Can’t stop your brain racing at 3am? Try these suggestions from a GP

You’re not alone if you spend much of the night ruminating about daily stressors, checking the time and worrying about how tired you’ll be in the morning. Then spending the next day struggling to think straight and keep your eyes open. So, how can you break this cycle of anxiety and sleeplessness?

The first tip, and one of the most important, is to avoid lying awake in bed. If you haven’t nodded off within 15-20 minutes of resting your head on the pillow, get up. Take yourself off to another room and do something relaxing like reading, meditating or listening to music. Then, when you begin to feel sleepy again, go back to bed. This can be hard when you’re so tired that it’s a struggle to get out from under the duvet, but it works. The idea is to build a strong association with your bed and sleep.

When you’re in bed, calming any nuisance thoughts with relaxation methods can be helpful. They can feel a bit silly at first, but things like guided imagery, mindfulness and progressive muscle relaxation are all beneficial for a racing mind. You can find guides to these calming exercises online.

Finally, don’t forget the basics of sleep hygiene. Keep work materials, computers and screens out of the bedroom, and avoid looking at screens (especially those displaying social media) for an hour or so before bed. You might also want to try avoiding caffeinated drinks after 2pm, and alcohol and heavy meals in the evenings, if you want to increase your chances of getting a better night’s sleep.

A warm bath in the evening can help too, as can exercise during the day, but try to avoid strenuous workouts in the three to four hours before bed if possible (sometimes the adrenaline this late in the day can be detrimental to your sleep).

If you find yourself feeling comatose the next day, resist the urge to nap, unless it’s for safety reasons such as when you’re driving. If you absolutely can’t get by without one, try to limit it to 30 minutes and don’t nap after 3pm.

Avoid big lunches, which can make you feel sleepier in the afternoon, especially if the food has a high sugar content. We tend to crave less healthy foods when we haven’t slept, but protein-rich meals might help to avoid that afternoon crash.

If possible, a brisk walk and some fresh air might help to fend off the comatose feeling too. Above all, be kind to yourself, and lower your expectations for what you might be able to achieve the day after a restless night.

Read more:

• Why do I always get an energy crash in the afternoon?
• What’s the best thing to do when you can’t sleep?
• Why do I always find things to do late at night?
• Why do I always come up with my best ideas when I’m trying to get to sleep?

Asked by: Henry Parr, Frome

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