Guided technique · Sleep practices · As needed
If you can’t sleep, get up
If you have been lying awake for what feels like about twenty minutes, getting up and doing something calm in dim light until sleepy, then returning to bed.
Level: Practising · Free — no account needed to read
If you have been lying awake for what feels like about twenty minutes, getting up and doing something calm in dim light until sleepy, then returning to bed.
Why it may help
Lying in bed trying harder to sleep teaches your brain to link bed with being awake and frustrated. Getting up helps re-link bed with sleep. It is part of CBT for insomnia.
When to use it
- you lie awake for long periods
- you feel frustrated or anxious in bed
- you wake in the night and can’t get back to sleep
Helps with
- Lying awake
- Dreading bedtime
How to do it
- Turn your clock away so you are not watching the time.
- If you have been awake a while and feel alert or frustrated, get up and go to another dim room.
- Do something calm and boring — read, listen to quiet music. Avoid screens and bright light.
- Return to bed only when you feel sleepy. Keep the same wake time in the morning, whatever the night was like.
What the evidence says
Strong evidence: Many good-quality studies, usually including randomised trials and reviews that pool them, point the same way. Guidelines tend to recommend it.
- What was found
- Stimulus control is a well-supported component of CBT for insomnia, which guidelines recommend as first-line treatment for chronic insomnia.
- What is uncertain
- It can feel harder before it feels easier, and it works best as part of the full programme with consistent wake times.
- Who it may not suit
- If you are very sleepy during the day, have a condition that affects balance, or work in a safety-critical job, get professional advice before changing your sleep this way.
Where this comes from: Sleep and circadian research; American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).
Afterwards, ask yourself
On a night you got up, how long did it take to feel sleepy again?
Lessons behind this technique
- When you can’t sleep — Lying in bed trying harder makes it worse. What sleep specialists suggest instead. (7 min · Practising)
If you need more support
- When self-help isn’t enough — Signs it is time to talk to someone, and who you can talk to.