How To Sleep Through The Night Without Waking Up
Getting a good night’s sleep can often feel like a challenge — and waking up continuously can leave you feeling groggy, irritable, and even more tired than before.
If you’re tired of restless nights and yearn for the soft embrace of uninterrupted sleep, then you’ve come to the right place.
In this blog post, we’re going to do a deep dive into the most effective strategies and tips that can help you sleep through the night without waking up. We’ll also look at how your hormones play a role in your sleep health, as well as provide easy-to-implement steps that optimise your sleep environment. Get ready to reclaim your nights and wake up refreshed each morning.
Why do I wake up in the middle of the night?
Waking up once or twice during the night is considered normal for most people. However, if you’re waking up constantly or struggle to fall back asleep, it can hugely disrupt your sleep cycle.
As adults, we require around 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night to function at our best. Enough sleep not only helps us feel refreshed and energised but also plays a vital role in our overall health and hormonal balance.
However, there are many physical and psychological factors that can cause these sleep disruptions. By understanding what is causing your issues at night, you should be able to find a more effective sleep routine that works for you.
Physical causes
Physical discomforts, such as muscle aches, joint pain or headaches, can disrupt your sleep and force you to wake up multiple times during the night.
Other physical causes of waking up during the night can include allergies or other sinus conditions, needing to pee a lot during the night and acid reflux.
Psychological causes
Psychological factors can have just as much of an impact on your sleep as physical ones.
Depression and anxiety can make it impossible to fall and stay asleep. Whether it’s your overactive mind or panic attacks, trying to sleep when you have these emotions can be tough.
Sleep disorders
There are a few different sleep disorders that can wake you up at night, including:
Sleep apnea
Restless leg syndrome (RLS)
Nightmares and night terrors
Insomnia
Recognising and seeking treatment for a potential sleep disorder can be the best way to stop yourself from continuously waking up at night.
Lifestyle factors
As well as medical conditions and sleep disorders, there are actually quite a few things that you do on a daily basis that can be the root cause of your disrupted sleep, such as:
Having a poor sleeping schedule
A lack of a nighttime routine
Blue light exposure from your phone, tablet or computer
Caffeine and other stimulants like nicotine
Alcohol
High levels of stress
Adopting a healthier lifestyle and ditching bad habits could have a big impact on your ability to sleep through the night.
Tips on how to sleep through the night without waking up
To help you get the best night’s sleep each night, here are some top tips to help you sleep through the night without waking up.
First, you need to create a consistent sleep routine. It may not seem like fun at first, but your body will definitely thank you for it. Your mind and body need time to unwind before falling asleep, so give yourself a bedtime and only do relaxing activities before, like reading a book or having a nice warm bath.
Try your best to stop drinking things like coffee, tea and energy drinks at least six hours before you go to bed. Try to limit other stimulants like nicotine too.
If you find that you wake up to pee a lot at night, stop drinking before bed. You may find that it helps reduce your number of late-night bathroom visits.
Although it’s hard not to scroll social media in bed, do your best to avoid blue light. Screen time can cause all sorts of sleep problems, and can mean you can’t sleep at night even when you’re tired. Having a technology-free wind-down routine can work wonders.
Exercise is also a great way to tire your body and mind out before bed. Try to do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week. Avoid intense workouts before bed — this can have the opposite effect.
You also need to put yourself first. This means looking after your mental health. Don’t let your worries build up inside you and manifest themselves as a disrupted night’s sleep. Seeking support for any stresses or mental health problems you have — whether through talking to people you’re close to, learning coping techniques or finding extra help from an expert — can help you get some rest without a cluttered mind.
If you’re really struggling to sleep through the night, melatonin supplements could be a big help. Melatonin is the hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle. By taking supplements, you could boost your melatonin levels and enhance your sleep-wake cycle which should prevent you from waking up during the night.
If you think you might have a sleep disorder, it’s best to speak to your doctor. They can provide you with an accurate diagnosis, as well as the right treatment plan for you.
Remember, everyone's sleep needs are different, so you need to find what works best for you.
What to do if you wake up in the middle of the night
If you wake up in the middle of the night, your first instinct might be to just close your eyes and will yourself back to sleep. But sometimes, this doesn’t quite have the desired effect.
Instead of laying there, hoping sleep washes over you again, try these top tips:
Mediate or try deep breathing. This can help to relax your body and mind again to transition back into a sleepy state.
Tense and relax your muscles one at a time. Start from your toes and work your way up to your head, and you should feel way more relaxed.
Don’t turn any lights or screens on. This can cause your body to think it’s time to get up when really you should be going back to sleep.
Stop watching the clock. Counting down the hours until you need to get up isn’t helpful, so put that focus on your relaxation techniques instead.
Start moving. If you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, try getting up and doing a quite relaxing activity like reading. When you feel sleepy again, simply hop back into bed.
Listen to calming sounds or music to help soothe your mind.
These tips should help you to create the perfect nighttime routine, as well as reassure you that it is possible to fall back asleep.
If you continue to experience these pesky sleep disturbances, start an online consultation with our sleep experts who can provide personalised recommendations and guidance tailored to your needs. With the right approach and support, you can enjoy the benefits of a full night's sleep and wake up refreshed and energised each morning.
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