Waking up in the middle of the night can be really disruptive to your sleep cycle – but one entrepreneur has shared three simple tricks that helped him get back to sleep
Have you ever experienced waking during the night, finding yourself completely unable to drift back off? It's remarkably frustrating, particularly when you begin working out exactly how much time remains before your alarm goes off for work.
Insomnia is widespread across the UK, believed to impact roughly one in three individuals. Those battling insomnia may struggle to fall asleep initially, remain awake throughout the night, or wake repeatedly and find returning to sleep extremely difficult. The Sleep Foundation reports that night-time waking is extremely prevalent, affecting more than 35% of people at least three nights weekly. Numerous factors can trigger this, ranging from a snoring partner to fluctuating room temperatures or noisy vehicles passing outside. Entrepreneur David Longacre is someone who knows this stress all too well. After months of disrupted sleep, he revealed three sleep strategies that "actually work" in helping him drop off when he wakes during the night. The digital content creator described how he previously woke in the middle of the night and felt anxious because he'd glance at the clock and work out how many sleeping hours remained before rising. He attempted "every breathing technique in existence", but following "months of research" he "found something fascinating about how our brain sleep system works". David uses three methods to drift back off after tossing and turning at 2am – and said it only takes him five minutes to snooze again. So here's everything you need to know... 1. Tell yourself you're sleepy Telling yourself you’ve had some rest and are in a state to have more – sometimes called “self-suggestion” or “cognitive self-talk”—can help you fall back asleep at night by influencing your mind and body through psychological and physiological pathways. David acknowledges this sounds "weird" but insisted it "actually works" because "sleep anxiety comes from focusing on how much sleep you're losing if you stay awake". By reminding yourself that you've already had a substantial amount of rest and remain drowsy, your brain will "keep you in a drowsy state that makes you fall back sleep naturally". 2. Keep it cool Your body’s core temperature naturally drops at night as part of your circadian rhythm, signalling that it’s time to sleep. Therefore, you should keep it cool if you want to doze again. Another technique worth attempting involves "dropping your body temperature". David explains that your body requires cooling down in order to drift off. Thankfully, you don't have to get out of bed and hop into a cold shower. Instead, his suggestion is to poke one foot out from beneath the duvet, acting as a "natural thermal regulator". 3. Try a quick reset Tensing and then relaxing your body – a technique known as progressive muscle relaxation – helps you fall asleep by reducing physical tension and calming the nervous system. This final tip, also dubbed the '90 seconds reset', is reportedly the "most powerful". David explained: "As soon as you wake up, clench every muscle in your body as tight as you can for 10 seconds. "Then release completely. Do this three times. This floods your body with relaxation hormones and tricks your nervous system in to sleep mode."
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Six Science Backed-Ways To Help You Fall Asleep FasterAmy Glover is a lifestyle writer for HuffPost UK who covers everything from food and drink to health, fitness, and random trivia (the odder the better). She previously worked as a shopping and entertainment writer for BuzzFeed UK.
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Three easy methods to fall back asleep in 5 minutes when you keep waking at 2amDavid Longacre, who used to struggle with middle-of-the-night waking, shares three sleep techniques that helped him fall back asleep in just five minutes
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