10 Tips to Fall Back Asleep After Waking Up at Night

Waking up in the middle of the night and struggling to fall back asleep is one of the most frustrating sleep disturbances adults face. Whether it’s due to stress, discomfort, or no obvious reason at all, this broken sleep can have a significant impact on mood, concentration, and energy the next day.

In the UK, it’s estimated that around one in three people suffer from insomnia symptoms, including frequent night waking and trouble getting back to sleep once awake. This blog offers ten practical, evidence-backed strategies that can help restore restful sleep when the night doesn't go as planned.

Why Do People Wake Up During the Night?

Before jumping into the solutions, it helps to understand why night-time awakenings happen in the first place. Some common causes include:

• Stress or anxiety

• Alcohol or caffeine intake late in the day

• Nocturia (waking to urinate)

• Poor sleep environment

• Sleep disorders like sleep apnoea or restless leg syndrome

• Hormonal changes (especially during menopause)

• Changes in blood sugar levels

For many, waking up at night is normal — part of a natural sleep cycle. The issue is when you can’t fall back asleep. Let’s explore how to change that.

1. Don’t Check the Time

It’s tempting to glance at your phone or bedside clock when you wake up. But checking the time can fuel anxiety, triggering mental calculations about how many hours are left before morning.

The science:

Clock-watching is closely tied to insomnia symptoms. A study published in The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders titled “Use of Sleep Aids in Insomnia: The Role of Time Monitoring Behavior” found that time monitoring behaviour (TMB) — or repeatedly checking the time — can worsen insomnia by increasing cognitive arousal and reinforcing negative sleep associations.

The study noted a bidirectional relationship: not only do insomnia sufferers tend to clock-watch more often, but clock-watching itself can exacerbate the severity of insomnia symptoms.

What to do instead:

Turn your clock away from you, use a sleep tracker that doesn’t light up, or set a rule for yourself not to check the time at all during the night.

2. Try the 4-7-8 Breathing Method

Slow, controlled breathing calms the nervous system and reduces cortisol, the stress hormone. One of the most effective techniques is the 4-7-8 breathing method, popularised by Dr Andrew Weil.

How it works:

• Inhale for 4 seconds

• Hold your breath for 7 seconds

• Exhale slowly for 8 seconds

Repeat for 4–6 cycles.

This method activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping the body shift back into a relaxed, sleep-ready state.

3. Use Progressive Muscle Relaxation

If your body feels tense or jittery, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) can help. Developed by Dr Edmund Jacobson in the 1930s, PMR involves tensing and relaxing individual muscle groups to release physical tension.

Try this:

Start at your toes and work up:

• Tense each muscle group (e.g. calves, thighs, abdomen) for 5 seconds

• Release and focus on the sensation of letting go

This technique has been shown to improve sleep quality in both short- and long-term trials (Journal of Sleep Research, 2019).

4. Avoid Light — Especially Blue Light

Even brief exposure to light at night can disrupt melatonin production, the hormone that signals to your body it's time to sleep. Blue light, emitted from phones, tablets, and LED lights, is particularly disruptive.

Key tip:

• Don’t scroll your phone or switch on the main room light

• Use a red light or low-lumen bedside lamp if necessary

• Consider blue-light blocking sleep aids like amber-tinted glasses if you often get up

Creating a consistent low-light routine at night trains the brain to associate dim lighting with sleep.

5. Get Out of Bed if You’re Awake for More Than 20 Minutes

While it sounds counterintuitive, staying in bed awake trains your brain to associate the bed with wakefulness, not sleep.

Follow this rule:

If you haven’t fallen back asleep within 15–20 minutes, get up and go to another room. Do something calm and non-stimulating like:

• Reading a boring book

• Listening to a sleep podcast

• Light stretching or yoga

Once you feel sleepy again, return to bed. This is a fundamental component of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), the gold standard treatment for chronic sleep problems.

6. Write Down What’s On Your Mind

Waking up due to racing thoughts or anxiety? Offloading your thoughts onto paper, sometimes called a “worry journal”, can stop rumination in its tracks.

Evidence:

A 2018 study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that participants who spent 5 minutes writing down tasks and concerns before bed fell asleep significantly faster.

Use a small notepad beside the bed or a dedicated app with a dark mode. This strategy is especially helpful for people experiencing nighttime anxiety or menopausal sleep disruptions.

7. Try a Natural Sleep Supplement

There’s growing evidence that certain supplements can support falling back asleep, particularly when the mind is alert but the body is tired.

Some effective options include:

• Magnesium glycinate: Calms the nervous system

• Valerian root: A traditional herbal remedy

• Glycine: Lowers core body temperature and improves sleep latency

• L-theanine: An amino acid that promotes alpha brain waves

Some sleep-specific blends (such as Veranite) include multiple ingredients. Always consult a pharmacist if you're unsure what’s suitable, especially when taking medication.

8. Use a Sleep Story or White Noise Track

Distracting your mind can be an effective way to nudge it out of overthinking mode. Sleep stories, ASMR tracks, and white noise help divert attention and ease mental chatter.

What works best:

• Calm, narrative-driven sleep stories

• Ocean waves or rain sounds

• ASMR sleep playlists (whispering or soft tapping)

• Brown noise for deeper, low-frequency calming

Apps like Calm, Headspace, and Slumber offer a variety of options. Look for offline mode features so you don’t need to turn on your screen.

9. Keep the Bedroom Cool and Comfortable

Temperature can significantly affect sleep. The ideal sleeping temperature is around 16–18°C according to the UK Sleep Council. If your room is too warm or you’ve overheated under blankets, it can cause micro-awakenings and stop you drifting back to sleep.

Quick fixes:

• Stick a leg out from under the duvet

• Use a cooling pillow or mattress protector

• Adjust thermostats or open a window slightly

A core body temperature drop is a biological signal for sleep — cooling down can nudge your body back into slumber mode.

10. Reframe the Wake-Up: Don’t Panic

One of the most underrated but powerful strategies is a mental reframe. Rather than catastrophising ("I'll be exhausted tomorrow"), try accepting the wake-up without judgment.

Try thinking:

• “My body will rest even if I’m not asleep.”

• “Waking up in the night is normal — I’ll fall asleep again soon.”

This shift from anxious urgency to calm acceptance reduces the stress that keeps the brain alert. In many cases, falling back asleep becomes easier the moment the pressure to do so is lifted.

When to See a GP About Night-Time Awakenings

Occasional wake-ups are normal. But if they:

• Happen multiple times per night

• Persist for more than 4 weeks

• Cause significant daytime fatigue or poor concentration

• Are accompanied by symptoms like snoring, gasping, night sweats, or leg twitching

…it may be worth speaking to a GP. Conditions like obstructive sleep apnoea, nocturia, thyroid imbalances, or perimenopause could be contributing factors.

The NHS offers CBT-I programmes and referrals to sleep specialists where needed.

Final Thoughts: Getting Back to Sleep is a Skill — Not a Struggle

Falling back asleep in the middle of the night isn’t always instant — but it’s a skill that improves with practice and patience. By removing sleep pressure, creating the right environment, and calming your nervous system, restful sleep becomes much more likely.

Not every tip will work for every person. But over time, applying two or three of these strategies consistently can rewire your response to night-time wake-ups and lead to better sleep outcomes.