5 effective techniques for getting back to sleep at night

When you wake up in the middle of the night, it is sometimes impossible to go back to sleep. Closing your eyes is even harder when your head is invaded by Negative thoughts and the worries of everyday life resurface. Fortunately, there are several simple tricks that can solve this problem. We share five with you!

1) Create a peaceful environment

The first piece of advice we can give you is to create a pleasant and peaceful sleeping space. Opting for a ventilated bedroom and clean sheets sometimes make the difference in getting quality sleep.

For a restful rest, be careful not to let too much light into the room by properly closing the shutters or curtains in your bedroom. If you can sleep with a mask on, you can also put one on (as long as you don’t tighten it too much!). To combat noise during the night, use earplugs. With a healthy, relaxation-friendly environment, getting back to sleep should be much easier.

2) Don’t touch the phone

Another recommended tip: avoid reusing your phone during the night. And for good reason, blue light disrupts your biological clock and prevents the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. You then risk waking up more and resting becomes another matter!

For stubborn people who still want to use their phone, consider lowering the brightness, not turning the sound too loud and opting for relaxing content.

3) Don’t look at the time

If you’re looking at a screen, it might be hard to miss the time. However, it would be better to avoid knowing this information which could stress you more. Indeed, seeing your sleep time decrease could annoy you and make you anxious, instead of reassuring you. Telling yourself that you are going to be tired the next day would then make the process of falling asleep more complicated.

4) Keep yourself busy with a relaxing activity

The more you try to sleep, the less you will succeed! When falling into the arms of Morpheus becomes really complicated, it is sometimes better to occupy yourself differently instead of ruminating in your corner.

Choose relaxing activities like reading and writing or listening to soft music. If you feel overwhelmed by the tasks you need to complete, don’t hesitate to take some time to organize yourself by writing down your ideas. This method will help you get stressful thoughts out of your head.

5) Opt for meditation techniques

Meditation and breathing methods can help you fall asleep. Among them, we find among others: sophrology, breathing, the 4-7-8 method, hypnosis, positive visualization… By testing several of these methods, you will find the one that suits you best.

In “Sleep diaries” from the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INVS), we can read that it is also possible “to use the technique of paradoxical intention which consists of remaining awake passively and making no effort to fall asleep.

Indeed, relaxing your body with meditation can promote stress reduction and help you fall asleep faster.

Some general advice

Generally speaking, waking up in the middle of the night is a sign of poor sleep quality. Here are some recommendations to take into account to generally improve your sleep and limit waking up in the middle of the night.

• Go to bed at regular times every day (including weekends);
• Limit screens before bed;
• Eat foods rich in melatonin, such as eggs, fish, brown rice, bananas, etc.
• Avoid large meals before bed, as well as stimulants such as tea, coffee, alcohol and energy drinks;
• Sleep in a ventilated room;
• Use plants and essential oils to promote relaxation and sleep.

Slide: Insomnia: 10 tips for getting back to sleep