Get up, don't lie there
If you can't sleep, get out of bed and come back when you're sleepy. It feels backwards, and it's one of the best-tested ways to sleep better.
Key takeaways
- If you can't sleep, get up, do something quiet in dim light, and go back to bed when you feel sleepy.
- Keep the same wake-up time every day, however the night went.
- Use your bed only for sleep (and sex), so your brain learns that bed means sleep.
Why it works
Lie awake in bed often enough, worrying or scrolling, and your brain learns a new habit: bed is where you lie awake. Just getting into bed can start to make you more alert.
This practice reverses that. By only being in bed when you're sleepy, you teach your brain, night by night, that bed is where you fall asleep. It's called stimulus control, and it's a core part of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which doctors recommend as the first treatment for long-term sleep problems, ahead of sleeping pills.
How to do it
Each night
- Go to bed when you're sleepy
Not just tired, but actually sleepy: heavy eyes, starting to nod off.
- If you're awake a while, get up
Don't watch the clock. If you've been awake long enough to feel frustrated, roughly 20 minutes, get out of bed.
- Do something calm, somewhere else
Dim light, something quiet and a bit dull: reading, folding laundry, gentle music. Skip screens and work.
- Go back when sleepy
And repeat as often as you need to.
- Keep the same wake time
Get up at the same time every morning, even after a bad night, and skip naps if you can.
The first few nights can be tiring. That's normal, and part of how it works: you build up a stronger drive to sleep. If sleep problems have lasted for weeks and are affecting your days, ask a doctor about CBT-I.
Question 1 of 2
It's 3am, Tom has been awake for half an hour, and he's getting frustrated. What should he do?
Help Rosa
Rosa has been sleeping badly for a month. She goes to bed at 9.30pm to give herself extra time, lies awake for hours checking the clock, sleeps in on weekends to catch up, and naps after work.
Question 2 of 2
Sources and further reading
- Morin, C. M., Bootzin, R. R., Buysse, D. J., Edinger, J. D., Espie, C. A., & Lichstein, K. L. (2006). Psychological and behavioral treatment of insomnia: Update of the recent evidence (1998-2004). Sleep, 29(11), 1398-1414.
- Qaseem, A., Kansagara, D., Forciea, M. A., Cooke, M., & Denberg, T. D. (2016). Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: A clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 165(2), 125-133.
Finish the lesson
0 of 2 questions done. Answer the rest to finish.