2024-02-28 15:05:48
Once the brain is turned on, you can no longer get back to sleep. THE stressful thoughts are going around in circles in your head, and the time to wake up is approaching. You know you will be tired the next day, and this idea intensifies your anxiety. These few tips can help you break the vicious cycle of insomnia and falling back asleep.
It is important to remember that it is not abnormal to wake up at night, indicates Dr. Agnès Brion, psychiatrist specializing in sleep disorders. Normally, we wake up regularly at night for regarding 5% of our time during which we have the feeling of having slept, but these are very short awakenings that we forget.
“What’s more annoying is when you wake up at night and that this generates anxiety, which results in difficulty falling back to sleep. And not being able to get back to sleep can lead to a lack of sleep which can impact quality of life.” A few advice can therefore be useful to combat this insomnia when falling back asleep.
Don’t touch the phone
This is often our first instinct. Try to resist the temptation to turn on your smartphone and take a look at social media, emails and messages! Indeed, blue light from screens disrupts the biological clock internal and inhibits the production of melatonin. This may wake you up even more.
If you really can’t do without it:
Reduce the brightness ;Turn the sound to minimum ;Test a meditation, hypnosis or de relaxation to clear your head and relax.
Create a “cave”
Sleep is punctuated by different cycles that repeat throughout the night. When a noise or light wakes us up between two cycles, it is more difficult to go back to sleep. try transform your bedroom into the closest thing to a haven of peace :
Close the blinds and shutters to have complete darkness; Use earplugs in case of noise; Wear a mask in case of remaining light.
Don’t look at the time
Are you a subscriber to nocturnal awakenings, then insomnia when you fall back asleep? Counting sheep while lying in bed is a bad idea. This may annoy you more than calm you down. And especially, avoid looking at the time, even if only once, because this risks aggravating mental ruminations such as “I’m going to be tired”, etc. You then enter a vicious circle from which it is difficult to escape.
If you can’t get back to sleep and you start to get restless or upset, especially, don’t stay in bed. Better get up!
Keep yourself busy, but not too busy
Instead of lying around with your dark thoughts, try to find a relaxing activityWho relaxes you and occupies your mind. Soft music, a herbal tea, a little reading without turning on all the lights, or even thinking regarding things that we like, organizing things for the next day… but avoid turning on the television or starting an activity that is too busy.
“The goal will be to divert one’s thoughts as much as possible from the question of ‘sleeping‘,” explains Dr. Agnès Brion. “The more we try to sleep, the less we succeed. The fact of absolutely wanting to sleep causes hyperarousal which will prevent falling asleep.”
Another tip: repetition. Try repeating a poem, the multiplication table, or a scene from your favorite movie, advises the site Reader’s digest. This type of thinking helps you relax and get back to sleep.
Use techniques like breathing, meditation…
Many techniques help to promote sleep. You may have even used it to fall asleep a little earlier! Do not hesitate to reuse them following waking up at night, if you have difficulty getting back to sleep. Among them, we can cite:
Use relaxation to relax your muscles
In relaxing the body, you can reduce stress. Try this effective meditation technique:
Focus on muscle groups to relaxstarting at the feet and working up to the head, paying attention to points of tension like the jaw, neck and shoulders; Focus on your breathing and repeat until you are asleep.
How to improve your sleep and avoid waking up at night?
A few tips can help promote good sleep:
Maintain regular waking hours, even on weekends; Avoid screens before going to sleep and put your phone in “airplane” mode; Sleep in a ventilated room, with a temperature between 18 and 20 degrees; Promote relaxing activities in the evening: reading, music, board games, etc.; Avoid overly copious meals and stimulants (coffee, tea, vitamin C, sodas, alcohol, etc.); Consume foods rich in melatonin or which promote sleep; Use foods plants and essential oils that promote sleep and prevent nighttime awakenings.
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