why does it occur and how to stop it?

Waking up in the middle of the night is normal, especially between each cycle. These micro alarm clocks are so discreet that you fall asleep right away. But sometimes nocturnal awakenings are insomnia: we wake up "for real" and have trouble falling back to sleep. Analysis and advice with Céline Braun Debourges, author of “21 days to regulate stress and sleep” (Jouvence editions).

We don't sleep "in one go". In reality, a night's sleep is divided into cycles of around 90 minutes, which themselves are divided into "phases": we start each cycle with light sleep, before entering deep sleep (there, a fly does not sleep. fail to wake us up), then we fall into so-called REM sleep (dream sleep). " Between each cycle, we go through a phase of latency, explains Céline Braun Debourges, professional coach specializing in stress and sleep management, and author of “21 days to regulate stress and sleep” (Jouvence editions). This lag phase lasts a few seconds, or even a few minutes depending on the individual. "

Usually, we do not wake up, or barely: we roll over in bed and it starts again. " However, it happens that these waking phases last more than twenty minutes, this is called insomnia, since the average time to fall asleep is five to twenty minutes “, Continues the specialist. At this point, nightly awakenings become more annoying, and the French are no exception. According to an Ipsos study, nearly 8 out of 10 people are interrupted in their sleep each night and take an average of 39 minutes to find it. These interruptions generate fatigue, and therefore stress, knowing that stress can then lead to new nocturnal awakenings. A real vicious circle that we would like to leave. How? 'Or' What ? Manual.

Getting out of bed when sleep is slow to return

Faced with the nightly awakenings that are required with regularity, Céline Braun Debourges suggests starting with " get out of bed ". A first reflex to put in place to no longer associate “bad sleep” with our bed, at the risk of waking up again and again in the middle of the night. Of course, getting out of bed at three in the morning is not easy. It's cold, the cat is going to get excited and we don't want to wake up the sleeping household which, on top of that, is a little creepy. However, getting out of the quilt is a solution, provided, of course, that you opt for a calm activity. " We obviously avoid screens », Warns Céline Braun Debourges who adds that, preferably, we choose a paper magazine. Why a magazine rather than a book? Because a good thriller can lock us to the couch while it is easier to give up reading an article. Then, as soon as our eyelids are heavy and we yawn, we can go back to bed.

The 4/7/8 method to sleep well (as if by magic)

To get back to sleep, whether we are out of bed or not, we can practice the 4/7/8 breathing method. For this, and as the name suggests, we start by emptying our lungs while exhaling, then we breathe in through our nose for a count of 4, hold our breath for a count of 7, then we breathe out loudly (let go) through our mouth for a count of 8. In all, we apply the method three times in a row, but above all, we don't forget to … wedge our tongue behind our upper incisors. Why ? " An acupressure point conducive to relaxation would be located here », Specifies Céline Braun Debourges. Unless this detail aims to fix our attention on a specific area of ​​our body in order to soothe us, a bit like when our grandmother whispered to us that to fall asleep, we had to breathe through the left nostril .

This method of falling asleep can also be done during the day when you are tense and restless, or before a nap, when you feel over-awake but want to take fifteen minutes to yourself. And of course, it also works before going to bed.

We prepare our night for the day

If we can manage our nocturnal awakenings and learn to go back to sleep through breathing, we can also counteract them, in other words give ourselves quality sleep to avoid waking up in the middle of the night. How? 'Or' What ? By slowing down our coffee consumption during the day, to begin with. " Many people think that coffee does not affect their sleep negatively, but it is a decoy », Explains Céline Braun Debourges. In short, we imagine that coffee rots the sleep of others, but we are not left out. " We drink our last cup at lunch break ", Recommends the coach, since the level of caffeine in the body takes between 8 and 14 hours to subside.

Ditto with tea, which contains theine (so it's a false friend), and alcohol (a huge false friend) which at first glance helps us fall asleep while it boosts our body temperature. We are hot, sweating and sleeping badly. In the same way, and even if it means talking about everything that we swallow, we will also remember that meals that are too rich and too sweet (sugar is an stimulant) disturb sleep and can, in the long run, lead to disorders of the sleep.

We no longer procrastinate when it comes to going to bed thanks to the "S.L.E.E.P. "

When our sleep is of poor quality, we experience nocturnal awakenings. The ideal, therefore, is to sleep well, either to sleep full nights listening to its rhythm, which is called the chronotype – you can discover your chronotype in Céline Braun Debourges' book, or via tests. available online. Obviously, that rhythm belongs to us, whether we are an early owl or a late owl. The concern, however, is that we always stay up "too late" (and even when we're late, you know?). The fault is the procrastination of sleep, or the fact of continually postponing bedtime, because we want to enjoy our evening (we finally have time for ourselves), because we are afraid of the dark and the dark. silence, or again so as not to face tomorrow, especially when a stress awaits us (as long as I am today, I am not tomorrow, so I feel good). However, the ideal is to go to bed earlier, at least as soon as our body sends the first signals of fatigue, since the notion of "early" remains relative and personal.

To no longer dodge her bed, Céline Braun Debourges has created the S.L.E.E.P. – S for "Stimulate your awareness", L for "Unlock your potential", E for "Make a real change", E for "Train your brain", and P for "Preserve". To implement it, the coach first invites you to work on the S, ie awareness: " Admitting to yourself that you are lacking sleep and that you need to put things right is essential ", Insists the expert. After that, what do we do? You unlock your potential by visualizing yourself as someone who loves going to bed! A few minutes with your eyes closed is enough to create positive and encouraging images, to be practiced several times during the day.

Then, we simplify our life, or rather the time of bed, because indeed, going to bed often requires a lot of effort. We have to leave the cozy sofa, brush our teeth, close the shutters, maybe even take the dog for a walk … So we make a change and we arrange to brush our teeth after dinner, to close the shutters as soon as night falls, and so on. In fact, we also try to turn our fun moment (like Netflix) into a slightly restrictive moment. It's not a fun idea, but let's say watching a series while sitting and with minimal light around you will help us more to lift our buttocks and run around our (cozy) bedroom when we feel tired.

… and the "WOOP" method

In her S.L.E.E.P. method, Céline Braun Debourges integrates the WOOP method, which supports us in our change. It is to the American psychologist Gabriele Oettingen that we owe this method, whose acronym stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle and Plan. It is used in everyday life and in all walks of life, as it offers to identify one's wishes and make them come true despite obstacles. This is why it is particularly effective when it comes to … quitting bad habits and going to bed earlier. So, no need to repeat to you that "tonight, I promise, I'll go to bed early", because this good resolution is generally in vain (and we know it). With the WOOP method, we make a wish (I want to go to bed early) and we identify the obstacle (Netflix), then we determine our plan in one sentence that mixes our obstacle with our wish: "If I want to continue to watch TV and it's 10:30 pm so I'm going to turn it off and go to bed ”. It is said. This little phrase, seemingly like nothing, is a great help in changing a habit since it creates a link between the blocking situation and an action to be taken. We realize that obstacles can be overcome, and we go to bed!

Finally, to complete the method, we practice going to bed in the middle of the day, by establishing a little ritual (we turn off the computer, we drink a glass of water …). Of course, we do not go to bed (well we do what we want), but we demonstrate to ourselves that it is possible by printing "a bedtime mechanic" (this is the fourth step, brain training). Then we persevere (the last step), because yes, we do not solve our worries of procrastination in two days or two nights.

And always waking up at the same time in the middle of the night… What does that mean?

Perhaps you have observed that your nocturnal awakenings always occur at the same time, and sometimes exactly! And that's quite baffling. In Chinese medicine, each hour of the night has significance. For example, if you always wake up at the same time between midnight and 2 a.m., maybe it's the liver that is hurting (it's working hard). But this liver activity can be associated with a specific emotion, anger. Are you in anger right now?

Between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., you have to bend over your lungs (are we running out of air?) And between 4 and 6 a.m., your intestines (something torpedoing us?). This approach can be enlightening. However, in allopathic sleep medicine, we do not go that far. Only "we associate the nocturnal awakenings at 4 o'clock in the morning with stress", notes Céline Braun Debourges. An interesting lead, since stress disrupts sleep, and the lack of sleep, once again, feeds stress but also anxiety. Therefore, if you wake up regularly at 4 am, you can try to correct the problem by taking it by the root. Meditation, sophrology, stress management coaching… There are many methods that can help us sleep better, or if necessary… get us back to sleep.

Our shopping ideas for better sleep

  • We fall for Dodow, a design object that projects a beam of light in our room. We fix it and, naturally, our breathing calms down at its own pace for maximum calm … and a big sleep.
  • We treat ourselves to a super memory foam pillow, because that changes everything!
  • We test the Fleurance nature sleep spray, which promotes sleep. Based on melatonin and the taste of orange blossom, this spray supports us even in the event of nocturnal awakenings! A "pshit" and it starts again.
  • We wake up gently to respect our body with a luminous alarm clock simulator dawn. The mornings are milder, fatigue gradually leaves you!

6 tips to make it easier to fall asleep

Video by Clemence Chevallet