We’ve all been there. You wake up in the middle of the night (or an early morning where you’ve planned to sleep in) and you simply can not fall back asleep. It’s the worst, eh? Here are a few things that you can do to help you the next time you experience this bull shit.
Keep away from your phone
In the age we live in, when people wake up in the middle of the night, they reach for their phone to check the time. A lot of people don’t even have a clock on their nightstand anymore. Is this contributing to keeping you awake? It’s not just about being distracted, according to W. Christopher Winter, director of the Martha Jefferson Sleep Medicine Center who says that it is the blue light that comes from the phone itself that will disrupt your sleep.
“Electronic devices emit light that can keep you up—especially the ones you hold close to your face, like a mobile device.”
Avoid the clock
Having your mind focused on the clock will create a whirlwind of annoyances for you. You start doing math in your head trying to figure out how much longer you have to sleep, which only causes more stress, and ultimately leaves you wide awake. Neurologist Brian Murray says that
“The problems occur when people’s minds start to race and they start to worry about things. Looking at the clock will make people feel anxious about not falling back to sleep. That causes the body to release fight-or-flight hormones, which interfere with the sleep onset process.”
Don’t be afraid to get up
If you’ve been tossing and turning for the last 20 minutes and you start to feel that you might be fucked and have to give up on the fight, try getting up. No, I don’t mean get up and start your day- get up and do a couple small things and then hop back into bed. It might be enough to cause you to doze right off. James Findley, Ph.D., clinical director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the University of Pennsylvania, says that “stretching, light reading, or a puzzle” might just do the trick.
Focus on breathing
When your body is tense, it’s tough to relax and fall back asleep. This can be combated relatively easily through a few breathing exercises. Erich P. Voigt of New York University recommends repeating a word or phrase such as “just breathe” to yourself as you breathe in and out rhythmically and deeply. This is a way to lull your mind into a state of relaxation and ultimately cause you to pass right out.
Think about what relaxes you
Ilene M. Rosen, a sleep expert, says that a great way to fall back asleep at night is to focus on the things that relax you. Shalini Paruthi, another sleep expert, says that she focuses back on a favourite memory of hers.
“I can feel the Sun’s warmth on my skin, I can hear the ocean waves. I can smell the saltiness of the sea.”
According to these experts, keeping your mind focused on the things that relax you is a great way to keep you from thinking about things like having to wake up in a few hours, dealing with the stress of the day, and whatever else contributes to keeping you up at night.
So, the next time you find yourself in a situation where you can’t fall back sleep, try one of these methods!
