What are the symptoms of a broken sleep schedule? 'When we wake consistently at a certain time during the week for work or school then we sleep in hours later on the weekends, that will throw off our natural rhythm,' explains DeBear. 'Most of the issues that we have with our sleep schedule are a direct result of a 'mismatch' between the conditions under which our sleep system evolved and the conditions in which those of us in industrialized societies find ourselves such as noisy cars in the street or sirens in the distance,' she says.Īnother cause of fragmented sleep is going to bed or waking up at inconsistent times. Jaime Tartar, PhD, a professor of neuroscience at Nova Southeastern University and sleep expert for the National Academy of Sports Medicine, says that other factors that contribute to fragmented sleep include health issues or conditions such as sleep apnea, waking from anxiety, drinking caffeine too close to bedtime or a noisy neighborhood.

'Waking between sleep cycles is common for all of us at any age, but the hope is that our sleep environment and our own ability to get back to sleep allow for a smooth transition between sleep stages so we don’t fully wake causing that fragmented, broken sleep,' says Aubrie DeBear, PsyD, a practicing sleep consultant in San Diego and co-founder of Baby Sleep Dr. What causes a broken sleep schedule?īroken sleep schedules are caused by many factors, including sleeping in a room where the temperature is too hot or too cold, slumbering next to a restless or snoring sleep partner, travel plans, napping too much during the day or sleep interruptions such as a newborn crying or children waking a parent up at night. But other individuals are simply afflicted with a broken, sometimes called fragmented, sleep routine that affects the quality of their sleep and how they feel the next day. Some people have issues to blame like sleep apnea, sleep paralysis that hits when they wake up or poor sleep hygiene. For others, time spent in one's bed each night is less relaxing and rejuvenating – often spent tossing and turning or waking in the middle of the night. For many, that time is spent in restful slumber – the chance to have one's energy restored while development, growth and healing occur. The average person spends about a third of their life in bed.

Snooze hours