Summary How to Fall Back Asleep in the Middle of the Night (Youtube) www.youtube.com
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Faith 1 of the most frustrating things is when you wake up in the middle of the night and you can't get back to sleep. But fortunately, we have a few simple tips for you that should easily help you fall back asleep. Hey, everyone. I'm Faith. So how do we fall back asleep when this happens?
Faith Well, luckily, science has the answer. But first, let's talk about why you are waking up in the middle of the night in the first place. During the evening, your core body temperature begins to rise to prepare your body for sleep. Around 10:30 or so, your temperature peaks, which is assigned to your body to release melatonin. From there, your body temperature begins to drop again, and it drops until, yep, around 2 to 3 in the morning when you typically enter a lighter stage of sleep and you are prone to waking up.
Faith So look, this is totally normal. Many of us wake up several times throughout the night and don't even notice. But on those nights where you're up for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, maybe even more, well, those can be downright annoying. But there are a few things you can do to settle back in. 1st, avoid looking at the clock.
Faith I know it seems impossible, but when you wake up in the middle of the night and check the clock, if YouTube anything like me, you probably start thinking, okay, it's 3 AM, only 4 more hours of asleep, 3 more hours of sleep. The mental math makes you more alert. The anxiety over the lack of sleep begins to creep in, and it can start this doom spiral where the more you try to sleep, the harder it actually becomes to sleep. So do your best to avoid looking at your clock or your phone. Also, it's important to know that just because you're awake doesn't mean you're not resting.
Faith New research has discovered a thing called non sleep deep rest or an SDR. It can be frustrating to lie in bed at night wide awake, but your body is actually benefiting from this NSDR by continuing the process of restoration and rejuvenation. So while you might not be sleeping sleeping, your body is still getting some of the benefits of real sleep. In fact, about an hour of NSDR is equivalent to about 20 minutes of real sleep. So it's important not to worry yourself too much with that mental math.
Faith Your body is still getting some of the rest it needs. Okay. So you're lying in bed, not looking at the clock, not thinking about how much sleep you are or aren't getting, how do you actually fall back asleep? Based on new research, here's what we recommend as the best way to fall back asleep. It's called 478 breathing.
Faith This breathing technique is important because it helps slow your heart rate, and you need a heart rate of 60 beats per minute or less to fall asleep. It not only slows your heart rate by focusing on your breath, it also gives you something else to focus on if your mind is racing. 478 breathing is super simple. It works like this. Start by breathing in through your nose slowly for 4 seconds.
Faith Hold your breath for 7 seconds, then breathe out softly through your mouth for 8 seconds. Try it with me. Breathe in 234, hold 234, 567. Breathe out. 23456 7, 8.
Faith Try this for a few cycles when you're having trouble falling back asleep. You'll be surprised at how quickly it can help lower your heart rate, focus your mind, and help ease you back into sleep. 1 final thing we should talk about. If you wake up in the middle of the night, it can be tempting to get up and go to the bathroom. And listen, if you have to go, you should go.
Faith But if you don't need to, try to avoid getting out of bed. Standing up and walking could raise your heart rate. And like I just mentioned, an elevated heart rate isn't helpful for asleep. So do your best just to stay in bed. Okay.
Faith Well, if you've tried all this and you still can't fall back asleep, well, a few things. 1st, remember that you've had sleepless nights before and you were fine, but you'll get through it and sleep will come. Secondly, if this persists for several nights in a row or more nights than not, speak to a physician. They can help rule out any potential sleep disorder. And don't be afraid to reach out either.
Faith Physicians who specialize in sleep want to help. 3rd, while it seems counterintuitive, some of your habits during the day could be the reason why you're having trouble falling back to sleep at night. To learn about what you should avoid during the day so you can get better sleep at night, check out our video right here. Not being able to fall back asleep in the middle of the night can be frustrating, but give these techniques a try. They can start to ease the burden and get you back to sleep quickly.
Faith Thanks for Waking, everyone. Sleep well.