Do you often wake up in the middle of the night, feeling fatigue, but for some reason not able to get back into sleep. You've tried every tip there is to help you sleep through — avoid eating and drinking three hours before bedtime, doing yoga, transforming your bedroom into a sleep sanctuary — with no avail. Afraid that you'll again stay awake for hours you start turning anxious wondering what you could do.

Sleep-inducing &

Learning How to Fall Asleep

There was a time, when I had difficulties in sleeping due to back pain. It was a vicious circle: lack of sleep made the pain worse and the pain kept me awake. The good thing was how this situation led me to study neuroscience-based movement learning and finding out both how to cure my back and, unexpectedly, how gentle movements could make me fall asleep and sleep well.

Now, even when I wake up in the middle of the the night, I know how to get back to deep sleep within minutes.

To get back into sleep, try doing gentle sleep-inducing movements

When you wake up, with no clear reason, I would recommend you try doing sleep-inducing movements, like the one I show in my free eBooklet. By doing gentle and slow movements with a purpose, you instantly can promote body relaxation, calmness and quieten your mind. In other words,  you soothe yourself into sleep.

Reducing negative stress at deep neurological level

Waking up in the middle of the night is a sign of negative neurological stress. One way you can reduce this stress is by doing the gentle and slow movements, I mentioned above, with a special intention to calm your brain.

This works, because at a deeper level, within your central nervous system, gentle and slow movements feed the brain with a calming input. In the neuroscience this is known as positive neuroplasticity,

Therefore, instead of passively waiting for the sleep to come, you could do gentle and slow movement exercises that have the power to relax both your body, quieten your mind, and calm down your nervous system, helping you in getting back into sleep as soon as possible.

Self-care at a deeper level

Life is often challenging. Some nights I still  wake up feeling the history of my back pain. Also, after a long walk, I might wake up with cramping muscles or when I've worked a lot in front of my screen, I might get tension headache.

Fortunately — by doing the same sleep-inducing movements, I've noticed that I can solve most of the daily physical issues. As a self-care method, this solution is 100% natural and, because the gentle movement exercises can address the underlying neurological causes, the improvements are sustainable.

What if You Really Cannot Get Back to Sleep?

Waking up could also be a sign of a serious health issue, like apnea, diabetes, infections, etc., and therefore a reason to consult your doctor for a checkup.

Naturally, other reasons can wake you up as well, like loud noises from outside. When this happens, one of the best ways to spend your time is by doing something educative, like learning a new skill that trains and develops your body and brain. Surprisingly, by doing this, you might fall asleep sooner than you expect. So why not learn a few new words, memorize a poem, or experiment with water-coloring. In anything you do, the key is to use your brain in a positive and creative way. As a result, doing this helps you in keeping your brain young and more flexible.

Here is a simple brain-exercise you might like to try:

Look for a modern new word, like concomitant and start playing around with it. Close your eyes and count the letters, spell it backwards, imagine you draw it with your index finger, with your nose, with your tongue, imagine you see it written in red, whisper it, and then rest for a moment, relax.

Sleep is self-care at its best. 

Thanks for reading!

Oliver