According to him, it wasn’t just a matter of waking up briefly during the night. There were nights when sleep never came at all, and he would lie awake until morning. “It felt like torture,” he said.
Dr. Berg went on to highlight why waking up between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. can be so disruptive, pointing to how the body’s internal clock is supposed to function.
Under normal conditions, cortisol levels are at their lowest around 2 a.m. and gradually rise to peak near 8 a.m. In his situation, that rhythm had flipped, leaving him wide awake at night and drained by morning. He also warned that chronic lack of sleep is associated with serious long-term health risks, including heart disease, dementia, and diabetes.
Despite magnesium deficiency, Dr. Berg explained that other causes that disrupt sleep could be low blood sugar, which also triggers cortisol levels to go up. This is especially true for people who consume a lot of carbs. When blood sugar drops during sleep, the body may increase cortisol to stabilize it.
He recommends keeping track of what you consumed the day before, since things like refined carbs, MSG, alcohol, late meals, and constant snacking can disrupt sleep.