Put the phone aside. Harvard research shows that blue light from electronics disrupts sleep, so avoid checking email or Facebook when you wake up at night. Nadine Hemens, a middle-school associate principal, suggests this if you can't avoid screen usage before bed or around 3 a.m.
"Middle of the night insomnia is a big one for me, and I used to make it way worse by checking email," adds. I tell myself things can wait and listen to a meditation app on my phone. I often fall asleep unknowingly."
Make your bedroom a dark, peaceful retreat. A busy mind, anxiety, or emotional anguish can trigger middle-of-the-night insomnia. We cycle through sleep at night. We wake up briefly during each cycle but don't remember and fall back asleep.
"If you're stressed, those wake-ups can become full awakenings and your mind gets busy," says Family Sleep Institute certified sleep expert Rachel Ross. Ross suggests darkening and relaxing your bedroom if you frequently wake up at night.
one-how-to-fall-back-asleep You're right if waking up in the middle of the night feels like your brain is acting strangely. The National Sleep Foundation defines insomnia as the brain's inability to fall asleep.
How to fall asleep again? Ross advises doing something soothing instead of lying there. Practice deep breathing, relaxation, or peaceful music. Put a white noise machine on your side of the bed if your companion snores
Try progressive muscular relaxation. The NSF recommends relaxing your body to calm your brain and lessen stress. Not sure how? Try gradual muscular relaxation: Work one muscle group at a time, from feet to head.
Slowly release your muscles after tensing them for five. Breathe deeply while contracting one extremity at a time. Pay specific attention to stress-prone areas like your jaw and neck. The 4-7-8 breathing technique involves inhaling for four, holding for seven, and exhaling for eight.
Make yourself tired If you can't go asleep for 20 minutes or more, try reciting childhood poems, the multiplication times table, or your favorite movie moments.
Even sing to yourself in your head, says the NSF. The logic behind this is similar to counting sheep. Repeating calms your brain and helps you go asleep. Some applications and podcasts give silly or dull bedtime stories.