Try this simple technique:
- Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for 6–8 seconds
- Repeat for 2–3 minutes
- Longer exhales calm the vagus nerve and lower heart rate. Many people fall back asleep without realizing it.
4. Do Not Reach for Your Phone
Light, notifications, and scrolling activate the brain. Even “just checking” your phone tells your mind it’s daytime.
If you truly cannot sleep after 20–30 minutes, choose something boring and dim:
- Sit quietly
- Read a few pages of a paper book
- Listen to a calm, familiar audio (nothing new or exciting)
- The goal is not entertainment — it’s gentle disengagement.
5. Let Thoughts Pass Without Engaging Them
At 3 a.m., thoughts feel heavier than they are. Problems seem bigger, regrets louder, fears more convincing. This is not clarity — it’s nighttime chemistry.
Instead of arguing with thoughts, imagine placing them on a shelf until morning. You can silently say:
“Not now. I’ll look at this tomorrow.”
Most issues feel very different in daylight.
