Why do I keep waking up at night and how to get back to sleep?

WE’VE all been there.

It’s the middle of the night and you’re wide awake, you roll over to check your phone – horrified to find it’s 3am.

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This can be annoying, especially if you don’t need to be up for at least another four hours.

But it can be hard to drift back off, especially if your worried that your tiredness will mean you miss your alarm.

In order to get back to the land of nod without losing too much sleep there are some things you can do.

Here experts reveal the six ways that can help you fall back to sleep and get a decent kip.

1. Avoid toilet breaks

Dr Michael Breus toldBusiness Insiderthat you should stay exactly where you are if you wake up during the middle of the night and need a toilet break.

Even though you may be tempted to empty your bladder, the trick is to stay snug in your bed.

This is because if you leave the warmth, your heart has to pump more blood around the body.

A low resting heart rate is needed to fall asleep, which is harder to achieve if you are moving around and trying to find the loo roll.

2. Stop clock-watching

One thing we all can be guilty of is checking our watch or phone when we wake up in the middle of the night.

Dr Michael said to avoid checking your phone at all costs, as the anxiety of watching the clock can keep you awake longer.

3. Ditch the booze

A glass or two of wine, or a sip or two of brandy, for many is a pre-bed ritual and can help you drift off, but it can ruin the quality of your sleep.

That’s because alcohol blocks tryptophan – an amino acid that helps you sleep – from getting to the brain.

Professor Malcolm von Schantz, from the University of Surrey, says: “Alcohol has a weird effect in that it makes it easier to fall asleep, but it makes it harder to stay asleep and it affects the quality of our sleep.”

4. Shut pets away

It can be nice to have a warm fluffy pillow to snuggle with, but you shouldn’t have your pets in the bed.

They can rob us of those vital zzzzs – not just because they fidget about, but also because of fur shedding.

On top of this, sleeping with a furry friend can also aggravate allergies or asthma in those susceptible to it.

5. Cool down

You might feel like having a warm, cosy house is one of the only comforts in the colder months – but this can actually disrupt sleep.

This is because central heating systems dry out the mucous membranes, making you more thirsty during the night.

Dr Neil Stanley, ex-chairman of the British Sleep Society, says the optimum temperature for a good night is 18C or lower.

We need to lose around 1C of our internal body temperature, which sits at around 37C – to drift off.

If you’re in a room that’s too warm, your body can’t dump that excess heat – and that means that your sleep will be disturbed.

Turn the heating off in your bedroom and instead use duvets, blankets and breathable bed linen to help regulate your body temperature.

6. Quieten your mind

To help remedy this,The National Sleep Foundationrecommends trying meditation.

They say: “Learning to quiet your mind can be a helpful skill, both for navigating stressful daytime periods, and for falling asleep at night.

“If you’ve never tried it, start with as little as a couple minutes of sitting quietly and focusing on your inhale and exhale.

“You can also explore apps that will help guide you.”

They also recommend taking on more exercise as regular exercisers tend to fall asleep quicker and sleep more soundly.

Want more sleep advice? CBT could be the key to insomniacs getting to sleep faster and snoozing for longer.

And these are the five ways to burn fat while you sleep according to experts.

Plus this is the exact time your kids should be going to bed according to their age.