Waking Up At 3am? Sleep Experts Share Five Tips To Help You Fall Back Asleep

!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement('iframe');t.display='none',t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement('script');c.src='//cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js',c.setAttribute('async','1'),c.setAttribute('type','text/javascript'),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb';cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({"playerId":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","mediaId":"8d845a58-7edd-44e7-be89-7fa73c337dc8"}).render("6ab27998e4b08976697b7ff2");}); For years, I didn’t recognise my own insomnia because I have no trouble at all falling asleep. Nope – the issues arise in the middle of the night, when I wake up at 3AM or so and simply cannot fall back asleep. Turns out that this is called “sleep maintenance insomnia,” a condition which is believed to affect as many as one in five people in the US. I know that “clock blocking”, getting up out of bed to do something screen-free, like folding laundry, after about 20 minutes of being awake, and establishing a great nighttime routine can all help. But what do the experts do in real life, when they find themselves trying their best to nod back off in the wee hours? Here, I asked Dr Lindsay Browning, a sleep expert at TroubleSleeping.co.uk, as well as independent sleep expert and author of books like A Sleep Divorce: How to Sleep Apart, Not Fall Apart, Dr Neil Stanley, for their thoughts. Here are the rules they follow themselves: 1) Avoid checking the time “If I wake during the night, the first thing I avoid doing is checking the time, since this is only likely to increase anxiety and frustration and lead to mental calculations of how long I have slept for, or how much time is left until morning,” Dr Browning told HuffPost UK. “Instead, I give myself some time to calmly try to go back to sleep again, in the knowledge that waking up in the night is perfectly normal and not the sign of a ruined night’s sleep.” 2) Skip the screens I’m definitely guilty of unlocking my phone after a 3AM wakeup, but Dr Stanley says that’s not ideal. “If I start to get frustrated that I am not [falling back asleep], then I will turn the bedside light on and read a book until I feel sleepy again,” he said. “Sometimes that is just a few pages, other times I will finish the book.” Dr Browning agreed. “The important thing is not to reach for my phone whilst in bed because scrolling through my phone in the middle of the night is likely to make it less likely that I will fall back to sleep again,” she said. 3) Don’t lie awake in bed for longer than 20 minutes Of course, in an ideal scenario, you’d fall asleep after an early wakeup. But if that hasn’t happened after about 20 minutes, Dr Browning said it’s important to leave the scene of sleeplessness. “If I find that I have been lying in bed awake for what feels like around 20 minutes, then I will get up out of bed and go downstairs to do something else for a little while,” she said. “At this time of year, I might write some Christmas cards or else read a book until feeling sleepy again... Even in the winter, when it’s cold downstairs and the thought of getting up out of a warm bed is not appealing, I still recommend getting out of bed for a little while to help reset rather than staying in bed getting increasingly frustrated about not falling asleep.” 4) Remember to go easy on yourself It sounds paradoxical, but some experts think that “orthosomnia” – an obsession with getting the perfect night’s kip – could actually keep us awake at night. Dr Stanley certainly doesn’t think stress and “frustration” are conducive to great sleep. “There is no point trying to sleep if you are not sleepy, so don’t worry about being awake,” he shared. Dr Browning had a similar message. “Even if I don’t get back to sleep again, I will remind myself that I can cope with a bad night’s sleep. Most people cope better with a poor night’ sleep than they expect, and the anxiety and worry about not coping the next day just makes things worse,” she stated. 5) Stick to a regular routine as much as possible A disrupted night’s sleep can lead to changes in your nighttime routine, which can itself mess up your Zzzs further. Dr Browning thinks it’s important to stop that vicious cycle in its tracks if possible. “I make sure that I get up at the same time I intended to, rather than sleeping in. This helps to build sleep pressure to make falling asleep the next night easier,£ the expert ended. “Again, this is something that I recommend to my clients and something I really try to stick to myself.” Related... 'Potato Beds' Have Gone Viral: Their Effect On Your Sleep, Explained Wake Up At 3AM And Can't Get Back To Sleep? You Might Have This Condition 5 Steps A Sleep Expert Takes To Wake Up Feeling Refreshed

For years, I didn’t recognise my own insomnia because I have no trouble at all falling asleep. Nope – the issues arise in the middle of the night, when I wake up at 3AM or so and simply cannot fall back asleep. Turns out that this is called “sleep maintenance insomnia,” a condition which is believed to affect as many as one in five people in the US. I know that “clock blocking”, getting up out of bed to do something screen-free, like folding laundry, after about 20 minutes of being awake, and establishing a great nighttime routine can all help. But what do the experts do in real life, when they find themselves trying their best to nod back off in the wee hours? Here, I asked Dr Lindsay Browning, a sleep expert at TroubleSleeping.co.uk, as well as independent sleep expert and author of books like A Sleep Divorce: How to Sleep Apart, Not Fall Apart, Dr Neil Stanley, for their thoughts. Here are the rules they follow themselves: 1) Avoid checking the time “If I wake during the night, the first thing I avoid doing is checking the time, since this is only likely to increase anxiety and frustration and lead to mental calculations of how long I have slept for, or how much time is left until morning,” Dr Browning told HuffPost UK. “Instead, I give myself some time to calmly try to go back to sleep again, in the knowledge that waking up in the night is perfectly normal and not the sign of a ruined night’s sleep.” 2) Skip the screens I’m definitely guilty of unlocking my phone after a 3AM wakeup, but Dr Stanley says that’s not ideal. “If I start to get frustrated that I am not [falling back asleep], then I will turn the bedside light on and read a book until I feel sleepy again,” he said. “Sometimes that is just a few pages, other times I will finish the book.” Dr Browning agreed. “The important thing is not to reach for my phone whilst in bed because scrolling through my phone in the middle of the night is likely to make it less likely that I will fall back to sleep again,” she said. 3) Don’t lie awake in bed for longer than 20 minutes Of course, in an ideal scenario, you’d fall asleep after an early wakeup. But if that hasn’t happened after about 20 minutes, Dr Browning said it’s important to leave the scene of sleeplessness. “If I find that I have been lying in bed awake for what feels like around 20 minutes, then I will get up out of bed and go downstairs to do something else for a little while,” she said. “At this time of year, I might write some Christmas cards or else read a book until feeling sleepy again... Even in the winter, when it’s cold downstairs and the thought of getting up out of a warm bed is not appealing, I still recommend getting out of bed for a little while to help reset rather than staying in bed getting increasingly frustrated about not falling asleep.” 4) Remember to go easy on yourself It sounds paradoxical, but some experts think that “orthosomnia” – an obsession with getting the perfect night’s kip – could actually keep us awake at night. Dr Stanley certainly doesn’t think stress and “frustration” are conducive to great sleep. “There is no point trying to sleep if you are not sleepy, so don’t worry about being awake,” he shared. Dr Browning had a similar message. “Even if I don’t get back to sleep again, I will remind myself that I can cope with a bad night’s sleep. Most people cope better with a poor night’ sleep than they expect, and the anxiety and worry about not coping the next day just makes things worse,” she stated. 5) Stick to a regular routine as much as possible A disrupted night’s sleep can lead to changes in your nighttime routine, which can itself mess up your Zzzs further. Dr Browning thinks it’s important to stop that vicious cycle in its tracks if possible. “I make sure that I get up at the same time I intended to, rather than sleeping in. This helps to build sleep pressure to make falling asleep the next night easier,£ the expert ended. “Again, this is something that I recommend to my clients and something I really try to stick to myself.” Related... 'Potato Beds' Have Gone Viral: Their Effect On Your Sleep, Explained Wake Up At 3AM And Can't Get Back To Sleep? You Might Have This Condition 5 Steps A Sleep Expert Takes To Wake Up Feeling Refreshed