Waking up at night is the biggest barrier to a good night's sleep for over 1,700 Tom's Guide readers — an insomnia expert explains how to stop it

In a recent Tom's Guide sleep poll, over 1,700 readers revealed that waking up at night is their biggest hurdle to achieving a good night's rest. This issue surpassed other common sleep challenges like snoring, difficulty falling asleep, and overheating. To shed light on this widespread problem, Tom's Guide spoke with Dr. Saema Tahir, a sleep and pulmonary specialist, to understand the effects of nighttime wake-ups, ways to address them, and how to get back to sleep if it occurs.

According to the poll, 69% of respondents, or more than 1,700 readers, indicated that nighttime wake-ups were their primary barrier to good sleep. In contrast, 17% struggled with falling asleep, 6% had trouble sleeping due to overheating, and 4% cited snoring as an issue. Dr. Tahir, a quadruple board-certified sleep specialist, confirmed that nighttime wake-ups are a common complaint among her patients as well, being the number one issue she encounters.

While occasional brief awakenings during the night are normal, occurring as people cycle through sleep stages, the problem arises when these wake-ups interfere with the ability to fall back asleep. This can lead to a lack of sufficient sleep, missing out on deep sleep and REM sleep, which are crucial for physical repair, memory consolidation, and emotional regulation.

The consequences of poor sleep can extend beyond the morning, affecting irritability, brain fog, fatigue, impaired decision-making, and even long-term health risks such as increased calorie intake and higher likelihood of developing diabetes or heart disease.