday was a week away and no one thought she would make it but she did. Her sister whispered in her ear 'today is your Birthday Sis you made it' and then she passed within the hour," one user shared.

"My grandmother was actively dying for two weeks and held on until the wee hours of the first of the month. She was concerned about getting her social security check to help the family," said another.

"About a week before my 93 year old mom died, she adamently said a few times to me and others she was leaving the following Tuesday. At first I thought she meant she's going out... That Tuesday comes and it was clear she was probably not going to make it to end of the week. I was aware of her comments from the week before but didn't think it would happen that day. She died at 11:12 pm that night, on the day she said she was leaving. She knew."

"While not quite the same thing as 'predicted,' my mother said 'they' told her when she was going to pass away -- to the minute. 'They' being the people visiting her and promising to help her during her visioning experiences. She said they had shown her where she was going to go. She died at exactly the time her visioning-visitors had told her."

The stories shared by the hundreds in the comments to McFadden's video are heart-wrenching, but ultimately extremely hopeful.

@hospicenursejulie

Replying to @skinnysketch19 the transitioning phase #hospicenursejulie #caregiversoftiktok #dementia #education #medicaltok #learnontiktok #science #STEM

McFadden doesn't want her viewers who may have a loved one who's dying to be more anxious and nervous during the night, worrying and potentially losing sleep.

"People are going to do it when they do it. Their body is going to let go when the body is ready to let go. All you can do is be there for your loved one the best you can."

She reiterates that, even for someone like her who has seen and helped many patients cross over from this world to the next, that death is a mystery. As much as we can continue to learn and understand new aspects of it, we'll never fully know what it's like until we experience it ourselves.

This article originally appeared in June.

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Gen Xers who feel their age creeping up share 25 wise tips for aging well

"55's the new 35."

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Gen Xers share their healthy aging tips.

Gen X (people born from 1965 to 1980) are currently 45-60 years old. While they're a generation known for living full, happy lives...aging is one thing they can't escape.

In a Reddit subforum of Gen Xers, member ggoptimus posed the question: "What’s your Gen X getting old pro tip?" They went on to add, "I’ll share mine. Make the clock app on your iPhone a widget so you can read the time without grabbing your reading glasses."

Fellow Gen Xers had lots of aging advice to give. These are 25 life hacks from Gen Xers for how to age well.

aging, aging well, aging hacks, aging tips, getting old Aging Matt Damon GIF Giphy

"Don’t make plans when you’re in a good mood." —porkchopespresso

"Put things, especially tools, where they belong when you're done using them. Otherwise, you will never find them now." —freshcoastghost

"This reminded me of Stanley Kubrick’s house rules. Stanley Kubrick’s House Rules at Abbot Mead:

  1. If you open it, CLOSE IT!
  2. If you turn it on, TURN IT OFF!
  3. If you unlock it, LOCK IT!
  4. If you break it, REPAIR IT!
  5. If you can't fix it, CALL IN SOMEONE WHO CAN!
  6. If you borrow it, RETURN IT!
  7. If you use it, TAKE CARE OF IT!
  8. If you make a mess, CLEAN IT UP!
  9. If you move it, PUT IT BACK!
  10. If it belongs to someone else, GET PERMISSION TO USE IT!
  11. If you don't know how to operate it, LEAVE IT ALONE!
  12. If it doesn't concern you, DON'T MESS WITH IT!" —mrbaggy
"I have a list in Apple Notes where I quickly jot down where I put things and other notes to myself. It’s a sea of randomness. But it’s searchable." —wallix

smart, hacks, life hacks, life advice, aging advice Dj Khaled Compliment GIF Giphy

"In my phone contacts there is an entry called 'Me' which is my own phone number. I text myself notes. It's searchable." —ImCaffeinated_Chris
"How many healthy years do we have left? No one knows, so do the thing now while you can. Take the trip. Have the experience. Create memories." —Riffman42
"Squat to pick shit up." —Beliliou74
"Do not stop moving. Exercise, while tedious and lame, is how we prevent sh*t from breaking down (from one who stopped moving...)." —GornoP

exercise, exercising, working out, workout, keep moving the simpsons exercise GIF Giphy

"You should exercise and stay fit, but you’re too old to help a friend move. Help them pack, send them 50 bucks or whatever, but you’re not lifting squat." —TravelerMSY

"Distance yourself from crazy." —xgenerd

"Lose weight now. It gets harder and harder the longer you wait. Don’t put it off. Set a routine. Seriously. Same bed time. Same wake time. Be strict with it. If you have sleep apnea, use the damn CPAP machine. Just get used to it. Throw a hydration tablet or powder with electrolytes in your water in the morning. Walk any time you get the the chance. And get good at getting yourself up off the floor. You would be shocked how many years this will give you." —liquilife

"See live music. Buy the ticket see that show. Have concert pals and a spouse who enjoys the same. This allows you to maintain your social connections and have the enjoyment of live music." —zionzednem

concert, concerts, go to concert, seeing concerts, live shows Excited Hell Yeah GIF Giphy

"Drink water, eat fiber, look at your poop." —Strong_Molasses_6679

"Stretch.....and often." —pcadv

"Get tested for cancer." —RockHopper707

"Never pass up an opportunity to go pee." —rink_raptor

"The wooden backscratcher I bought for $1 at Dollar Tree is one of my best purchases! It hurts to contort to get at the itch in the middle of my back, plus it’s great for retrieving items from under the bed or on the floor. Make the investment!" —MyThrowaway787

back scratcher, back scratch, scratching, scratch, scratch help Dog Pug GIF by The Dodo Giphy

"Stay curious. Keep your GenX youthful outlook on things. I saw a shirt that Johnny Knoxville was wearing that said something like, 'F*ck Politics. Let’s Dance'. Don’t take shit too seriously. Don’t believe the hype. Don’t trust the media. Don’t trust politicians. These were ingrained in us as kids when we realized we couldn’t trust our parents or our teachers or the clergy. Be cool. Help where you can." —Beneficial_Fix_7287

"Forgive those who have wronged you. Family, friends, whomever. Life is short, and bitterness is toxic." —AppropriateQuantity3

"A daily oil self-massage (or at least 3x weekly) is the best anti-aging routine you can have. It keeps the entire body healthy by promoting circulation, creates a positive parasympathetic healing response, makes the mind calm and keeps the joints and connective tissue lubricated and firm. Look up Ayurvedic abhyanga on YouTube for how to do it. Best done with raw sesame oil (messy but really good for bone and muscle)." —ahamasmi

"Now that you have the time, learn to grow, build, create, and fix again. Even if the civilization doesn't fly apart you'll have a bunch of skills that give you a sense of satisfaction and stable control of your own personal 'right now'." —Fulghn

learn, learning, learning gif, study, always learn Learning Studying GIF by Mad Monkey Media Inc. Giphy

"Do LOTS of different kinds of puzzles. Word, memory, number, mazes, jigsaw, Rubik's cube, and etc., NOT just one kind/type. Your brain will only use the connections it needs for that specific puzzle category, and won't use the existing ones nor make new ones. I got a traumatic brain injury from a bad car wreck at 30 where I nearly died (not my fault). Puzzles are the reason I don't have the mentality of a 12 yo, like the doctors told my mom I was going to be. I can't work at a job again, but I can do everything else adults need to do. My short term memory is still not great; however, I also have less of a risk for dementia and Alzheimer's because I keep my brain active. If you don't use it, you lose it has been my motto since high school and it's definitely true." —MsTyped

"It's ok to opt out of everything. You have a choice. Also, get up and get going. Life is a fatal condition." —justpuddingonhairs

"Shoe horn. Changed my life & my shoes!" —1Steelghost1

"I stop, take a few breaths & remind myself 'Go slower.' 'Be mindful.'" —Justify-my-buy

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3 apps that quiet the chaos and help you feel on top of your life again

Without breaking a sweat.

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Dread. Gloom. Horror. Tightening of the chest. Brain spinning on a hamster wheel.

That’s what a typical person — regardless of whether they are a millennial, Gen Z, Gen X, Gen Alpha, etc — feels when their phone buzzes with another notification whilst they’re already drowning in unread emails, half-finished tasks, and the growing pile of “important” stuff.

Here’s the thing: In our always-on world, feeling overwhelmed isn’t a personal failing — it’s practically a universal experience.

But what if you were told that the very device causing some of that chaos could also be your secret weapon for reclaiming your peace of mind?

These three apps aren’t just digital tools; they’re your new best friends in the fight against overwhelm and doomscrolling. (Yes, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook — we are coming for you.) They’re designed to do what you’ve been trying to do manually: organize the noise, save you precious time, and help you absorb the information that matters.

Because once you are able to hear yourself think, everything else starts to fall into place.

1. Accelerated: The Life Skills Course You Never Got

Be honest— Do you think your formative schooling years prepared you for the real world?

As an adult, can you handle stress? How do you negotiate salary at a new job? What about handling workplace conflict? Do you know how to grow your wealth in the next 10 years? What’s the easiest way to build good habits?

Non-fiction books are a great source for bridging the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge. The problem? Who has time to read entire books when you’re barely keeping up with everything else?

That’s where Accelerated shines. It’s a book summary app that takes those life-changing books you’ve been meaning to read and condenses them into 10-minute reads that actually stick with you.

The app covers everything from self-development and mindfulness to business and technology — all the genres that schools skip but life demands. Want to understand why you keep procrastinating? There’s a summary for that. Need to figure out how to set boundaries without feeling guilty? Covered. Trying to wrap your head around cryptocurrency or AI? They’ve got you.

The real game changer is the AskTed chatbot, which acts as your personal tutor. So, if you have ever read something profound and thought, “but what does this actually mean for my situation?” Now you can literally ask! AskTed can answer your questions about the summaries, abbreviations used, technical jargon, etc — helping you connect those insights to your real life.

But how does this app help with the chaos? That 10 minutes you spend mindlessly scrolling through TikTok or Instagram during lunch break or before bed? Do you really think it is relaxing you? Not really!

If anything, you probably feel more scattered afterward, just like the guilt you feel after eating junk food. So instead, why not spend those same 10 minutes on something that could make you smarter, more confident, and better at your job? Now that’s the kind of screen time that truly serves you.

2. MeetingLog: Your Personal Meeting Whisperer

Remember the last time you sat through a two-hour meeting, frantically scribbling notes whilst trying to participate in the conversation at the same time? Chaotic, I know! Or when you wanted to watch that brilliant TED talk everyone was talking about, but couldn’t find 18 minutes to sit still and focus? Yeah, we’ve all been there.

MeetingLog app is a super-attentive assistant who never ever misses a detail, yet somehow manages to turn even the most rambling conversation into clear, actionable notes. This AI-powered Voice Note-taker can transcribe anything with spoken words — your personal meetings, that inspiring podcast episode, even that YouTube video you bookmarked six months ago but never got around to watching, and last but not least, your very own voice recording.

Here’s how it goes one step further. Instead of dumping the raw text from the content on you, MeetingLog creates easy-to-digest summaries from it, the key points are highlighted, and action items are pulled out. In short, all the verbal vomit gets transformed into neat bullet points that convey the key message from the content.

It is also super-inclusive and supports 100+ languages and accents. It offers unlimited cloud storage, i.e., unlimited audio can be transcribed and summarized. It is able to identify who said what and tag the notes appropriately, even if there is more than one speaker involved.

Finally, MeetingLog isn’t just for work stuff. If you are open to being a little creative, it can also act as your own personal journal. Simply record your thoughts before bed — talking through your day, your highs and lows, or what you’re grateful for on those particularly challenging days. The app transcribes everything, so you can build a personal journal — without the pressure of finding the right words on paper — and reflect back on it on the days you need to the most.

3. Podurama: Your Antidote to Doom-Scrolling News

Picture this: instead of starting your day with “BREAKING NEWS: The World Might Be Ending (Again),” what if you could listen to two economists having a fascinating chat about inflation trends? Or a climate scientist explaining recent findings in a way that’s informative but not anxiety-inducing? Wouldn’t it be 1000 times better if you could feed your brain the same information, but without the cortisol spike?

Podcasts are a perfect way to stay up to speed on news topics ranging from parenting, technology, AI, plants, health, and pop culture. There’s no shortage of smart people (podcasters) who have found their niche and enjoy discussing their topics of interest with even smarter people (guests). Podurama offers the convenience of listening to 2.5 million podcasts and 50 million episodes under one roof. What’s even better is that their recommendations help you discover hidden gems tailored to your interests.

But the true game changer is the auto-chapters feature. It automatically breaks down lengthy podcasts into smaller segments and offers concise summaries for each segment that you can read while sipping your coffee. So even if you were unable to listen to things end to end, you’ll know enough. So much so that when your friends start asking where you heard that fascinating perspective, you’ll have an intellectual answer that doesn’t involve an Instagram comment or a YouTube meme.

Final Thoughts

These apps are by no means a magic pill. In simpler words, the noise doesn’t disappear completely — life is still life, after all. But these apps help you sort through it all without feeling like you’re drowning.

MeetingLog means you’re not frantically trying to remember what was said in that important call three days ago — it’s all there, organized, timestamped, and clear. Podurama keeps you informed on the current affairs without the anxiety spiral, so you can have meaningful rather than passive conversations where you just nod along. And Accelerated fills in all those life skills gaps, giving you the confidence that comes from actually knowing how to handle whatever comes your way.

In the end, remember that your phone is still going to buzz. Your calendar is still going to be full. But now you have a way to turn all that noise into something useful, something that helps you grow instead of just survive. And honestly? That makes all the difference.


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