Ashwin Lewis
Sleep is essential for health, and deep sleep is critical for feeling rested and staying healthy. However, falling and staying asleep can be challenging, with one in five Americans experiencing sleep maintenance insomnia. If you can't sleep, should you just give up and get up? While it's important to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, there are strategies to help you fall back asleep without causing further disruption to your sleep patterns and energy levels.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What to do when you can't sleep | Get up after 20 minutes and sit in a comfortable chair in another room. Read a book with enough light to see the print comfortably. |
| Avoid stressful activities like working or paying bills. | |
| Turn your alarm clock to face the wall and avoid checking the time on your smartphone. | |
| Make sure your bedroom is cool, dark, and your bedding is comfortable. | |
| Try progressive muscle relaxation. | |
| Don't sleep in, nap, or go to bed early the next night. | |
| Establish a sleep schedule and bedtime routine. | |
| Move your alarm clock away from your bed. | |
| Adjust your diet and avoid ultra-processed foods and foods high in added sugar. | |
| Try a sleep reset or stimulus control. | |
| Do something relaxing in a different room until you feel sleepy. | |
| Try cognitive and behavioral techniques before considering medication. | |
| Try meditation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or biofeedback. |
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What You'll Learn
Sleep maintenance insomnia
While there isn't a single primary cause of sleep maintenance insomnia, several factors can increase the risk of developing this condition. Age is one factor, as the amount of time spent in deep sleep tends to decrease as people get older. This change can affect the circadian rhythm or sleep-wake cycle, leading to nocturnal awakenings. Additionally, women are more prone to all forms of insomnia, especially during hormonal changes like menopause. Other factors include stress, depression, and health problems.
To manage sleep maintenance insomnia, several strategies can be employed:
- Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT-i, a specialised form of CBT, is considered the gold standard of treatment for insomnia. It combines sleep education and therapy techniques to identify and address thoughts, habits, and behaviours that contribute to poor sleep.
- Sleep Hygiene: Maintaining good sleep habits and a sleep-friendly environment is crucial. This includes keeping a regular sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol before bedtime, and ensuring your bedroom is cool, quiet, and dark.
- Relaxation Techniques: Practising relaxation techniques, such as progressive muscle relaxation, can help reduce stress and improve sleep quality.
- Medication: In some cases, doctors may recommend medication to treat sleep maintenance insomnia. However, it is generally advised to try cognitive and behavioural techniques before considering medication.
It is important to note that if you are experiencing ongoing sleep problems or unusual daytime sleepiness, you should consult a healthcare professional to determine the underlying causes and receive personalised advice and treatment options.
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Relaxation techniques
If you can't sleep, it's recommended to get up after about 15 to 20 minutes and sit in a comfortable chair in another room. Distract yourself by reading a book or listening to quiet music or an audiobook. Ensure your room is quiet, dark, and comfortably cool, and that your bedding is adjusted so you don't feel too warm or chilly.
Breathing exercises
Deep breathing exercises can help calm your body and mind. You can find many guided exercises on YouTube and relaxation apps, sometimes combined with progressive muscle relaxation. Set a goal to practice this exercise for five to ten minutes, but feel free to continue until you fall asleep.
Visualisation exercises
These techniques use mental images to create a sense of well-being in the body, reducing stress and helping you fall asleep. One such technique is the body scan, where you bring your attention to different parts of the body, noticing any sensations or tension and visualising it leaving your body through your breath.
NSDR (Controlled Relaxation)
This technique involves getting comfortable and lying in bed with your eyes closed, focusing on your body, and thinking about your muscles relaxing. Inhale through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth, imagining yourself sinking deeper into the surface. Stay focused and avoid letting your mind wander.
Progressive muscle relaxation
This technique involves working your way through the different muscle groups in your body, noticing any sensations or tension and relaxing them.
Paradoxical intention (PI)
This technique involves intentionally staying awake in bed to help overcome the fear and conscious effort of falling asleep.
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Sleep schedule
Sleep is essential for health, and deep sleep is critical for feeling rested and staying healthy. Establishing a sleep schedule and bedtime routine are practices that can help you sleep better and wake up more easily in the morning. Here are some tips to optimize your sleep schedule:
- Maintain a consistent sleep schedule: Stick to a consistent sleep schedule, even on your days off. This helps your body develop a natural rhythm, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up at the same time each day.
- Avoid napping during the day: Refrain from taking naps, as they can disrupt your nighttime sleep. If you must nap, aim for 20–30 minutes and avoid napping too close to bedtime.
- Go to bed when you're sleepy: Instead of forcing yourself to sleep at a specific time, listen to your body and go to bed when you feel sleepy. This may involve adjusting your bedtime to match your natural sleep pattern.
- Practice sleep hygiene: Sleep hygiene refers to habits that promote healthy sleep. This includes making your bedroom sleep-friendly (cool, dark, and comfortable), avoiding screens and blue light before bed, and establishing a relaxing bedtime routine.
- Manage stress and worry: Difficulty staying asleep can lead to worry about not getting enough sleep, creating a vicious cycle. Manage stress and worry through relaxation techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or biofeedback.
- Seek professional guidance: If you have ongoing sleep problems or suspect an underlying condition, consider seeking professional help. A healthcare provider or sleep specialist can offer guidance, diagnose any sleep disorders, and provide treatment options.
Remember, it's important to prioritize sleep and maintain a consistent sleep schedule that works for your body. By practicing good sleep hygiene and managing stress, you can improve your sleep quality and overall well-being.
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Sleep environment
Sleep is essential for health, and a good sleep environment can promote better sleep quality. Here are some tips to create an optimal sleep environment:
Keep the room cool, dark, and comfortable: Maintain a comfortable temperature in your bedroom. Ensure the lighting is dim or completely dark by using blackout curtains or eye masks to block out any external light sources. If you wake up in the middle of the night, avoid turning on bright lights, and use a small night light or dim lamp instead.
Create a quiet space: Reduce noise distractions by keeping the bedroom quiet. If you live in a noisy area or have loud neighbours, consider using a white noise machine or earplugs to block out unwanted sounds.
Make your bed inviting: Ensure your bedding is comfortable and inviting. Choose bedding that is breathable and made from natural materials to help regulate body temperature. Additionally, consider using a fan or multiple layers of blankets to adjust the temperature easily if you experience night sweats or hot flashes.
Limit screen time before bed: The blue light emitted by electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, and computers can interfere with your sleep. Avoid using these devices at least an hour before bedtime, and if possible, keep them out of the bedroom altogether.
Establish a bedtime routine: Develop a calming bedtime routine to signal to your body that it's time to wind down. This could include activities such as reading, listening to soothing music, or practising relaxation techniques like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation.
Keep the alarm clock out of arm's reach: If you're used to snoozing your alarm, try moving your alarm clock to a location that requires you to get out of bed to turn it off. This simple change can help you avoid the temptation of snoozing and make it easier to wake up.
By implementing these strategies, you can create a sleep environment that is conducive to better sleep quality and make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night.
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Sleep hygiene
If you can't sleep, it is recommended to get up after about 20 minutes. You can sit in a comfortable chair in another room and read a book with just enough light to see. You can also distract yourself by listening to quiet music or an audiobook. It is important not to stay in bed, as this will lead your brain to associate your bed with wakefulness.
- Optimise your sleep environment: Control your bedroom temperature, humidity, light, and noise levels to increase your quality of sleep. For example, make sure your room is cool and dark, and that your bedding is comfortable so that you don't feel too warm or chilly.
- Avoid stimulants before bed: Stimulants like caffeine and alcohol can negatively impact your sleep quality and lead to more sleep disturbances during the night.
- Reserve your bedroom for sleep and intimacy: Spending too much time in your bedroom during the day can cause you to associate those activities with your sleeping space. Implement a sleep- and intimacy-only rule in your bedroom.
- Optimise your bedroom layout: Ensure your mattress is the right size for your room and make your bedroom feel like your personal oasis.
- Create a sleep-friendly environment: Pick the best bedroom colours for sleep and put the right plants in your bedroom.
- Stick to a sleep schedule: Have a fixed wake-up time every day, even on weekends. This helps to normalise sleep as an essential part of your day and gets your brain and body accustomed to getting the full amount of sleep that you need.
- Follow a bedtime routine: Engage in relaxation exercises to calm your mind and help you sleep. For example, try slow, deep breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation. You can also try the military sleep method, which involves relaxing your face, shoulders, arms, and legs, and then imagining a peaceful scene.
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Frequently asked questions
If you can't sleep, get up and go to a different room. Do something relaxing and distracting, and only get back into bed when you feel sleepy. You can try reading, breathing exercises, journaling, or yoga nidra.
Maintaining good sleep habits and practising relaxation techniques may lead to a better night's sleep. You can also try to establish a sleep schedule and bedtime routine, and adjust your diet.
Try to establish a sleep schedule and stick to it every day, even on your days off. You can also try moving your alarm clock away from your bed so you have to get up to turn it off, or sleeping with your blinds open so you wake up to sunshine.
