What are the possible reasons for 'waking up' in the evening?

[Diwi9]

I use an app on my Mac called f.lux that blocks out the blue light at all times

I use nOverlay...I'm going to check out f.lux. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Alvin2]

I use an app on my Mac called f.lux that blocks out the blue light at all times

I have it, works ok, but even at 1200K its not as good as the glasses, but it also costs a lot less and has a slow ramping down at sunset feature.

In case anyone is interested these are the glasses i have
https://lowbluelights.com/

some more information here
http://www.consumerreports.org/eyeglass-stores/3-blue-blockers-put-to-the-test/

and of course worth googling blue light and circadian rhythm for more information

 

[Kenny Banya]

Morningness or eveningness are circadian traits which are genetic

That definitely has nothing to do with me. ME clearly made it atrocious in the morning, when it was fine prior.

 

[Kenny Banya]

I use an app on my Mac called f.lux that blocks out the blue light at all times

The latest version of MacOS has the feature built in now, as well as iOS

 

[Crux]

I don't know if I'll ever figure out my sleep disturbances, but one reason seems to be increased norepinephrine (NE).

The easiest cause is if I have too much caffeine. Sometimes it will delay sleep, but not always. I'll wake up at 2:00 - 3:00 a.m., with a struggle to fall back if at all.

This also happens with infection/inflammation, which can raise NE. An odd aspect of NE is that some microbes use it for growth.

When I'm treating an infection, or, if I'm chelating metals, I will have disturbed sleep from what I would describe as a release of endotoxin.

Increase in inflammatory cytokines may also be involved :
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3548567/

 

[boombachi]

What always amazes me is how I can wake up sometimes at 4am feeling fidgety and alert but after falling back to sleep for a couple more hours, wake up foggy headed with a duvet that feels as heavy as concrete.

I also perk up in the evening at about 6pm as long as I haven't been doing much during the day. Otherwise I am pinned to the sofa by 6pm.

I have no clue about what might be going on biologically but these things give me hope that our bodies are not beyond repair.

 

[Basilico]

Some of us have reverse cortisol curves--low in the morning, high in the evening. It can be tested with 4 cortisol tests during the day.

My husband has a reverse cortisol pattern, and he is generally tired/low energy during the day and 'wakes up' in the evening. However, he's been like this his whole life, ever since childhood he was a night owl. He also has ADD, so I think for him a big part of the puzzle is neurotransmitters. I don't know for sure, but I think it's possible he has a tendency to have too much glutamate that doesn't get converted into GABA properly, and results in some exitotoxicity.

In addition to a dysregulated cortisol pattern, I think an impaired GABA/glutamate cycle could also be a cause for waking up at night.

 

[caledonia]

I use an app on my Mac called f.lux that blocks out the blue light at all times

Yes, I have f.lux installed, but it doesn't do much for me. I do like to watch it change from blue to amber though

 

[Alvin2]

That definitely has nothing to do with me. ME clearly made it atrocious in the morning, when it was fine prior.

Its a possible reason, not the only possible one

 

[IreneF]

I've always been a night owl but it's gotten much worse. Lately I've been helped by taking 1 mg of melatonin 1-2 hours before bedtime. Neither caffeine nor blue light seem to affect me.