Waking in the night? Here’s how to get back to sleep.
Trust me, I’ve been through it too – more times than I’d care to count. It’s 3:00 or 4:00 am and you’re wide awake but your body needs more sleep.
Here are some things I’ve learnt the hard way in my 3+ years of having a dysregulated nervous system.
Your main goal is to keep your brain thinking it’s still time to sleep so you’ll be wanting to keep your body in low sensory mode.
Prepare in advance for potentially waking in the night:
Place a wheat bag in the freezer (odd but all will be revealed soon)
Get night time sensor lights that come onto a low light with movement.
Put everything you might need during the night on your bedside table: headphones, blue light blocker glasses, bottle of water, tiny snack, pain medication.
Set Breathe+ app to the following settings:
Advanced: Time - 15 minutes, 5 inhale, 5 exhale, 3 hold
Beginner: Time - 8 to 10 minutes, 3 inhale, 3 exhale, 2 hold
Consider the reasons you woke in the first place:
Did you forget to follow one of the steps for How to Sleep Through The Night? Caffeine, screens, and a heightened nervous system all send the wrong signals to your brain.It’s telling your body it’s time to be awake.
Is your bladder full? Go to the toilet without turning on the light. Try going back to sleep.
Are you in pain? Take your medications with the small snack. Lie down and try to go back to sleep.
Are you dehydrated? Take a small sip of water. Lie down and try to go back to sleep.
Are you too hot or cold? Check you turned the air conditioning or cooling fan on. Remove excessive blankets or add more. Try and go back to sleep.
Has your brain woken you up believing you’re in danger? Your heart may be racing or thoughts might be swirling. You’ll need to calm your nervous system down. Try each of these one at a time, moving onto the next if you still can’t sleep:
Put on your blue blocker glasses and headphones on. Open the Smiling Mind app. Scroll to “Embracing Sleep Challenges”. Listen mindfully, then try to go back to sleep.
Open the Breathe+ app. Do the breathing exercises, then try to go back to sleep. Try to only breathe through your belly and NOT your chest. Breathe in and out slowly through your nose (NOT your mouth).
Get your wheat bag out of the freezer and place it on your chest. Try to sleep.
Get up and go to a quiet place where you can write down any issue you can’t let go of. Ask God to help you see truth about the issue. Write down His response. Return to bed and try to go to sleep.
Key elements to going back to sleep are to stay off screens, keep your nervous system calm and get rid of any discomfort that might be keeping you awake such as pain or temperature.
