Middle-of-the-night insomnia

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Other namesSleep maintenance insomnia, Nocturnal awakenings, Middle of the night awakenings, and Middle insomnia.
SpecialtySleep medicine

Middle-of-the-night insomnia (MOTN) is characterized by having difficulty returning to sleep after waking up during the night or very early in the morning. This kind of insomnia (sleeplessness) is different from initial or sleep-onset insomnia, which consists of having difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of sleep.

The disrupted sleep patterns caused by middle-of-the-night insomnia make many sufferers of the condition complain of fatigue the following day. Excessive daytime sleepiness is reported nearly two times higher by individuals with nocturnal awakenings than by people who sleep through the night.[1]

Sleep research conducted in the 1990s showed that such waking up during the night may be a natural sleep pattern, rather than a form of insomnia.[2] If interrupted sleep (called "biphasic sleeping" or "bimodal sleep") is perceived as normal and not referred to as "insomnia", less distress is caused and a return to sleep usually occurs after about one hour.[3]

  1. ^ Ohayon MM (2008). "Nocturnal awakenings and comorbid disorders in the American general population". Journal of Psychiatric Research. 43 (1): 48–54. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2008.02.001. PMID 18374943.
  2. ^ Wolchover N (16 February 2011). "Busting the 8-Hour Sleep Myth: Why You Should Wake Up in the Night". Live Science. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  3. ^ Hegarty S (2012-02-22). "The myth of the eight-hour sleep". BBC News.