From the stresses of daily life to too much caffeine, there are several reasons why so many of us wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to fall back to sleep. While there are a variety of strategies you can try to fall back to sleep—from deep breathing to white noise—according to the Sleep Foundation, there are also certain activities not to do if your goal is to get back to sleep as quickly as possible. So the next time you find yourself awake in the pre-dawn hours, be sure to avoid the following.
Watching the clock. Studies suggest that clock-watching, which involves closely monitoring what time it is, can make falling asleep more difficult for people with insomnia. While clock-watching, a person might become frustrated that they have not fallen asleep yet, which can increase stress and make sleep even less likely. To prevent yourself from going down this rabbit hole, leave your watch and your phone on the other side of the room before you turn in for the night.
Turning on lights or looking at devices. Although you might feel tempted to reach for your smartphone, e-reader or the lamp on your nightstand after waking up during the night, try to resist. Light exposure stops the production of melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. The blue light of your mobile device and tablet will do even more harm, signaling your brain to stay awake.
Staying in bed too long. If you wake up during the night and cannot fall back asleep, experts recommend getting out of bed after 15 to 30 minutes. To help your brain associate your bed with sleeping rather than with being awake, you want to avoid lying awake in bed for too long. Instead, do something relaxing elsewhere, like meditating or reading a book. Then, come back to bed when you feel tired.
Overthink things. When we awake in the middle of the night, it’s not uncommon to start worrying about the fact that you’re not sleeping and the impact it will have on the activities you have planned for the next day. This type of ruminating, however, will further inhibit your ability to fall back to sleep, compounding the issue even further. So before you spin into a panic about not sleeping, remind yourself that all is ok and distract your thoughts by listening to calming music, focusing on deep breathing or visualizing a relaxing place.
