For many, the middle of the night wake-up interferes with a restful nights sleep, especially when you wake up feeling wide awake. It’s often hard to fall back to sleep quickly, so you end up feeling tired throughout the next day.
Restoring your natural sleep cycle can help you sleep more deeply through the night, and will also make it much easier for you to fall back asleep in minutes if you do wake up during the night.
To fix your sleep cycle, it’s important to begin thinking about sleep in a new way. These tips can help you fall back asleep in minutes if you wake during the night.
1. Acupressure
Acupressure is a therapy that involves finger placement and pressure over specific points on the body. It is believed that acupressure promotes blood flow and unlocks tension ― among other benefits like alleviating lower-back pain and headaches.
Performing self-acupressure before bed can promote a restful night of uninterrupted sleep and, in the event of an unwanted nighttime awakening, can help get you back to sleep.
2. Dip your face in cold water
Did you know that you have a superpower? It's called thermogenesis.
Thermogenesis is used by animals in the wild to hibernate for months at a time. Thermoregulation is integral to deep sleep cycles and our bodies naturally dip in temperature closer to the evening to encourage slumber. Modern stimulations can often throw this dip into turmoil which is why a cold face plunge can help your body prepare for a deep and sound nights rest.
So, submerge your face into a bowl of ice water. Hold your breath for 30 seconds before coming back up for air and this will automatically slow down your heart rate and encourage your body to calm itself. You will be left feeling relaxed and, you guessed it, more ready for sleep.
3. Oxytocin
The reason most of us sleep soundly after sex is because oxytocin counteracts stress hormones that can keep you wide awake. Likewise, the endorphins released during sexual activity are a natural sedative, working together to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
4. Eat a snack
Studies show that awakening in the middle of the night could be the result of low blood sugar. Your blood sugar level drops during the night so your body releases stress hormones to raise the blood sugar levels. And, these stress hormones are what awaken you in the middle of the night.
5. Lower The Lights
The next time you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, keep all of the lights as low as possible because light exposure suppresses the hormone melatonin, which plays an important role in regulating sleep.
6. Lower the temperature
Falling back asleep may be as simple as lowering the thermostat. Your core body temperature falls at the onset of sleep, which means that a too-warm (or too-cool) room may wake you up. According to The National Sleep Foundation, keep your bedroom temperature around 60 to 68 degrees to get you back to sleep. It’s the ideal temperature scale to layer on the blankets.
If you start to feel slightly overheated during the night, try sticking one or both feet out from the covers. Because we’re mammals, the palms of our hands and feet help regulate our core body temperature.
Related Article: What Is The Best Time For You To Go To Sleep And Wake up?
