4 Strategies to Help You Get Back to Sleep

Yay, 3 am, maybe I can manage 2 hours of sleep.

It’s everyone’s worst nightmare. You go to bed at the right time, all ready to have an awesome sleep so you feel energized the next day, and instead you just lie there, for an eternity, counting the minutes wasted awake.

Here are 5 things to do if you’re lying awake in the middle of the night and can’t sleep.

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1. Get out of bed and do a relaxing activity

It might seem obvious, but if you’ve been lying awake for 20 minutes, The Sleep Foundation recommends that you get out of bed, and go do something that calms you down and doesn’t involve a bright light (bright lights make it harder). This could be reading with a small reading light, or doing yoga.

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2. Speaking of light, make it dark

What is the best sleeping environment? Supposedly a dark, cool one. Most of the time I wake up in the middle of the night or can’t sleep because either 1) there is a light shining in my face, or 2) it’s too warm. If you can leave the window slightly ajar do so, or swap to thinner sheets.

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3. Clear your head (and your bladder)

This might sound weird to you, but if I have a full bladder I have a really hard time getting to sleep. Really hard. The same goes for if you’ve got a lot on your mind. One tip I’ve read is to write down the thing that’s bothering you.

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4. Don’t pick your phone

As tempting as it might be to check the time or scroll through Instagram, resist. It’ll just make it harder to sleep later, as the bright lights will actually make your brain think it’s time to wake up.

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That’s it. Hopefully you’ll never need these tips, but if you ever do find yourself awake in the middle of the night, you’ll know exactly what to do.

/Femi, The Girl Who Hates Working Out

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