Many people will tell you to start meditating or keep a sleep diary if you have trouble sleeping. But that’s not exactly useful when you wake up at 3 am and all you want to do is go back to sleep.
What you need are practical ways to induce sleep. For some, you need to get out of bed, but for others, all you have to do is stay where you are.
We wants to suggest 5 science-based methods that can make you sleepy in no time.
Do A Few Toe-tensing Exercises
Progressive muscle relaxation exercises will help you relax your body and get rid of stress. Bend your legs by pressing them against each other and slowly relax them.
Also, you can bend your toes, drop them up, and then return to the normal position. Hold your toes in each position for 10 seconds before relaxing them.
You Might Have To Kick Your Pet Out Of Bed
Sleeping with your pet can be both good and bad. As one study showed, pets can help us reduce our stress levels, but another mentions that they can also disrupt our sleep.
This depends on whether your pet is fast asleep or moving around at night. For allergy sufferers, it is best not to allow pets in bed.
Therefore, if you feel that your pet is disturbing your sleep, teach it so that it does not sleep with you. You can get them a separate bed and teach them how to sleep in it.
Reward them when they go to bed automatically, without you taking them there.
Avoid Grabbing Your Phone And Grab A Book Instead
Melatonin is a hormone necessary for restful sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night, you don’t have melatonin, and using the phone doesn’t increase your levels.
On the contrary, the light from the screen will reduce it even more and make it impossible for you to fall asleep again. What you need to do is completely remove the phone from the room.
Something you can try to help you fall asleep again is to read a book. Yes, you will need to turn on some lights, but the words on the paper are sure to make you sleepy.
There is a reason our parents read to us before bed. And if what you are reading does not interest you, it will bore you to sleep faster.
Take A Nice Lukewarm Or Even Cold Shower
Many doctors recommend taking a shower about an hour before going to bed. That is because, to feel sleepy, our body temperature must decrease. Therefore, if you shower before bed, your body will feel energized and you will not be ready for sleep.
Sometimes when we wake up in the middle of the night, we feel hot. By taking a warm or even cold shower, we can lower our body temperature and clear our mind, helping us get back to sleep much faster.
Smell Some Lavender Or Drink Lavender Tea
Lavender has been shown to improve insomnia and help people who have trouble sleeping. One study showed that 6 to 8 drops of lavender oil improve the quality and duration of sleep without causing adverse effects.
If you don’t have an essential oil extractor, you can simply drop the essential oil drops somewhere in your room.
If lavender oil isn’t your thing, you can start having a lavender plant in your room. That way, the smell will always be there, whatever happens. You can also brew a cup of lavender tea, which helps reduce your heart rate.
What do you do to go back to sleep when you wake up in the middle of the night? Did any of the methods we mentioned help you cope with wakefulness?
