Help! Up Too Early and Cant Get Back to Sleep
By Melanie Haiken, Caring.com senior editorDoes the question Howd you sleep? make you want to scream? Those of us plagued by middle-of-the-night waking often feel like punching people who dont know what its like to stare at the ceiling in the wee hours. Here are the five most common types of middle-of-the-night sleep problems, and what to do about them.Problem #1: Youre awake for no reason, with your mind spinning.Middle-of-the-night worrying is probably the number-one type of sleeplessness faced by people of all ages. And boy, is it frustrating. You know you need to relax and get back to sleep, but anxious thoughts and to-do list items keep popping into your head.What to do1. Preserve the darkness. Keep the room dark when you wake up. Keep a small book light or mini flashlight next to your bed and use it to navigate your way to the bathroom, or put a dim night-light in the bathroom and leave the door cracked, so you can find your way there. Whatever you do, dont turn on the overhead light in the bathroom once youre inside.2. Move the clock out of reach. Constantly checking the clock and calculating how long youve been awake only feeds your anxiety: Oh no, now Im only going to get five hours of sleep. Set the alarm, then move the clock where you cant see or check it.Cant Get a Good Nights Sleep? 5 Surprising Reasons >>
3. Write it down, then let it go. On your bedside table, keep a notebook and pen devoted solely to nighttime worry lists. Using a dim night-light, write down each thought thats bothering you. Then, after you write it down, make a conscious effort to cross it off the list in your mind. In the morning, transfer the action items to your to-do list. Over time, youll develop faith in yourself that writing down your worries equates with getting them done.
