It happens to us all: You spend a night tossing and turning and then you drag yourself through the next day feeling awful. Your head hurts, you can’t think straight, and your energy levels are so low that you don’t know how you’re going to get your work done and you crave every muffin (or donut or bagel) in sight.
Blame it on stress, unfinished projects, or something loud happening at the neighbor’s, nighttime waking has many causes. Unfortunately, not only does being exhausted make you feel awful and wipe out productivity, but it also brings on aggravating carb cravings. As your body looks for ways to drag itself through your busy day, it becomes fixated on fast fuel—foods that will enter the blood stream quickly. That’s you find ultra-processed carbs and sweets more tempting.
There’s actually a biochemical reason for your “sleep cravings.” Researchers from UC Berkeley published a study in the journal Nature showing that sleepless nights have a direct impact on brain regions that control decision making and make us more inclined to crave fast food rather than healthier options. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the scientists scanned the brains of 23 people, first after a normal night’s sleep and next, after a sleepless night. When sleep-deprived, the brains showed an impaired activity in the frontal lobe, an area which governs complex decision-making. At the same time, sleep-deprived brains showed increased activity in the brain centers that respond to rewards—which explains why study participants reported craving unhealthy snack and junk foods when they were sleep deprived.
“What we have discovered is that high-level brain regions required for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by a lack of sleep, while more primal brain structures that control motivation and desire are amplified,” said Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience and senior author of the study. “High-calorie foods also became significantly more desirable when participants were sleep-deprived. This combination of altered brain activity and decision-making may help explain why people who sleep less also tend to be overweight or obese.”
Knowing why you crave junk foods is only half the battle. Now you need to do something to prevent yourself from lying awake in the middle of the night, tossing and turning. Here are seven ways to get back to sleep.
- Stay calm: The first thing many people do when they can’t fall back asleep is freak out about the fatigued feeling they’ll have to deal with the next day. Not a good idea. Imagining what you don’t want to happen only stresses you out, which in turn causes the fight-or-flight hormone, cortisol, to flood your body. This the very hormone that ramps us up in case we need to outrun a saber tooth tiger or lift a boulder off a pet. Avoid this by remaining calm and emptying your mind. Or steering your mind toward pleasant thoughts.
- Do Rhythmic Breathing. Also called the “4-7-8 Method,” this three-step breathing technique is rooted in yoga. It’s brilliant at quieting the mind and sending you into a deep, peaceful place—the very kind of state that makes it easier to fall back asleep! To do, simply breathe in deeply through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold your breath for 7 seconds. Exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds. I find that 10 to 12 repetitions of this sends me floating into slumber, but you may need more or fewer repetitions.
- Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation. Related to biofeedback, Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a technique that deeply relaxes all your muscles, creating a powerful feeling of calm that sends you drifting back to sleep. The technique involves tensing each individual muscle in the body, then releasing it. It’s best done as you lay in bed: Start at your feet, tensing then relaxing the muscles of each toe. Then move up your foot, then calf, then thigh, then the muscles of your hips and abdomen and back. Then move to your fingers and go up your arms to your shoulders. If you’re not already sleeping, turn your attention to the muscles in your neck, jaw, face and head. Repeat with any muscles that feel good!
- Try to Stay Awake. Ready to tap into the power of reverse psychology? Dare yourself to stay up all night. According to a small, 7-night study of insomniacs, conducted at the University of Glasgow—and published in Behavourial and Cognitive Psychotherapy—participants who were told to lay in bed and try to stay awake with their eyes open, fell asleep between 20 minutes and an hour quicker than participants who went to bed with no instructions. While researchers aren’t positive exactly why reverse psychology works on sleep, it’s thought to be a matter of simple psychology: The more you tell yourself to do something, the greater the desire to rebel and do the opposite.
- Touch Your Sleep Spot. Touching yourself is a great way to release stress and flood your body with calming, feel-good endorphins. Yes, the age-old insomnia remedy of self-pleasuring works wonders, but what I’m specifically talking about here are two sleep-inducing acupressure points that are traditionally used in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The first, known as Shimien, is found on the bottom of the foot. Find it by drawing a line from each anklebone to the sole of your foot, just ahead of the heel. Using your thumb or index finger, apply gentle, continuous pressure to this very tender spot for two or three minutes to help relieve your sleeping problems. The second spot, called Anmien, is right in front of the ear, right above where your neck muscles meet your jaw line. Press your index and middle finger firmly into the depression for 15 to 20 minutes until you begin to feel yourself getting sleepy.
- Visualize Yourself Somewhere That You Love. You probably already know this, but counting sheep doesn’t work. According to research by Oxford University, however, imagining an environment that makes you feel calm and happy does work—beautifully—to put you back to sleep. In the study, published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy, insomniacs who were instructed to imagine a relaxing scene, such as a forest, beach or a waterfall, fell asleep 20 minutes faster than insomniacs who were told to count sheep or do nothing special at all.
- Count Your Blessings. Endorphins are those feel-good hormones that calm us down and make us feel all is well with the world. When awash in these soothing chemicals, sleep comes easily. But how to access endorphins? The easiest way is to stay in bed and be grateful—for everything in your life. Start by thinking about 20 things that you’re thankful for. As you think about each, your brain will signal the release more of this relaxing substance.
Research Reference
Greer S., Goldstein A., Walker M. The impact of sleep deprivation on food desire in the human brain. Nature Communications, 4, no. 2259 (2013), http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130806/ncomms3259/abs/ncomms3259.html
Harvey A., Payne S. The management of unwanted pre-sleep thoughts in insomnia: distraction with imagery versus general distraction. Behavior Research and Therapy, 40, no.3 (2002), http://www.pubfacts.com/detail/11863237/The-management-of-unwanted-pre-sleep-thoughts-in-insomnia:-distraction-with-imagery-versus-general-d
Broomfield N., Espie C. Initial Insomnia And Paradoxical Intention: An Experimental Investigation Of Putative Mechanisms Using Subjective And Actigraphic Measurement Of Sleep. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 31. No. 3 (2003), http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=167949