Dr Amir Khan shares why you 'keep waking up at 3am'

Dr Amir Khan shares why you 'keep waking up at 3am'Dr Amir has explained the common reason many people keep waking up at 3amCommentsNewsFiona Callingham Lifestyle writer13:35, 14 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesDr Amir explained why you might be waking up at 3am every night(Image: Getty)A doctor has shed light on why you "keep waking up at 3am". He suggested that elevated stress levels could be to blame.‌Stirring at various points during the night is fairly common, often caused by noise or the need to use the toilet. But if it's happening on a regular basis, it could be an indicator of something more serious.‌On an episode of his No Appointment Necessary podcast, Doctor Amir Khan explained more. Dr Amir, widely recognised for his appearances on ITV, revealed that persistent waking could be down to high levels of cortisol – a hormone released when your body is under stress.‌He said: "Cortisol has a what we call a diurnal variation, which means it ebbs and flows through the day and you get higher parts of it in the in the morning and daytime and then it starts to drop off at night.Content cannot be displayed without consent"But if you are constantly stressed, you are not getting that drop off of cortisol, which you need to help you sleep. So getting off to sleep becomes really, really difficult."‌This can lead to waking up at 3am or 4am every night. He said: "Your cortisol level starts to rise around 3/4am and then it starts to wake you up a bit later on."But if you've got a baseline cortisol that is already high and it starts to rise naturally at 3/4am, you're going to get up at 3/4am because it's not a natural rise anymore. You've already started at a much higher level."That 3am waking is so common, right? It's so common. And there just isn't that recovery anymore." The NHS highlights on its website how stress can trigger the release of cortisol in the body. It states: "Stress is usu...