“Being angry in bed without sleeping is counterproductive and takes you away from the land of dreams”
What could be more frustrating and unpleasant than going to bed and not falling asleep despite being tired? Worse still, waking up in the middle of the night and being unable to go back to sleep. ? The night can seem endless when you have insomnia. Good news, there is a trick to falling asleep (or going back to sleep) in no time.
When we can’t sleep, we tend to stay in bed, tossing and turning in bed, missing the minutes and getting annoyed. This is not the right method, tells us Caroline Rome, sophrologist, specialized in alertness, sleep disorders and member of the French Society for Research in Sleep Medicine. “When you stay in bed without sleeping, it is not rest. Even if we close our eyes, sleep doesn’t come. The goal is to have a sleep efficiency index of 90%, knowing that if you are in bed for eight hours and only sleep four hours, it is only at 50%. Remaining passive or getting angry in bed without sleeping is counterproductive and takes you away from dreamland.“
So, even if it is counterintuitive, “if you can’t sleep, get up and, if possible, change rooms, so that your brain gets used to making the link between bed and sleep. This is valid after 30 minutes of difficulty sleeping. falling asleep and after about fifteen minutes when waking up during the night“, advises us the author of the book “Sleep regained” (ed. Solar). “This allows you to defocus from “wanting to sleep at all costs“.
During this time, you can read (with very soft light), listen to relaxing music, color or knit, daydream, but above all do not expose yourself to screens. We therefore avoid scrolling on our phone or turning on the TV, because blue light reduces the secretion of melatonin (the time hormone important for sleep/wake rhythms) and will “fool” the brain by telling it that he must be awake instead of asleep. “You can go back to bed 10 minutes, a quarter of an hour later or earlier if the signs of sleep return.“, she continues.
It is often complicated to change our habits, because, even bad ones, they are benchmarks for us. The best way is to change your behavior little by little, without violence or pressure. For example, leave your laptop or tablet in the living room so you aren’t tempted to use them once you go to bed.