It's probably happened to you thousands of times over the course of your life.

With a sudden jolt, you're wide awake. You open your eyes and feel a little disoriented. It's still dark.

You wonder, "how long have I been asleep?" You turn over and check your clock only to find that you have awoken at exactly the wrong time.

It can be annoying, especially if you're wide awake, unable to return to sleep.

But when you stop and think about it, there might be a good reason for why you're suddenly waking up in the middle of the night.

The time of the night that you wake up actually has a great deal of meaning when you dive in and begin to understand it.

According to feng shui, an ancient Chinese practice, different hours of the night are associated with different aspects of your body and your mind.

Let's break down what each time of the night means for you.

If you wake between 9pm and 11pm

It's hands down the most annoying time to wake up.

You probably haven't been asleep for very long and now you have to start all over again with trying to fall back asleep.

But there may be something deeper happening that you're not quite realizing. If you're waking up between 9 and 11pm, it could be an issue with your thyroid.

During this time of sleep, your body's homeostasis is being rebalanced.

This is an average time that most people try to fall asleep. This is the time that our endocrine system rebalances and enzymes are replenished.

The endocrine system manages hormones and metabolism. If you have trouble falling asleep at this time, you could be stuck in a flight or fight mode.

You are still mentally stuck in the events of the day or already preparing for tomorrow's challenges.

Repeat positive mantras, and release the formations causing you tension.

So if you're having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, it may mean that your body, and specifically your thyroid, is having trouble restoring your body's balance in preparation for a good night's sleep.

If this is an issue, consider avoiding gluten for a short period of time and consume cruciferous vegetables raw if possible.

If you wake between 11pm and 1am

It could mean a few different things.

It's not uncommon for the body to jolt awake around this time if you've had caffeine a little too late in the day or had a few too many beers after dinner.

But there could be something else going on in your body causing you to wake up during this time.

Around this time of the night, your gall bladder is hard at work making sure your body is ready to digest the next day's food.

Something could be irritating your gall bladder if you're waking up around this time, especially if your stomach is a little upset as well.

If you wake often at this time it may be due to resentments you carry. This is the time in the 24 hour cycle that yin energy is turned into yang.

Yang energy is highly active, and your body is supposed to be storing this energy for the next day.

Reinforce self love and appreciation, doing your best to stay calm and conserve energy.

This is physically when the gallbladder is breaking down fats. You maybe are getting too much unhealthy fats or oils.

You may want to lay off fatty foods, high fat meats, butter, creamy foods, and chocolate before bed, or in general, if you're waking up between 11pm and 1am.

If you wake between 1am and 3am

The cause could be rooted in your emotions or your body. Usually during this time, you've had one to two full sleep cycles.

If your dreams have been harsh, like dreams of reliving painful experiences that have happened to you, it's not uncommon for the body to wake to give you time to process what you've been dwelling on.

But the issue could be internal as well.

The liver is always at work detoxing your blood and making up for some of your dietary mistakes.

If waste isn't being eliminated properly, you could find yourself waking around this time due to the strain put on your liver.

This is a crucial time for the body's detoxification and renewal process. Your liver is breaking down toxins and releasing toxins, while making fresh blood.

Waking during this time is normally indicative of anger, frustration and negative formations.

If you are not addressing these spiritual toxins, then your spiritual 'liver' is trying to call attention to these problems.

If you're concerned about your liver health, obviously go see a doctor.

But in the meantime, you can eat foods like leafy vegetables, avocados, citrus fruits, and garlic to maintain good liver health.

If you wake between 3am and 5am

Your issue could be physical or perhaps even spiritual. This period of the night is often called "the witching hour."

In the olden days, women caught out and about during this period of time were sometimes punished under the belief that they were performing witchcraft, thus the name of the hour.

From 3am and 5am, most people are asleep, which puts them in a state of greater spiritual openness.

Because of this, energies from the other side can start to creep into our world.

If you find yourself waking during the witching hour, it could be that someone who has passed on is trying to reach you.

This is the time that your lungs are under repair and flooding your body with oxygen.

Make sure that you are warm enough to help facilitate bodily functions.

If you wake during this time then try breath exercises.

Problems with the lungs are often related to grief and sadness.

The best way to fall back asleep during this hour is by shutting your eyes and spending time in meditation.

Messages that spirits are trying to communicate to you might reach you, and if anything, deep breathing and mind-clearing can help you drift peacefully back to sleep.

If you wake between 5am and 7am

it could be that you're unusually stressed out, anxious, or feeling guilty.

When there's a lot on your plate, your mind may naturally try to wake you up extra early so you can get a jump on dealing with all the things you have to do during the day.

It could also be related to anxiety, where the mind has been preoccupied on the things that make you anxious all night and it can't tolerate it anymore.

Thus, waking you up gives you the opportunity to work through and deal with these things.

Any toxins released and broken down earlier in the night are getting cleared out of the system.

The large intestine is active during this time. Eating a poor diet or too late can lead to problems that will wake you at this time.

If you wake up during this time, I strongly advise that you not try to go back to sleep but instead to let yourself wake up.

Take these early early morning hours to do some yoga, to meditate, to drink some tea or coffee and make yourself a very healthy breakfast with plenty of vegetables and protein.

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