Can’t Fall Back To Sleep After Waking Up In The Middle Of The Night? Here’s What Experts Recommend

By Haider Ali in Health and Fitness On 11th December 2023
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The damage that insomnia may cause the next day is evident to anybody who has ever tried to get back asleep after awakening in the middle of the night.

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According to 2020 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 17% of adults reported having difficulty falling asleep most days or every day of the previous month.

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The CEO of LumosTech, a company that makes smart sleep masks to support healthy circadian rhythms, and a sleep specialist in San Francisco, Dr. Biquan Luo, discussed several causes and solutions for nighttime awakenings.

According to Luo, there are several reasons why people wake up at night.

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Anxiety and stress, pain, and environmental disturbances including movement, noise, and extreme heat or cold are some of the major causes of sleep disturbances.

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People who suffer from sleep problems like restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea may also have nighttime awakenings.

Fragmented sleep can also result from "disruption of the body's natural sleep-wake cycle," according to Luo.

What to do when you wake up

Luo advised staying in bed for a while, to try and relax and see if you can fall back asleep if you wake up in the middle of the night.

She recommended attempting progressive relaxation, breathing exercises, white noise machines, and other potentially relaxing methods.

“If you can’t fall back asleep after 10 or 15 minutes, it’s time to get out of bed,” said Luo.

“Try going to a quiet and comfortable place at home, like the couch, and engage in a quiet, low-stimulation activity, such as reading a book or doing a calming activity, until you feel sleepy again — then return to bed.”

Mistakes to avoid

If your sleep is interrupted, Luo advised resisting the impulse to check the time or reach for your phone.

One of the most frequent mistakes people make when they wake up in the middle of the night is to check the time, which will make it harder to fall back asleep, according to Luo.

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“Checking the time can increase stress and make it harder to sleep,” she noted. 

“Additionally, if you check the time on your phone, the contents of the phone may be too stimulating, which further prevents you from relaxing and falling asleep.”

What to know about your internal clock

Your body's internal clock might not be in sync with your sleep cycle if you wake up in the middle of the night, according to Luo.

“Our sleep is governed by two key factors — early in the night, it’s the buildup of sleep pressure, our body’s need for rest, that helps us both fall and stay asleep,” the expert said. 

“Later in the night, our internal clock, known as circadian signaling, plays a crucial role in maintaining sleep.”

Ideally, Luo added, these two elements will work together to keep you asleep.

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“But if sleep pressure fades before the circadian signal fully kicks in, it might lead to waking up at night,” she said. 

“If you’re unsure why you’re waking up during the night, you may look into adjusting your internal clock to see if it helps reduce these interruptions.”

According to the Sleep Foundation, you can modify your circadian rhythm by taking melatonin supplements, eating at different times of the day, exercising at different times of the day, rising at the same time every day, using timed exposure to bright light, and consuming moderate amounts of caffeine in the morning.