What to Do When You Can’t Sleep - 6 Steps (2022) - Tiger Medical Institute

What to Do When You Can’t Sleep - 6 Steps (2022)

9 minutes  to read
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“If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.” ~ Dale Carnegie

We’ve All Been There

All of us have been there - the times when we can’t fall asleep, and we lie in bed. We stare at the ceiling, wondering when (and if) we will fall back asleep.

When this occurs, we tend to stay in bed. We ruminate on all our worries and concerns. It is the concerns of the past that keep us up, what we need to face in our tomorrow, or it is worrying if we can fall back asleep.

Whatever the concern, there are various things that we can do to help us fall back asleep when we are up in the middle of the night.

What to Do When You Can’t Sleep - 6 Steps

What to Do When You Can’t Sleep

1. Get up and go to a different room.

If you are up for more than 20 minutes, get up and go to a different room.

If we stay in bed when we can’t fall asleep, our brain becomes confused. Our brain wonders whether the bed is meant for sleeping or staying awake.

By taking time to get up and go to a different room, our brain will associate tiredness and sleep with our bed. Eventually, we will get sleepy and want to return to our bedroom.

When this occurs, we will be more prone to falling asleep when we desire to sleep.

2. Read a book.

Take time to read a book (paperback or Kindle).

Refrain from reading on screens that emit blue light. This will trick our brains into thinking it is time to wake up when we desire to fall asleep.

Reading a book will distract our mind from our worries and calm us down.

When this occurs, we will be more prone to falling asleep after reading for a short time.

3. Write out your worries and thoughts on a piece of paper.

It is not good to have worries ruminating in our minds.

It is good to get up and write down everything that keeps us up. By taking time to write out all our thoughts and worries, we can better relax.

We won’t be trying to store a bunch of information. We will be able to see the problems listed on our paper.

We will gain control and freedom by writing down our worries and thoughts. We won’t be as stressed, and this, in return, will help us to fall asleep.

4. Stretch.

Taking time to do some light stretching will help our body to relax.

Naturally, we will be more relaxed to return to bed after stretching.

5. Do some mundane tasks.

Folding laundry, organizing a drawer, or doing light cleaning will make us want to go back to sleep.

Naturally, when we do that which we don’t enjoy, we are unenthusiastic and more prone to wanting to do something else.

By beginning a mundane task, we will more quickly want to return to bed. This, in turn, will help us to fall asleep faster.

Even the thought of getting up and doing some mundane tasks might help us to fall asleep on the spot!

6. Trick yourself through your speech.

The next time you are lying in bed awake, change your speech. Say to yourself, “I am going to try and stay up for two hours.” Naturally, when we say this, our brain dreads the thought of staying up in a half-awake state.

Trick yourself by challenging yourself to stay up for extended periods. This will make you want to fall asleep faster and keep you from worrying about how long you will stay up.

When the mind becomes relaxed and dreads the challenge, this can help you to fall back asleep.

How to Fix Your Sleep

It can be aggravating when you can’t stay asleep.

Taking action on the steps above can help you regain control of your sleep. You can be in charge of falling asleep and staying asleep.

The next time you wake up in the middle of the night, implement some of these easy-to-follow actions.

Don’t get discouraged if they don’t instantly work. They are meant as a guide to help you see what works best for you.

For further reading, view our articles:

You have what it takes inside you to make a definite choice that will change the future trajectory of your health.

Our team at Tiger Medical Institute has the experience, clinical skills, and coaching acumen to help you get your health and energy back and get better sleep!

To talk to one of our professionals, click here to schedule your call.

Lance VanTine

Lance VanTine

Client Success Manager

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