If you often find yourself stirring in bed all night long, you are not alone. Lack of sleep is a crippling issue impacting adults across the globe. Luckily, we have compiled a list of go-to solutions you can turn to during that midnight burst of wakefulness:
- Get out of bed. While this may seem like the complete opposite of what you want to do, it helps disassociate the connection between bed and sleep frustration. If you have been lying in bed awake for over 20 minutes, get up and try a relaxing activity in low light. Distracting your mind from the fact you cannot sleep will allow it to connect back to your body. Once you return to your bed, you should have an easier time resting back into sleep.
- Keep a sleep diary. We have said it before and will say it again; a consistent schedule is one of the most critical aspects of ensuring a restful night. Sometimes we may not even know how inconsistent our sleep schedule is. To take action, we recommend keeping a sleep diary to track the hours of sleep you are getting each night. You may be surprised by the findings.
- Relax! Usually, the body is ready for sleep each night, but our minds keep us up. Our minds are always running a mile a minute, and it can be easy to let this run into bedtime. To get your mind and body on the same page, we recommend relaxing techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation, or even diffusing a calming scent.
Next time you find yourself wide awake at 1am, turn to a few of these methods to see what works for you. Not everyone is the same, so it may take trial and error before you find the sleep solution that works best for you!
