Yahoo Finance How to get back to sleep when you wake up in the night
When was the last time you slept through the night? The average person wakes up between 10-15 times a night according to sleep therapist Nerina Ramlakhan.
Ramlakhan explains that, while it's normal for us to wake through the night - harking back to the days when we slept in caves and it was a method of safety and self-preservation - what's less normal and a symptom of our modern lifestyles is the onslaught of thoughts, anxieties and buzzing white noise that greets us when we wake up.
Our nervous system can actually be nervous, according to the sleep expert, meaning that when we wake, and then immediately do the mental maths to work out how much time we've got left in bed and how tired we're going to the next day, we're triggering that flighty rumbling, nervousness that persists as we fight desperately to claim back our beauty sleep.
So how do you get back to sleep quickly and efficiently if you do wake up? Here's Ramlakhan's advice.
How to get back to sleep
Try this simple exercise next time you wake up in the night. Don't underestimate its ability to send you swiftly back into slumber.
Close your eyes.
Say the below slowly in your head, if you forget where you are or lose track then start again from the beginning.
I love my right foot
I love my right big toe
I love my right little toe
I love all the toes in my right foot
I love the top of my right foot
I love the bottom of my right foot
I love my right ankle
I love my left foot ...
Not only does this exercise work to posture your body and mind better for sleep, but it means you fall asleep in a haze of self love and affirmation. We're sold.
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