Getting a full night’s sleep without waking up even once is surprisingly uncommon. However, it’s essential if you want to stay completely productive the next day without feeling drained.
A lot of people assume that just going to bed at the right time guarantees restful sleep, but they often find themselves waking up—typically between 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM. For some, this isn’t a big deal, but for others, it can be frustrating, especially if falling back asleep proves difficult.
Interestingly, this pattern isn’t just random or bad luck. There’s actually a deeper reason behind it.
The “Hour of the Wolf”
The time frame between 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM is sometimes referred to as the “hour of the wolf,” a term popularized by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman in his psychological horror film of the same name.
“The hour between night and dawn … when most people die, sleep is deepest, nightmares are most real. It is the hour when the sleepless are haunted by their worst anguish, when ghosts and demons are most powerful. The hour of the wolf is also the hour when most babies are born,” Bergman once explained.
