It’s 1am, and you’ve been lying awake in bed for three hours. The time for tossing and turning came to an end hours ago.

Now, you’re stuck staring at the ceiling, questioning everything you said or did in the past 24 hours, watching the clock tick on and mentally calculating the amount of sleep you’ll get if you manage to fall asleep in the next 10 minutes (which, inevitably, you won’t).  

There are few things more frustrating than not being able to sleep, especially when you’ve got things you need to do the following day. But while there’s no quick fix for sleeplessness, there are things you should avoid if you want to increase your chances of nodding off.

To give you a heads-up, we asked Sammy Margo, sleep expert at Dreams, to talk us through all the things you shouldn’t do when you can’t get to sleep and share some tips for what we should do instead.  

1. Stay in bed

If you’re wide awake, there’s no point spending hours tossing and turning. Your best bet is to get out of bed and wait until you’re sleepy and ready to nod off.

“It takes the average healthy sleeper 15–20 minutes to nod off,” Margo explains. “If you find yourself awake for much longer than this, don’t stay in bed – this can reinforce any restlessness you may feel.” If you tend to get a lot of anxiety related to your sleeplessness, staying in bed can also lead to you having a negative association with your bed, which isn’t great for sleep in the long term.

Instead, Margo recommends taking part in a relaxing activity – like reading or doing some gentle stretches – for 20 minutes. “This may help condition the mind into purely associating your bed with sleep, with the calming activities helping you to unwind ready for rest.” 

2. Reach for your phone

When you can’t sleep, the last thing you want is more stimulation, which is exactly what your phone – a glowing screen packed full of all the information in the world – delivers.

“The light emitted from the screen may also mess with your circadian rhythm, giving the illusion of light that tricks your body into thinking it’s time to be awake,” Margo says.

Of course, not being able to get to sleep can get boring, which is why many of us reach for our phones in the first place. But if you need entertainment, try to opt for something that’s a little less stimulating, such as a book or crossword puzzle. If you can, use a dimmed lamp with warm undertones; bright, blue light can suppress the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. 

3. Try to tire yourself out

While tiring yourself out with a few star jumps or doing a workout before bed to drain your energy levels might seem like a good idea, exercise can make it harder for you to fall asleep. This is because there’s a difference between tiredness and sleepiness, and you need to focus on the latter if you want to nod off easily.

“Exercising when you want to get to sleep can increase your body temperature, which will impact the release of the sleep hormone melatonin,” Margo says. Exercise can also lead to a spike in your cortisol levels, which also counteracts melatonin production.

If you’re feeling restless, it’s OK to do a few gentle stretches or walk around the house – you just want to stay away from anything that’s going to get your heart rate up. You could also do a few breathing or mindfulness exercises to help relax your body; the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method is a great one that helps you to return to the present.  

Images: Getty