I often wake up between 3am and 4am.
It’s here I stress about tiny things and about global cataclysms. Then I stress about how to sleep better. Then I become angry that I let myself become stressed. What are my chances of sleeping, I think, with all this stress and anger? That’s just before I start googling potentially fatal medical conditions.
Am I alone in this craziness? I fear not.
It’s why I’m desperate to find the ultimate bedtime routine for a good night’s sleep. Sleep experts, where are you and how can you cure me?
First of all, what is going on with my brain? Why am I waking up, lying on my mattress with absolutely no perspective whatsoever?
Dr Christian Benedict, Associate Professor at Uppsala University, Sweden, works with IKEA on its sleep research. He explains my wake ups like this: the rational part of my brain is still asleep while the emotional sections have just bounded into my consciousness, ready to play.
“The front part that’s used for reasoning and rational thought is like a parent speaking to their child, saying ‘stay calm, it’s not as dramatic as you think’. These areas are very inactive through the night, whereas the areas that are involved in emotional processing, the amygdala, are more awake, so the balance is out.”
How to sleep better – start by taking notes. Read more at GQ UK
