Sleep
Why do I wake at 3am?
Quick answer
Waking in the early hours and struggling to drop back off is common. It’s often linked with stress, alcohol, a dip in hormones, or a night sweat — and tracking what surrounds it usually reveals the trigger.
Cortisol naturally begins to rise in the second half of the night, so anything that adds to it — a stressful period, late alcohol, or hormonal fluctuation in perimenopause — can tip you into waking. In perimenopause, a night sweat can wake you without you fully realising why.
Noticing the time you wake, what you ate and drank in the evening, your stress that day, and where you are in your cycle helps separate a one-off from a pattern.
When to get support
If early waking is frequent, leaving you exhausted, or paired with low mood, talk to a GP — sleep and mood are closely linked and both can be helped.