What keeps us up at night?
Jan 30, 2026
In my sleep therapy work I am always asked what keeps us up at night and how do my classes help.
My answer is a variety of things but for most of us its
Anxiety
Worry
Stress
Pain
Then layer in habits aro und bedtime.
Unable to switch off, and move away from phones, scrolling etc.
Poor diet
Not enough time out doors - exercise
Shift work is a issue
Night shifts
Also a big problem for people who work in dark places, ie theatre, musicians.
People who work in basements or rooms with no natural light.
All of this can feel overwhelming, to difficult to overcome and often too tired to change.
What we need are SLEEP SOLUTIONS.
Take one small step at a time. Look at what you can change and think about how to do it. Be patient.
Worries don’t go away, life doesn’t change but we can change how we react to what keeps us up at night.
Mindfulness is not positive thinking. It’s accepting that there is a problem that is creating worry.
Learning skills that help us to be calm. It’s not easy at all, it’s a practice. It starts with an awareness of the problem.
We practice several exercises
Name the problems, categorise them into subject headings such as Work, family, past, present etc.
Breath work can underpin a feeling of calm and restfulness that works alongside this acknowledgement of the problem.
We use lavender oil to help calm the senses and also change the atmosphere around us. Creating something relaxing.
We talk about bedtime routines, when to eat our last meal in order to reset our body clock. This also introduces intermittent fasting into our life which will also help to create deep rest which eventually will take us closer to a 7 hour sleep.
It’s a practice and takes time.
We practice relaxing the body with an exercise called body scan and we also use a deep relaxation technique that can leave us with the benefits of 8 hours deep sleep in 20 mins.
Perfect for anyone who doesn’t get beyond 5 hours.
We don’t talk about being perfect or right, we accept ourselves and the way that we are by being present.
Change is constant. We are learning to adjust.
Lifestyle is relevant but we must also consider being social in this. Maintaining healthy relationships. Meeting new people, being social.
Hobbies…..
Doing something other.
Coming to the class and sharing a common bond is a good start. We share what works and what doesn’t. Often a community will have shared issues that keep them up at night, street lights, foxes, anti social behaviour, living in flats, hearing our neighbours coming and going, their washing machines etc.
As a community we can often help with some of these issues together.
We also learn in the class that we can’t change other people or some of the issues but we change how we react to it.
Over 75% of the participants in the classes leave feeling that they are able to improve their relationship with sleep.
Everyone leaves with some ideas on how to change.
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