Why Writers Wake Up in the Middle of the Night…and How to Stop

When you wake up in the middle of the night, do you have trouble going back to sleep?

If this happens now and then, it’s no big deal. But if it starts happening frequently, your health may suffer.

There’s an actual name for it: middle-of-the-night insomnia. Or middle insomnia.

Cute, right? (Where was the writer on that one?)

You fall asleep just fine, but a few hours later, you wake up and have a hard time going back to sleep. You watch the clock go around until you finally have to get up, feeling groggy and grumpy.

What causes this to happen, and what can you do to stop it so you can get the sleep you need to write well?

Chronic Waking Up In the Middle of the Night

Waking up in the middle of the night isn’t uncommon. In one study of people living in Texas, New York, and California, a little over a third (35.5 percent) of respondents reported middle-of-the-night awakenings at least three times a week.

Sleep experts say this is normal. As long as you can go back to sleep, you’re fine.

But 43 percent of those who woke up reported having difficulty going back to sleep. This is where the danger creeps in.

If you can go back to sleep, you can still get the deep sleep that you need to stay healthy and creative. If you can’t, however, and the problem becomes chronic, it can cause other health issues.

You could struggle with daytime sleepiness and other issues like brain fog, irritability, a greater risk of accidents, memory issues, and even depression.

If the problem continues for months or years, it can increase your risk of other issues like high blood pressure, weight gain, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more.

So if this is something that’s plaguing you, it’s important to try to put an end to it.

What Causes Writers to Wake Up in the Middle of the Night?

There are several reasons why you may be waking up in the middle of the night. Some are medical, so it’s always best to check with your doctor. You could have undiagnosed sleep apnea, for instance, or you may be suffering from chronic pain or a mental health disorder like depression.

Digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), urinary issues, and certain medications may also be to blame. Hormonal issues—like menopause or an overactive thyroid—are well known to disrupt sleep.  Seek professional help for these types of issues.

But if none of these seem to be the problem and you’re a writer, one of the following is likely to be contributing to the problem:

Stress Waking

Stress and anxiety are common reasons why writers may wake up in the middle of the night. We have a lot of reasons to be stressed. Life itself is often stressful on its own. Then we add writing deadlines, plot problems, book launches, and more on top of it.

Caffeine and Alcohol

If you’re using caffeine and alcohol to inspire your writing—and you’re doing it within four hours (more if you’re sensitive) of your bedtime—they could be causing you to wake up in the middle of the night. Caffeine increases arousal at night. And while alcohol may help you fall asleep, it disturbs sleep in the second half of the night.

Light Exposure

If you’re working on your phone or your computer within one hour of sleep, you could be messing with melatonin, your body’s natural sleep hormone. A 2017 sleep study found that exposure to short-wavelength light—such as what you get from your devices—disrupted sleep continuity.

Nighttime Snacking

We writers love to snack while we’re writing. But eating too close to bedtime can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.

In a 2021 study, researchers found that eating less than an hour before bedtime increased the odds of waking up later on. Going for longer periods between eating and going to bed decreased the chances that participants would wake up in the middle of the night.

Researchers aren’t sure why this happens. They do know that eating can lower your arousal threshold, meaning that things that might not normally wake you up (a noise outside) will wake you up.

You’re Hungry

On the other hand, going too long before bed without eating can cause you to wake up because you’re hungry!

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)

This is common in writers because we sit (and stand) so much at our computers. We can wake up with our legs aching, throbbing, or otherwise causing us to want to move them. Women are more at risk for RLS, as are those with a family history of the syndrome.

Getting Older

Nighttime awakenings seem to be part of the aging process. According to a 2018 study, sleep patterns change with aging. People are likely to have shorter sleep durations at night, take more naps during the day, and wake up in the middle of the night more often than they did when they were younger.

Part of this is because the circadian system—the internal “body clock”—becomes less efficient as we age. The amount of sleep-related hormones we produce can change as well.

Common Tips to Help Prevent Waking Up in the Middle of the Night

Chronic waking is not only bad for your health, it can cause you to feel stressed out and anxious. If you feel too tired to write or if your brain fog interferes with your usual creativity, it can negatively affect your writing too.

To sleep better at night, start with good sleep hygiene. That means:

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends. (This is one of the most important tips!)
• Have a comfortable, quality mattress. (Those that are 5-8 years or older may need to be replaced.)
• Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
• Banish technology—including TVs, phones, tablets, and computers—from the bedroom.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol at least four hours before bed.
• Avoid large meals before bed. If you need a snack, try to keep it under 100 calories.
• Have a regular before-bed routine that includes turning down the lights and doing something relaxing for at least 30 minutes before you crawl under the covers.

These are common tips meant to help anyone get a better night’s sleep. But what if you’re doing all this and you’re still waking up all the time?

8 Tips to Help Writers Fall Asleep Again

If you’ve done everything you’re supposed to do and you’re still waking up, try these eight tips to fall asleep again.

1. Write it Down

If your brain goes instantly to your story and starts figuring out plot points, write down everything you’re thinking. Have a notebook and pen by your bed for this purpose. Get it all down, then see if your brain will let you go to sleep.

2. Play A Word Game

If your story isn’t bothering you, try a word game. For each letter of the alphabet, come up with a word, then spell it forward and backward before going on to the next letter.

This type of mental game can distract you enough to allow you to go back to sleep without being so distracting (we hope) that it wakes you up more.

3. Read a Boring Book

Have one by your bedside specifically for this purpose! It could be one that you think you “should” read but you don’t enjoy reading. If you’ve been awake for 15 minutes or more, get out of bed to read this riveting book. When you feel tired again, go back to bed and see if you can drift off to sleep.

4. Increase Your Dopamine

If you have RLS, ask your doctor about medications. Some of these help increase dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that’s involved in muscle movements, among other things. Increasing levels may help reduce symptoms of RLS.

Also, consider taking vitamin D supplements. If you are deficient in the vitamin, that could contribute to your RLS. Magnesium is another helpful nutrient for this condition.

Natural supplements that increase dopamine include L-tyrosine and mucuna pruriens, an herbal supplement. Always check with your doctor before adding supplements to your diet.

Finally, consider stretching within an hour of going to bed. Some basic stretching exercises or a yoga routine might do the trick.

5. Hide the Clocks

Doctors say that if you watch the hours pass on your clock, it can increase your anxiety about missing your sleep. Instead, set your alarm if you have to, then put the clock somewhere you can’t see it.

6. Work a Puzzle

Keep a jigsaw puzzle somewhere you can access it in the middle of the night. If you wake up and can’t go back to sleep, get up and work the puzzle until you feel tired again.

7. Listen to Soothing Music

Research shows that music affects the parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging your body to relax. You can try listening to a sleepcast—they work for some people.

The problem is that you have to turn on your gadget (phone, tablet, computer) to do that. It’s better to leave your gadgets off.

Instead, keep a music player that doesn’t require an Internet connection or have a bright light in your room. When you can’t sleep, put on a series of relaxing pieces that will help you drift off.

8. Try Natural Sleep-Inducing Supplements

Over-the-counter herbs and supplements can be effective in helping you sleep through the night. Good options include chamomile, lavender, valerian, passionflower, kava, glycine, and ginseng.

You may also want to try 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), as it is the precursor of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Beware that it can cause mild digestive upset. I tried it and it affected me this way, so I had to cross it off my list, but it may work for you.

Always check with your doctor first, particularly if you are taking medications.

9. Try an Antihistamine

Many of today’s most common over-the-counter sleep aids are actually antihistamines—the same drugs you take to control hay fever and other allergy symptoms. Nyquil, for instance, packages the same medication used in Benadryl into a sleep-aid solution.

I tried this one and it worked pretty well. It helped me feel drowsy and I didn’t feel tired the next day.

You do need to be careful not to use this one too often though. Research has found a connection between drugs like Benadryl and dementia risk. That’s only if you take them regularly long-term, though, so short-term and occasional use is best.

10. Shake It Up and Go Somewhere

I’ve found in my own life that these periods of middle-of-the-night insomnia are often connected to some sort of stress in my life. And it’s not always easy to see it at the time.

Maybe you don’t realize you’re under as much stress as you are. It could be more of an undercurrent of stress that you’ve grown accustomed to, so it doesn’t occur to you that stress could be the issue.

One thing that works for me—to both open my eyes to the problem and find ways to solve it—is to get away for a few days. Go somewhere relaxing so you have a chance to look back at your life from a different perspective.

Don’t be surprised if after a couple of days you wake up and say, “You know, I feel so much better! I didn’t realize how much X was bothering me.”

Once you know what’s going on, you can find a way to solve the problem so you can get back to sleeping regularly.

Bonus Tip for Writers Who Wake Up in the Middle of the Night

One more tip: Banish the dog and/or cat from the bedroom. Sleep experts say that if you sleep with your pets, they could be causing you to wake up in the middle of the night.

Yes, writers love their pets. But if they critters are messing with your sleep, put them in their own room with their own beds and see if your sleep doesn’t improve.

(Find more sleeping tips for writers here!)