5 Things To Try When You Can’t Sleep — And 4 Things to Avoid

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By PAGE Editor

Insomnia is a fact of life. Falling asleep is no easy task for many of us, some bearing the brunt of insomnia more often than others. Keep reading to discover five things you can do when you’re unable to sleep; and, importantly, what activities to avoid when tussling with a wide-awake brain.

Meditation Apps

If your barrier to a good night’s sleep is your head running rampant with thoughts, meditation can be a good way to regain control of your mind. Mindfulness, a form of meditation, is all about clearing and centering your mind and noticing your surroundings. 

The top meditation apps such as Headspace, Calm, Pzizz, and many others can be great tools to ease a mind working in overdrive. These apps facilitate meditative practice by using a guide or instructor to help give you tips and direct your meditation. They will usually speak for some minutes before stopping to allow you some time to meditate independently. 

Though not meant to help you fall asleep right away, meditation can have a sleepy effect and relax your mind in preparation for sleep. That being said, meditation should ideally be done in an upright position, not reclining. So, if you’re fighting insomnia, sit up, cross your legs, and try meditating in the darkness with the help of a mindfulness app.

White Noise

From time to time, we just need to be transported out of the silence of our bedrooms to a rainforest or a busy cafe to be able to nod off. Fortunately, there are various white noise apps out there that feature audio from various settings, as well as dozens of white noise playlists on YouTube and Spotify. So, whether it’s rain lashing against a tin roof or plain white nothingness, try some sound effects to help you catch some Zs'.

Reading

Reading a book can be the perfect way to relax your mind and eyes and send you on your way to a peaceful night’s sleep. Pick up your book, or wander over to a bookshelf if you have one to pick one out. Your eyes will eventually grow tired of reading the words and become heavy and sleepy.

Audiobooks

Don’t fancy using your eyes? Pop an audiobook onto your speaker and let the story be narrated to you. Audiobooks are a perfect sleep aid, typically read by gentle voices at a low volume. Just make sure the audiobook you select isn’t one with too interesting a plot — otherwise, you’ll likely feel more awake for wanting to concentrate. There are audiobooks out there that cater to situations of insomnia, purposely dull so that you’ll eventually fall asleep from boredom.

Make a Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is famed for being a gentle-tasting herbal infusion that can act as a sleep aid. If nothing you’re trying is working, try heading to the kitchen and brewing a mug of chamomile tea in low light. Besides the help of the tea itself, the act of getting up to make it could make you feel slightly sleepier. If you’re someone who will be up all night running for the loo, make a smaller tea or avoid drinks altogether. 

What Should You Avoid Doing?

There are plenty of things we resort to when unable to sleep that are actually making the problem worse, such as some of the following.

Laying there and Waiting

Studies show that when you can’t sleep, you shouldn’t just lay there and wait for it to happen. Instead, it is recommended to get out of bed and do an activity in a quiet, dark area before heading back to bed when you feel sleepy. 

Furthermore, it is recommended that for good sleep hygiene, you should avoid laying there with your eyes shut when you’re wide awake. Keep your eyes open until the moment they naturally close when you fall asleep. If your eyes try to close on their own just to be closed, open them, and keep doing this until they are finally close to send you to sleep.

Scrolling

Tempting and easy as it is to pick up your phone when you can’t sleep, scrolling is an absolute no-go. This is because the blue light from the screen awakens your eyes even more, replicating sunlight in this way. Try to find some other activity to satisfy your boredom when you can’t sleep; otherwise, you risk perpetuating your insomnia.

Watching TV

Similarly, TV omits that same light that will make you feel more awake. In some instances, watching a gentle TV show using your device’s warm lighting or “night shift” setting may be okay, so long as it is a thoroughly unexciting plot at a very quiet volume!

Making a Late-Night Coffee

The same goes for all caffeinated drinks — avoid them! Even if you believe you’re immune to the effects of caffeine, opt instead for a herbal tea to help you sleep. No good can come from coffee at ungodly hours. 

Conclusion

Hopefully, you aren’t reading this amidst a battle with insomnia — otherwise, you’ll be violating one of the key things we said to avoid doing when you can’t sleep. On a serious note, if you struggle consistently with insomnia, you may want to explore other avenues. Chat with your doctor to assess treatment options — it may be a case of needing a medical sleep aid or getting counseling to get to the root causes of your insomnia.

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