How to go back to sleep after waking up at night

WWaking up during the night is normal. Most adults do this between two and six times a night — and if you sleep well, these awakenings will be so brief that you probably won’t remember them, says Lynelle Schneeberg, a sleep psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale. Medicine.

But for some people, nighttime awakenings are so intrusive that they experience what Schneeberg calls “the download.”

“You wake up and think, Why am I awake? How long have I been sleeping? How much longer do I have to sleep?” she says. You might start to worry about something that’s been on your mind, whether it’s a big presentation at work or a conflict with a family member. Once downloaded, you’re ready.

Even people who don’t have trouble falling asleep may have difficulty waking up at night. These expert tips will help you figure out what’s waking you up and how to get back to sleep.

Exclude medical conditions

A good first step is to rule out intrinsic sleep disorders, says Dr. Venkata Mukkavilli, a psychiatrist specializing in sleep medicine at the O’Donnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center. These can include obstructive sleep apnea—a condition in which a person’s airways become blocked, cutting off breathing—and restless legs syndrome, a nervous system disorder characterized by the need to move the legs at night. Signs of obstructive sleep apnea include snoring and waking up gasping for air.

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Other chronic medical conditions can also contribute to difficulty sleeping at night, says Mukkavilli. These include depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, fibromyalgia, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and arthritis. Menopause can also cause nighttime awakenings due to hot flashes, as can an enlarged prostate, as it often leads men to urinate more frequently at night.

Cut out alcohol and limit caffeine

Even if alcohol seems to be helping you sleep well, it probably is doing the opposite. “This increases drowsiness, but decreases sleep quality,” says Mukkavilli. People who drink alcohol regularly can fall asleep quickly, but they often wake up in the middle of the night because alcohol can inhibit the body’s ability to enter a deep stage of sleep. It’s also a diuretic, so it can make people urinate more.

It should come as no surprise that you should also limit your intake of coffee, tea, and soda, since caffeine is a stimulant. Schneeberg’s recommendation is to have no more than three or four eight-ounce cups of caffeinated beverages per day, preferably before noon. “Caffeine has a half-life of three to five hours, so if you drink coffee very late, you may still have some caffeine in your bloodstream close to bedtime,” she says.

Watch what (and when) you eat

If you wake up multiple times a night, consider moving your dinner time earlier, says Dr. Vishesh Kapur, professor and director of sleep medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. If you eat a very large meal late at night, the digestion process could wake you up. Spicy foods, acidic foods and fatty foods are particularly problematic.

Schneeberg agrees—she often tells patients not to eat large meals three hours before bed. But she’s all for a small snack before bed, like toast with peanut butter or oatmeal cookies with milk. “It’s often comforting, relaxing, and doesn’t give the body much to digest,” she says.

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Many people who wake up at night head to the kitchen to eat in the middle of the night, but Schneeberg warns against this. “[This] It’s a really bad idea, actually, because then you set an alarm to get up and eat into your body,” she says. Eating cookies at 2 am will teach your body to expect them.

Improve your training

Exercise is a great way to improve your sleep quality. Research has shown can help people fall asleep and stay asleep because it increases production of the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin, reduces stress, improves mood, and regulates body temperature, which can help you nod off.

But if you wake up multiple times a night, try not to exercise at night, preferably two hours before bed, says Mukkavilli. Search found that intense physical activity late at night can affect sleep quality, probably because it increases heart rate and body temperature.

Don’t check your phone

Phones are stimulating, so checking them at night – even if it’s just to see what time it is – can keep you awake longer. If you’re tempted to look at your phone, Kapur recommends leaving it out of your room.

The same applies to your TV, tablet, laptop and other electronic devices. Melatonin is produced in the absence of light, says Mukkavilli, so using these devices can inhibit the body’s production of it.

Get up from bed

Most experts recommend staying in bed after waking up at night and trying to go back to sleep for 15 to 20 minutes. If you’re still awake after that window, get out of bed and go to a quiet, peaceful place in your home to do something relaxing, like reading, doing a puzzle, or listening to an audiobook, says Schneeberg. (If you find reading particularly comforting, she believes it’s okay to do this activity in bed for up to 30 minutes, as it often helps people get back to sleep.)

Avoid naps when possible

Napping can be an effective way to recharge when you are tired. But if you’re struggling to wake up at night, nap during the day – especially for too long or too late –can affect the quality of your nighttime sleep. “Generally, if someone is having trouble getting back to sleep after waking up at night, it’s best not to take a nap,” says Kapur.

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There are exceptions to this rule. Kapur says naps may be beneficial for people with daytime sleepiness related to obstructive sleep apnea, at least until it’s treated properly. Schneeberg also adds that many older adults tend to need less nighttime sleep as they age, adding a nap.

Improve your environment

Environmental issues are a common cause of nighttime awakenings. These can include disturbing noises such as cars passing by; a very hot room (about 65°F is ideal); lots of light coming through your window; or movement, such as small children or pets in your bed.

Pay attention to whether any of them are waking you up at night and make adjustments accordingly. For example, if you always wake up because the sun comes out at 5 am, hang blackout curtains. Or, if you wake up hot, set the thermostat a few degrees cooler the next night.

Consider taking CBT-I for insomnia

There are three main types of insomnia: sleep onset insomnia (difficulty falling asleep), sleep maintenance insomnia (difficulty staying asleep), and early awakening, a subset of sleep maintenance insomnia, says Mukkavilli.

If you’ve ruled out medical conditions and tried to improve your sleeping habits, and are still struggling to wake up at night, consider cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I. “It’s as effective as medicine,” says Mukkavilli, and typically lasts just eight weeks. “Even if it’s short-lived, it can have a lasting effect for the rest of someone’s life.”

Unfortunately, there are only about 150 to 200 sleep therapists who practice CBT-I in the country, says Mukkavilli, so it can be difficult to get an appointment (check this list of suppliers to begin). If you are unable to schedule an appointment right away, there are several CBT-I online tools this is very useful, says Mukkavilli.