Wake up in the middle of night and can’t fall back to sleep.

Mlrgoofy14

I need help. My mind turns on and I can’t fall back asleep. Any suggestions?

ninerbuff

Smoke some or eat some weed.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AnnPT77

This is not a regular thing for me, and I'm sure solutions are individual, but what helps me is something like "The Relaxation Response". Instructions here:

http://www.relaxationresponse.org/steps/

. . . except in this case, you'd be doing the steps while lying in a comfortable position in bed, rather than sitting.

I've also used a routine that is similar, but you do the progressive body relaxation, then slowly count backward from 100, in coordination with normal breathing. If you get all the way to zero, start over at 100.

I'm also not saying this is super easy, when my mind wants to take off in some direction. But doing it, and returning to it if I'm temporarily off-track, usually works eventually for me.

kshama2001

I read myself back to sleep but the sleep clinic I attended recently said to get up and do something soothing until you're sleepy again.



Oh, and for falling back asleep my book can't be too interesting or have a lot of dialog. Long, descriptive passages in a book I've already ready works best for me. The Clan of the Cave Bear series has lots of these. I use a kindle and look up things in Wikipedia. These can put me to sleep. I fell back asleep twice reading an entry about a Slavic goddess

I usually fall asleep the first time to a new and interesting book, and have another book going for getting back to sleep in the middle of the night.

xbowhunter

Cannabis has has helped me tremendously with my sleep. I used to wake up as well after sleeping for a few hours. It was horrible. I make my own gummies now out of the weed I grow in the summer-time.

Now I sleep like a baby and feel refreshed and ready to go when I wake up...

sc9cbxxs94

I find herbal teas ie twinnings sleepy tea , camomile , sleep meditation music off YouTube, and cbd oil really help me to fall asleep well and a lavender scent ,
Hope some of this suggestions help 🙏🙏

avatiach

What is occupying your mind when you wake up? For me it's usually work things, and it's usually not important work things. See if you can write down what is bothering you. Could be journaling or (if it's work things, like me) could be just making a list. To be honest, in the morning I usually will look at the list and be like, "What? THAT was keeping you up?"

Arriarrison

do some research into mindfulness. What works for me is to lie on my back and breathe, through my nose long and deep breaths. I then focus on the feeling of the breath through my nose and the feeling of my lungs expanding or retracting. This helps me channel through the thoughts and craziness going on in my thoughts. Doing this can also reduce your overall pulse rate and make it easier to transition back to sleep. I can only get to sleep on my left side so once I've done this for a while and feel calmer, I roll over and, very often, go back to sleep.

You have to find what works for you. It's hard and what works for me may not work for you but give it a go and see what you think.

cwolfman13

I have generalized anxiety disorder which comes and goes in waves. I'm currently in an episode that's been about 3 weeks long and I wake up every night around 3:30am and can't get back to sleep until seemingly about 10 minutes before my alarm goes off. I used to get it way more often and it would last considerably longer than it seems to now, but it's still a real bugger. I went to counseling for it back in 2014 and I'm starting up again next week. I'm pretty much at a loss for sleep remedies when these happen...tried everything but nothing really works. Good luck.

history_grrrl

This happens to me fairly often, especially since menopause, and it’s so frustrating! (Maybe once every few months or so, I end up taking a sleeping pill that lets me sleep through the night, which is bliss but not a real solution.) What usually helps me is listening to one of the ten-minute Headspace videos on YouTube. The ones I like most are Beachcombers and Nighttime SOS: Mental Chatter. I think there are longer versions on the Headspace site, but I’m not a subscriber and the short ones are often enough to get me back to sleep. If not, I try Jon Kabat-Zinn’s body scan video, also available on YouTube.

missa526

I have the same issue. Then I can't get anything done the next day-abd on and on. Yesterday I woke up at 2:30 a.m and today I woke up at about 1 a.m. I'm going to try to stay awake all day. I'm on klonopin (anti-anxiety), several other things that help me sleep, and I get 15 Ambien every 3 months. I know part of my issues are severe anxiety and Bipolar 2. Medical marijuana has helped some, but some nights It just doesn't work. Natural Zquil helps sometimes. Melatonin helps some people. CBN (type of CBD) seems to help people sleep. http://www.medterra.com hasthose tincture and gummies but they're expensive. Hope this helps.

Hobartlemagne

Learn the techniques of mind-emptying meditation. Actively think of nothingness.
It takes a lot of practice and patience with yourself. The biggest part of it is to be able to identify a thought and abandon it when it pops into your mind.

*or*

Put 100% of your attention into very slow breathing. Inhale, counting 5. Exhale, counting 6. Really get settled into the slowness. Then after a few minutes raise the numbers- inhale 6, exhale 7. Feel the air moving through your mouth and nose. Listen to the sound of your breathing. Put all focus on all things breathing.

I've done both of these methods when sleepless