Waking up in the middle of the night and trying (unsuccessfully) to get back to sleep is extremely frustrating. dr. Robert Rountree, an expert in integrative medicine, has a solution.
For the online portal Mind Body Green, he explained exactly what we can do in such situations. So he's saying that forcing yourself back to sleep isn't productive, you should be doing something else instead!
Why shouldn't you stay awake in bed too long?
People who tend to dwell on unfinished business, upcoming commitments, etc. they will have a particularly hard time falling back asleep. "If you wake up and thinking about all the things you didn't get done that day, that's a warning sign,” Rountree told MBG. This, in his opinion, warns us that we went to bed with a lot of unprocessed information. Staying in bed and obsessing over why we can't sleep won't quiet our minds. Instead, they should to confuse. "If you've been doing this for more than 30 minutes, get up and do something else," says Rountree. "It will be better if, for example, you read a book or do something non-stressful."
What should we do instead of forcing ourselves to sleep?
That doesn't mean you should stay up all night. But you may find that they will getting up and doing calming activities made it easier for you to try to get back to sleep. You can also try taking a warm bath with lavender essential oil, listening to soft, soothing music, guided meditation (this is the only time it's OK to use your phone at night, otherwise it's best to leave it alone)... While the snacks, alcohol, high-intensity exercise, work, etc., will only make it harder for you to sleep.
How to sleep better?
To prevent waking up in the middle of the night, we can take some preventive measures. First, let's learn that we go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every day – this will help our internal body clock. People who do this fall asleep more easily compared to people who have this yo-yo sleep schedule where they go to bed/wake up at different times.
Low doses of melatonin (about 0.5 to 1.5 mg) can help you fall asleep, but it's not the most effective method for poor sleep, Rountree told MBG. "Most people find that it wears off after a while."
Instead, he recommends magnesium supplement containing jujube. This is supposed to support a healthy cortisol level and calm the excessive activity of the mind.
