No matter how well you manage your sleeping habits, there are sometimes nights without sleep and insomnia just seems to sneak up on you. It happens to the best of us, even when we are on the right track. As a matter of fact, the night before last, I didn’t get to sleep until 2 o’clock in the morning. I remember my daughter had made some dessert, and I now know that if I have any sugar after about 6 o’clock at night, I’m pretty much lit until two. And when you’re in that position, believe me, the last thing you need to do is get stressed about it, because it just makes it worse.

The truth is, sleep is a complicated process, and our understanding of science related to sleep is not complete even after decades of research. Stay calm, even if you’ve had a bad night and think in the morning, “Tonight, I will sleep twice as soundly!” However, here are some helpful things to do when your body and mind wish to recover from the rough night and get your sleep pattern back into rhythm.

1. Eat Breakfast

Intermittent fasting has been shown to have its positive effects, but following a night of terrible sleep, it is better if you eat breakfast. Your circadian rhythm, which controls your sleep-wake cycle, is inextricably linked with your metabolism. Eating a meal in the morning helps “reset” this rhythm. If you’re sleep-deprived, your cortisol levels could be higher than they should be, and eating breakfast helps lower that Cortisol response associated with morning stress. Fasting may increase it.

2. Let the Sunlight in

Morning exposure to natural light is highly important because it regulates the core part of the circadian rhythm. Have your breakfast outside, or take a walk around shortly after you wake up. Even though you will feel out of it and just want to be in bed hibernating through the day, it’s very important to go outside and get some movement going on so that your body can adjust its rhythm. Light exercises, such as gentle yoga or walking, are good to help with your circadian rhythms but avoid too much intense exercise.

3. Limit Your Intake of Coffee

It is tempting to fuel yourself with coffee through the day, but excess caffeine in your system will disrupt sleep even more the next night. Try to keep it at one cup and before noon so that you don’t interfere with your sleep later. Actually, any time I have streaks of insomnia, I stop the intake of coffee and caffeine altogether.

4. Practice Grounding

Grounding-also called earthing-is when your bare feet touch the earth directly. As weird as it may sound, there is science behind the fact that it can reduce inflammation, decrease your level of stress, and help improve your sleep. Take a few minutes to connect with the earth, whether in your backyard or a nearby park. Sometimes, when I have much stress, I lie on the grass on my stomach, stretching my arms and legs, and just breathe. Your body then re-calibrates with nature.

5. Stick to Your Usual Day Routine

I know for a fact that if you had a sleepless night, or I’ve only gotten a few hours, it is very hard to do all of your normal daily tasks. However, try as much as you can to stick to your normal work pattern. Often times, you may be feeling pretty groggy in the morning, but in the afternoon you’d be surprised by how well we can function on an occasional night of little or no sleep. Our biology is set up to be resilient through nights that we’ve had to stay up on guard as a survival mechanism-since we were hunter gatherers-and still function the next day.

6. Avoid Napping

Although a nap might seem like an easy solution, sleeping for long hours in the afternoon negatively affects one’s sleep pattern. If one is sinking and just can’t hold his eyes open, he should stick to a 20-minute power nap and make sure not to nap after 4 p.m. This will prevent any further confusion of the circadian rhythm, increasing the sleep drive.

7. Follow Your Normal Nighttime Routine

Resume normal wind-down activities before bed. That is, minimize blue light, avoid heavy meals or fluids 2-3 hours before sleep, and follow whatever normal sleep hygiene one normally does. If there’s a natural sleep supplement that works for you by supporting melatonin production, now might be a great time to consider taking it 60-90 minutes before bed to help nudge the brain into recognizing it’s time to go to sleep.

If you don’t already have one in reserve, it might be a good idea to keep one in stock for when insomnia does hit. You can always give Sleep Remedy a try-it’s actually what I take myself when I find that I’m having a sleep latency, and it works pretty much every night!

Another really valuable supplement is to keep a low-dose melatonin tincture right next to your bed. You can get a good quality one on Amazon through Source Naturals. If I wake up at 2 or 3 am, I just take a quarter of a dropper full under the tongue, and that allows me to go back to sleep until seven.

Remember that even after a bad night, one may try to regain control and help their sleep health. Keep cool, positive, and patient, and try these tips to reset the system.

Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-long-sleeve-shirt-sitting-on-a-bed-6941117/

*Affiliate Disclosure: We are affiliates of Sleep Remedy, because I personally use these supplements.