What Should You Really Do When You Can’t Sleep?
When you wake up hours before your alarm, you might think making yourself stay in bed sounds like the best plan—however agonizing it may be. In other words: Trying to sleep seems like exactly what to do if you can’t sleep—however, sleep scientists say trying to make yourself sleep when you really can’t might actually make things worse. It could increase your chance for developing chronic insomnia.
What to Do If You Can’t Sleep
According to findings from a 2016 study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (presented at the SLEEP Conference in 2016), getting out of bed when you can’t sleep—instead of staying in bed and trying to sleep—can prevent 70 to 80 percent of acute insomnia cases from turning into chronic insomnia.
Excerpted from Real Simple
