How to handle disturbed sleep
17-06-2010
Most of us, even the deepest sleepers, will wake up for brief periods during the night without it affecting our overall sleep quality or well-rested feeling in the morning. Generally, these incidents last only for a few seconds at a time and are rarely even remembered the next day.
However, sometimes being woken in the night can prove to be particularly disturbing and difficult to return to sleep after, which if experienced regularly can have a dramatically negative effect on your sleep quality and therefore overall wellbeing.
Usually, these types of awakenings will be caused by external disturbances such as noises from outside, or perhaps a dream or nightmare, or perhaps an uncomfortable mattress. In the worst cases they can result in hours of lying awake, or a restless cycle of short, fitful sleeps and regular awakenings.
There are some easy ways to avoid an innocuous night-time wake-up resulting in a spiral of poor quality sleep;
Stay relaxed. Try not to start thinking too much as your mind will begin to kick into gear, and this won’t help you to stay in the relaxed state that is essential for sleep.
Don’t look at the time. Avoiding looking at the time is one of the best ways to stop your brain from firing up lots of thoughts, as even an absent-minded glance at an alarm clock can automatically trigger anxiety.
Don’t get up. Getting up and out of bed will force your body to start the process of waking up properly for the day ahead, and it will be even harder to go back to sleep. Putting on lights that stimulate the brain into a daytime condition would make this even worse.
Invest in a better mattress. A premium memory foam mattress will help you find a comfortable position for the whole night, meaning you won't need to shuffle around for a sweet spot.
However, sometimes being woken in the night can prove to be particularly disturbing and difficult to return to sleep after, which if experienced regularly can have a dramatically negative effect on your sleep quality and therefore overall wellbeing.
Usually, these types of awakenings will be caused by external disturbances such as noises from outside, or perhaps a dream or nightmare, or perhaps an uncomfortable mattress. In the worst cases they can result in hours of lying awake, or a restless cycle of short, fitful sleeps and regular awakenings.
There are some easy ways to avoid an innocuous night-time wake-up resulting in a spiral of poor quality sleep;
Stay relaxed. Try not to start thinking too much as your mind will begin to kick into gear, and this won’t help you to stay in the relaxed state that is essential for sleep.
Don’t look at the time. Avoiding looking at the time is one of the best ways to stop your brain from firing up lots of thoughts, as even an absent-minded glance at an alarm clock can automatically trigger anxiety.
Don’t get up. Getting up and out of bed will force your body to start the process of waking up properly for the day ahead, and it will be even harder to go back to sleep. Putting on lights that stimulate the brain into a daytime condition would make this even worse.
Invest in a better mattress. A premium memory foam mattress will help you find a comfortable position for the whole night, meaning you won't need to shuffle around for a sweet spot.
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