By Sophie Dickson Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and you just aren't sure how to go back to sleep? Dreading the alarm clock that wakes you up at 6 A.M., most try to go back to sleep. Although our goal may be to go back to sleep, some of the things we do actually do the opposite. Things like midnight snacks, bathroom trips, and checking your phone actually keep you wide awake. Instead, stay in the dark and try to lower your heart rate by taking deep breaths. Another thing that can help put you right back to sleep is a white noise machine or some type of motionless background noise. This is because if you brain hears something such as a dripping drain or a breeze from an open window, you won't be able to sleep because it doesn't sense it is safe to. When you happen to wake up in the middle of the night, stay positive and just try some of these strategies to get right back to sleep. The six best way to achieve the goal of staying asleep are: staying in the dark, remain in bed, block out noise, keep room at a pleasant temperature, quiet your mind, and lastly think positively. Staying positive is a very important part of falling back asleep. Don't worry about your alarm clock, just enjoy the last couple of hours you have to sleep. Don't Go Onto Your Phone...Usually when anyone wakes up in the middle of the night, their first reaction is to go to their phone. This is something that might comfort people with a fear of the dark, but will not help you get back to sleep. Dr.Hanifin, a professor at Thomas Jefferson University, has a lot to say about the sleep/wake cycle. "They're point sources of light that your eyes are drawn to, and that can keep you up". Here he is explaining how little points of light like a car driving by or your phone screen can simply keep you awake for hours. One strategy to falling back asleep is to relax your mind and try to clear whatever thoughts that are keeping you awake. Going onto you phone will keep you mind wide awake and therefore you are losing sleep because you couldn't stay off you phone. Does Temperature Play a Role in Sleep?The one thing that wakes most people up in the middle of the night is, believe it or not, temperature. According to Dr.Breus, "Another part of the sleep equation is skin temperature". A perfect sleep temperature is a cool core with comfortably warm skin. The cool air you breathe in, allows you to keep a cool core and prevents you from overheating. Things like your pajamas and blankets will keep your skin temperature at a comfortable level. Dr.Raymann, who is a published researcher in the journal Physiology and Behavior, says that socks could be a good way to keep you body temperature regulated while sleeping. The temperature sensors on your feet transmits messages to your brain when warm that cause you to doze off. Small things like temperature can help you stay asleep or wake up in the middle of the night. Sleep Mask Experiment...The sleep-mask that is recommended by Dr.Hanifin has a circular space for you eye that allows you to open and close your eyes at will. The sleep-mask helps people sleep by being able to open your eyes when you wake up at night without the source light that will keep your brain active and awake. This improves sleep because the point sources of light doesn't draw your attention anymore and allows your brain to go to sleep and shut down. This subject interested me because I have always wondered why it is so hard to go to sleep once you wake up in the middle of the night. I always had trouble when I was little going back to sleep after waking up and it was interesting to learn why that is. Overall, sleeping with a sleep-mask of any kind will improve your sleep if you often wake up in the night because the point sources of light will not be a factor to keeping you awake. APA Link Citation: Chen, Joanne. “Wide-Awake at 3 A.M.? Don’t Just Look at Your Phone.” The New York Times, 30 Aug. 2019. NYTimes.com, https://thewirecutter.com/blog/wide-awake-at-3-am-dont-just-look-at-your-phone/. Sleep Deprivation Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/30/smarter-living/wirecutter/wide-awake-at-3-am-dont-just-look-at-your-phone.html Image 1 Link: file:///Users/student/Desktop/desktop%20photos%20/embeddedIMG_WakingUpAtNight_850px_1-600x600.jpg Image 2 Link: file:///Users/student/Desktop/desktop%20photos%20/embeddedIMG_WakingUpAtNight_850px_4-600x600.jpg Image3Link:https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&biw=1366&bih=657&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=fH_dXa36G8yk_QaOpYewDA&q=cartoon+thermometer&oq=cartoon+ther&gs_l=img.1.0.0l10.18848416.18866180..18868736...2.0..0.229.1772.5j9j1......0....1..gws-wiz-img.....0..0i67j0i8i30j0i24j0i131.U4-PxobEx1w#imgrc=QttRYzTFoP6GgM:
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Ms. Carrigan's Psych ClassWe have been reading articles about psychological studies to inform the way we live our lives. Please explore, and we hope you learn a bit about the psychology in your life! Categories
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