Help for Middle of the Night Insomnia

January 10, 2009 · Posted in Get Enough Sleep

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night and end up lying in bed for hours thinking or worrying, unable to get back to sleep? This is a problem that has plagued me occasionally all my adult life. According to Wikipedia, one in three Americans wakes in the night three or more times per week.

(Waking in the middle of the night or early morning can be a symptom of depression, particularly if you are a younger person. If you feel that you may be suffering from a depression that lasts more than a couple of weeks, you should see a doctor.)

Anxiety is a common cause of middle-of-the-night insomnia, and it’s certainly true in my case that I am far more likely to wake in the middle of the night and worry over things if, well, I have something to worry about.

A while ago, I ran across a very helpful set of techniques to help get back to sleep (this link will open a PDF).

My favorite technique?

Block intrusive thoughts while you are in bed by doing the following: immediately start saying the word “the” over and over, under your breath, with only the slightest movement of your tongue each time you say the word “the”. Repeat “the” at a comfortable rate, 2 or 3 times per second.

Believe it or not, this works like a charm for me a lot of the time, frequently cutting the awake time from an hour or two to five or ten minutes.

Do you ever suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia? If so, what are your coping strategies?

Read all the posts about sleep here.

Click here to get updates and information about the NurturingHope.com Tweaks System by email, FREE.

Click here to find out more about our private, supportive Member Forum.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neil_b/