Why We Wake Up At Night and How Mindfulness Helps Us Sleep Again

There are lots of reasons why wake up at night and might be losing sleep. Angela Stubbs explains what’s happening, and how mindfulness can help us ease back into better rest.

December 19, 2025

You’re awake, and the time on your nightstand shows 3:33 a.m. There’s no reason to be awake, but your mind has other ideas. Some nights it could be an overactive mind; other times, you’re fighting a hot flash or the urge to scroll on your phone, hoping to fall back asleep.

Regardless of what’s calling to you in the middle of the night, the message you really need to hear: You’re not alone.

Nearly 18% of U.S. adults report trouble staying asleep, and 30–50% experience insomnia symptoms, including difficulty falling or staying asleep. And yet, our initial response to waking in the middle of the night tends to lean toward frustration or anger rather than curiosity.

Dr. Jessica Shepherd asks her readers to be curious about the patterns and symptoms we experience around wakefulness instead of moving towards "fixing" our sleep problem.

What would happen if we chose to investigate our feelings around wakefulness with self-compassion and mindfulness, instead of pushing against our own discomfort with what’s unwanted? Understanding more about why we wake up at night can help.

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