Have you ever wondered why you always seem to be waking up during the night at particular times?
And it’s not just an odd night here and there. After a while you begin to realise you’re waking up again and again, the nights of sleeping through a distant memory. You start to look at the clock and find it’s always at the same time – 2:55am or between certain hours like 4am to 5am. You’re not drinking coffee late in the afternoon, you’ve cut down on your much loved sugars and you’re fairly active during the day (incidentally if you are drinking coffee all afternoon and you’re dipping into refined sugars, consider stopping and then see how you sleep!). Sure, life’s a bit stressful but how is it that it’s always 2:55am?!
Those who use Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) would tell you “that’s easy – look at the Chinese Medicine ‘Meridian Clock’”. It’s one of my favourite tools to use in Kinesiology. The great thing about the Meridian Clock is you don’t have to be a Kinesiologist or a practitioner of TCM to understand it or gain insight from it. Here’s a basic explanation to get you started.
What’s your time?
Firstly, have a look at the clock above and find the time you’re waking up. Take note of the name that sits directly beneath it. For example, if you’re waking between 1am and 3am then you would look at the information about the Liver meridian. Don’t worry – it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with your liver, it’s just the way they’re named in English.
14 major meridians – our electrical system
There are 14 major meridians or flows of an energy substance (you may have heard of Qi/Ch’i which sustains life) with 12 of them sitting within the 24 hour clock. All are constantly flowing with energy from your environment and penetrating your body through your skin, central nervous system and organs. These portals on the skin are what acupuncture and acupressure use. Each has a two hour period where they are the primary meridian. Each meridian is linked to particular parts of the body, mechanisms of the body, other meridians, thoughts and emotions, colour, sound, seasons and other spiritual aspects. They’re also partnered together as Yin (receiving energy) and Yang (expressing energy) of an element – Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire.
Think of it like electrical circuits – when the energy of a meridian is not flowing well due to a block (like stress), you’ll find that you’ll experience a sign or symptom from the meridian(s) involved. This block will also cause an imbalance in the flows between meridians. So when waking up in the night at the same time, or becoming exhausted with 3:30-itis in the afternoon, you can look at the meridian at work and what may be happening with you. Here’s a list of the basic emotions of each element (the ring below the meridians).
- Earth – Empathy, sympathy, balanced giving and receiving
- Metal – Grief and loss
- Water – Fear and anxiety
- Wood – Anger, frustration and resentment
- Fire – Love, hate and joy
What now?
Self reflection people! It can be quite simple; you just need to stop and listen. Your body is trying to tell you something by waking you up at the same time. Back to our previous example, if your time is the Liver meridian and the Wood element – ask yourself “What am I angry or frustrated at?” Or think of the Liver organ and apply this to your life “What is toxic in my life that I need to get rid of?” Perhaps you have symptoms that your digestive system is not working so well?
I’ll leave you with this as food for thought. Spend some time to reflect on your life and what’s keeping you awake based on the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I will cover this in more detail in the next post Why You Wake Up At The Same Time Every Night (Part II). If you’re having trouble falling asleep at night, have a read through the Sanctuary of Sleep Series Part One Sleep & Stress: Why You Can’t Fall Asleep
If you’d like to read more about Traditional Chinese Medicine start with ‘The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine’ by Ted Kaptchuk.
This post is the first instalment of a series I’ll be writing on Traditional Chinese Medicine and how you can use it to help you in daily life. Easy!
Why You Wake Up by Kate Pamphilon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
jay says
I had the same problem for last 6 months or so and I was devastated. I love sleeping and not getting enough sleep sours my entire day. The condition is called sleep maintenance insomnia.
I started taking vitamin B and D for unrelated conditions and it fixed my waking up in middle of the night issue.
So if you have this problem, go to your doctor and get your vitamin B and D levels checked.
Nerissa661 says
I’ve been waking up sometime at the hour 5:00 am. It’s kinda wierd. Not mentioning, I usually go to bed between 7:00 pm- 2:00 am. And when I wake up, I always stay awake. It’s actually helpful, cause 5:00 is the time in supposed to get up. Bye bye alarm clock
Karen says
Hello I keep waking up at 1:30am. It has been happening for the past 3 nights. Can you please help me? Any suggestions? Reading material? Videos? Thank you for all you do.
Kimberly says
I’ve been a perpetual insomniac since I was a small child. But recently I’ve been waking up abruptly at 3:45 am when I was waking up at 4:00am I have dealt with grief and the loss of a loved one which I thought I fully dealt and made peace with. But being a bonafide Empath, you can imagine how unnerving it is to unwillingly take on other peoples anxieties and emotions which carry on into the night. I’ve tried melatonin, Benadryl and valerian root….but to no avail. Friends have suggested reading a book whenever I wake up, some suggest counting sheep.” I read somewhere that if someone wakes up between the hours of 3 and 4 that you’re in mourning for someone that has passed on. But then again, I hear that between the hours of 12 and 4 is something called the witching hour. And that’s when the veil between the physical world and the Spirit world is at it’s thinnest which apparently means that you can see or “sense” a Spirit near you. I’m open to that possibility. I hope that my little yarn at least made someone out there not feel so alone. 🙂
Sincerely, Sleepless…..
Pvt Spectre says
I always wake up in 3:30 when I dream I don’t know why? I dream about Zombies and sometimes killers that want to kill my classmates.I warned some of my classmates that I have dreamed being killed.Please help even If I still pray it still happens! I already saw a head on the window when it was 3:30 AM! Also why is 6:00 AM always the safe time for people being attacked by ghost and dreams ?
Gina says
I’m 16, I also have the same problem and no matter what time I go to bed I always wake up at 5 – 5:30 am. This has been almost a week, and i can’t go back to sleep once I wake up. This week was been a pain in the butt. Can anyone help me with this problem?please
lina says
I’m 13 and I’ve been awake at about 3:30am in some days (usually in Friday). This scared me a lot BC people said that if you woke up at 3 you are being watched by ghosts or something.anyways if I try to sleep usually I would get short sleep paralysis, sometimes I hear whispers or dog barkings. And tonight when I woke up at 3, immediately the power shut down even though my mom had already paid for it last week. So I’m kinda starting to believe it might be ghost even though I don’t believe in them. But on the other, all of it could’ve been some coincidence.
Madison says
I keep waking up at 3:30,2:50 or 3:00am and it scares me too because 3:00am is also the witching hour! I am always hearing whispering and sometimes see things! Some people say I just have an overactive imagination but I just don’t feel safe and someone is watching me, people also feel the presents of ghosts so I don’t know what to think please help me!
nolo says
Lately I wake up 00:50 or 55 everyday and I can’t sleep until I wake up at 5:20 plesa help
Nigel says
I wake up every night around 5 am, just a few weeks ago my father in law has died and just yesterday my girlfriend has left me.. so yeah thats pritty accurate grieving…