Do you also have a problem falling back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night? Next: 4 7 8 Breathing Exercise | Effective Sleep Technique: ua-cam.com/video/VSgRAJX9gUc/v-deo.html
I don't have a television in my bedroom, nor do I carry my phone to bed. So I have that covered. But I do suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia. The breathing helps. Also my visualization exercise is as follows: I'm in a vast snow-covered field and there is a raging blizzard. To stay warm, I have crawled into an igloo or a special weather-resistant tent that protects me from the polar conditions outside. It's weird, but it relaxes me and often helps me fall back to sleep.
Same. I have a special tent that protects from the elements and fall asleep inside it. I visualize setting it up and laying out the bedding. By the time I go inside the bedding I'm asleep.
Thank you nurse Sarah, I needed this, will try this tonight, and stay off my phone early hours of morning, got to stop having big meals before I go to bed. The corridor idea ill definitely try, thank you Nurse Sarah.
Its great to hear your lovely English voice Sarah the majority of video's on the Internet are voiced in American accents and I will definitely be trying your suggestions when I wake up tonight I am very grateful that I came across your video has I was watching something entirely different at the time, Thank you Sarah.😊❤😊❤😊
So, I woke up a little after midnight, turned on a couple of lights, ate a bowl of fruit, then opened my IPad, saw this video and watched it. Now I’m ready to fall easily back to sleep 😴
I will definitely try this. Something that works well for me when I wake up worried about something is counting backwards from 200. I rarely get to 100. If I’m concentrating on the counting I’m not concentrating on my problems 👍
Oh my God, this works like real magic! You should be given the UA-cam Nobel prize for probably what is the most helpful UA-cam video in existence. Thank You, THANK YOU!!
On low sound I play Gods Promise for Sleep video in the background. That focuses my mind on something greater than anything this work has to offer. It brings peace and sleep!
Sarah, thank you sooo much for these tips. It happens to me often and I have tried both the relaxing technique along with the breathing technique. I’ll be trying the corridor method next time. Thanks again!!!!
Thanks, but many of us actually need to get up (generally 2-3x per night) to empty our bladders, as it's very hard to fall asleep with pressure down there. That spikes HR a bit, but as you say, the 4-7-8 method does work (my resting rate is in the low-mid 40s, so it can't go much lower). I try not to drink much within several hours of retiring and avoid caffeine after mid-morning, but it's rare to get through the night without at least one "pit stop," and once I'm awake, my mind gets active--not so much with "worries" but creative ideas--and those can be even harder to ignore!
As a Type II diabetic, I'm lucky to have a warning when my blood sugar drops. If I can't get back to sleep & feel "jittery" I know to check my blood sugar.
Thank you. It’s what I did years back and need to revisit. I imagined a waste basket outside my bedroom where I put in all my worries saying I’ll attend to them in the morning. Thank you again
Surprised high cortisol levels weren't mentioned here. Also, vitamin B12 deficiency can be a huge barrier with getting to sleep/back to sleep (and low magnesium intake).
A lady at church shared that if she wakes up in the middle of the night, and can’t get back to sleep, she prays the alphabet. She prays for anyone whose name begins with A, then B, etc…. She said she never makes it all the way to Z!
I agree with not looking at the time. It makes all the difference. Also repeating letters, numbers or a short phrase or words will help such as 1, 2 or a,b, or light bulb. Even focusing on one object in your mind can help. Anything to keep the focus specific to keep your mind from wandering. The breathing has worked for me too.
Glad you enjoyed it! I often like to take the time and design a new hallway 😆before I know it I’m asleep and bot caring about putting worries in the doors 😆
I usually sleep pretty well, but I can't go to sleep unless the TV is on. My mind wanders too much otherwise. I usually wake up around 3 or 4 a.m. and turn the TV off (maybe to to the bathroom) and then fall right back asleep. But now and then I find myself awake for a couple of hours in the middle of the night (usually if I've fallen asleep too early). I'll give these tips a try next time. Cool video.
Good tips. Impact of eating on sleep is dependant on the individual. Ive tested this on myself for years..If I wake and Im hungry and dont eat I'll lie awake until I do. Eating scramble egg or yogurt and honey sends me back to sleep. There is also research suggesting that increasing insulin before bed helps reduce sleep latency. On keto I can go without eating but staying on keto has its downsides...
Great suggestion about the hallway thing. I will have to try it with the breath count. The thing is when I am lying in bed and start stressing about not sleeping if I get up then I am not trying to sleep and the stress instantly stops. I walk very slowly and don't turn on any lights. I then have a cup of herbal tea with my cats then try to sleep again. This usually works but I am up for a couple of hours before I have my second sleep. So I am always looking for faster solutions to get back to sleep.
Great advice, I will try both methods, I waken between 3 and 4 during week and cannot get back to sleep when I have to get up for work, no problem sleeping when I'm off, hopefully your advice will work, thanks Sarah
I do turn my phone on to UA-cam. I turn the sound on real low with no light on screen and listen to a 15-20 minute Jim Gaffigan stand up comedy routine. Always lulls me back to sleep. He has even mentioned that numerous people have told him that their children, grandchildren, friends and themselves use the sound of his voice to fall asleep to. He told this on CBS Sunday Morning Show. I thought it was hilarious since I had been doing the same thing.
I agree with not looking at the time. I used to have my alarm set to 6:30 and I hated it when I woke at 6:15 and knew there was little point trying to get any more sleep but I could not just avoid knowing the time because I also hated waking at 6:25 and rolling over to sleep and then the alarm going off. What I did was find an app that gradually increased the illumination of my phone screen between 6 & 6:30. That meant if I rolled over and my screen was dark then I knew I had at least half an hour, maybe several hours, so it was safe to go back to sleep and if it was very bright then I knew to just get up because the alarm was about to go off.
Tried that but ended up worrying about that difficult job of opening all those doors in the morning. But the breathing exercises do a very good job of achieving bradycardia and are helpful to fall back asleep. Also a ceiling fan on low creates that tranquil feeling of a cool summer breeze.
You are so lovely Nurse Sarah!! Thank you for this video!! It’s a pleasure to hear you speak. You are simultaneously charming and humble - such a wonderful combination.
Thank you!! What a nice surprise to see your response:) If you’ve feedback about natural approaches to a woman’s “Second Spring” as it’s called in the east (menopause in the west) I would absolutely love it. Perhaps something congruent with this: ua-cam.com/video/0LjLxUzU-Vo/v-deo.htmlsi=CA5BHCmR-7gYvEpj
I do all this and in addition, use a White Noise machine and still wake up after a couple hours of taking my Lunesta and cannot go back to sleep. In fact it is past 7:30 am …I’m still awake. Go figure.
No, my phone is in another room. I got to my study to check my blood sugar. If my blood sugar is too Low, it's dangerous & I must eat. Will try the rest of your suggestions.
Awesome video. I have mitral valve prolapse and I suspect because of my leaky heart valve I can't sleep longer than two hours without waking up with chest pressure and a heart rate that can escalate very rapidly if I move. Can go from 80 to 150 in four minutes, a horrible experience. Seems life threatening when I wake up feeling chest pressure and an unstable heart rate. I use metoprolol but I still have issues. I'll probably die and people will think I'm dying peacefully in my sleep. It's not sleep apnea. Doctors are challenged to figure it out. Maybe it's a drop in blood pressure because of my leaky heart valve. It can be absolutely horrifying and I can't sleep longer than two or three hours. Sleeping longer than three hours is horrifying when I wake up and feel like I may die from all the chest pressure. It's a consistent problem. If I ever slept longer than five or six hours I would probably die waking up.
@@NurseSarahJeffries probably need a mattress to elevate my head that's very astute thank you. Also I think when I'm sleeping I get a little dehydrated so if I didn't have water and a glass on a table I would really be suffering the extra water helps my heart move the blood around better. Also I have low sodium so maybe the blood doesn't retain water as well. Maybe it's because my blood pressure dips and when I wake up it takes a while for my heart to adjust. Still an awful way to sleep knowing that if you sleep longer than three or four hours it will be horrifying to wake up and this is pretty consistent, metoprolol helps but maybe that causes a lot of pressure to build up in the chest area. Unfortunately there's not a lot of good assistance for people on the medical side very difficult to find a good cardiologist they're just too busy and not being paid enough. I have tried many and they only look at the paperwork actors drug dispensers to control symptoms. I guess it's very challenging to be a cardiologist although I was hoping for better care.
4-7-8. 4 seconds inhalation, hold it for 7 seconds and then exhale slowly for 3-5 times, with no pause in between. It works magical every time... at least for me.
Woke up cuz my cat was eating something he wasn't supposed to. I sometimes do something similar to the corridor thing. I kind of imagine an "inside out" situation where everything is personified, then i go in there as myself (the boss), and tell them to go sit in a corner. Then i call up whoever i need (sleep, dream, etc) and if anything i don't want comes back to "the control desk" thing, I tell them to go back to the corner with the others (i may have to do it more than once). I pretend to let sleep take charge, and if i start thinking of random stuff that could only happen in dreams, I praise these personifications and encourage more of it. It's weird, but I think i usually pass out soon after cuz i got rid of all that "extra stuff."
As a counselling psychologist I use reverse psychology in the form of the Mary Poppins' technique: stay awake, don't close your eyes, don't go to sleep, don't rest your eyes, don't dream. Works every time😊
"Don't eat..." Me, watching this video at 3:30 a.m. after having a sandwich and cookies because I was so hungry; "Well... dang." Also, I came for the thumbnail and stayed for your lovely accent. You could tell me anything right now and I'd believe it.
I’ve had this issue for many years. Deep breathing is the only thing that really works. I focus on the breathing which helps clear my mind which is always a big part of the problem.
Awesome thanks is for sharing that. I think a lot of people forget we have this tool to help us sleep. Deep breathing also reduces the stress hormone cortisol. - if that’s high you would struggle to sleep.
Thank you for the video and tips. However, you mention 3 things that you should not do, 1 of those being you should not turn on any lights, else your body thinks that it is daylight and starts to wake up. My issue is that I cannot sleep without some form of light being in the room, probably a claustrophobic issue that I have at the moment. Any suggestions as to how I might get around this? Thanks
@@NurseSarahJeffries Thanks for the reply. Originally I had the bathroom light on, with the door ajar and that worked to some degree, but it kept my wife up. Then we put in a small night light, but that did not work for me, so had to move to another bedroom. Then after seeing your video, on Saturday night I went cold turkey and had no light on, then when I woke up in the night I used the 4-7-8 breathing method. Result, I went to bed at 11.40 and woke at 5.40. Tried to do the same thing last night, woke in the night and thought I had put a good number of hours in. Looked at time it was only 1.40. My mind was not up for the 4-7-8 breathing, so got up for 1 hour, then went back to bed and listened to guided meditations until 7.00am. Waiting for a deliver of magnesium tablets to see if that will assist in combination with everything else. Thanks for your videos.
@@NurseSarahJeffries Thank you for taking the time to follow up on this. Yes I did get the mag tablets and vit D tablets. The mag tablets are Magnesium Glycinate, (need to be the right type of mag) and Vitamin D for better absorption. According to the advice I found on line the mag tablets will get you off to sleep, but would not address the issue of waking up say 3 hours later, that is probably due to cortisol levels being too high at the wrong time. But thought I would start with the Mag and Vit D tablets and see how I got on. I am pleased to report that in 19 nights since starting to take the mag and Vit d tablets I have had only 2 nights where I woke in the night and could not get back to sleep and had to get up and go to the living room. One of those I suspect was because I had a hot chocolate which would have had some caffeine in it. Mots nights I go to bed at 10.30 - 11. Go straight to sleep. Wake between 1.30 and 2.15. Go to the loo, as have done for years. Go back to bed and quite soon go back to sleep. If I have something on my mind I use your corridor and door method. I still have a dim light on (working on that), but mainly waking up between 6 and 7. So at least getting some hours of sleep in. Note: I am also doing mindfulness practice, and now 4-2-4 breathing in the day as that has scientific evidence that it helps with the parasympathetic nervous system, if you only breath 6 times a minute. Generally I have to train the animal part of my brain that it should not over react for small/minor stressful situation. But I believe the mag/vit D tablets have helped. Hope this helps anyone else.
@@NurseSarahJeffries Thanks for asking. That's odd I wrote out a long reply to this and it looks like it did not take. So the short version is. 20 days ago I started taking magnesium glycinate (need to be this type) and vit D for better absorption. For 18 of those nights I have slept from 10.30-11pm to 1.30-2.30 and woke up. Went to the toilet. Then when back to sleep until 6.30-7.30. So tablets appeared to be helping. Plus made sure that I have not been having caffeinated drinks, this effected 1 of the nights were I had an issue sleeping. Also doing mindfulness exercises and getting plenty of physical exercise, running, tennis and padel.
Because its disingenuous and an attempt to manipulate the viewer. She is in her home, not a hospital setting, dressed like a Dr, when she is a nurse, and it backfires on her. She is clearly lovely, but what she says should be enough in itself, without trying to manipulate.
Why do we sleep in one position and wake up in another? For example, I sleep on my left side, with a pillow in the middle of my legs, and sometimes I wake up on my right side, but I don't remember that I switched positions; Why does this happen?
Do we really need to be a total wanker to people offering excellent information when it just makes us look like a superior twat? Thanks, jerk - you raised my heart rate and made it harder for me to get back to sleep.
I can't fall asleep counting. It keeps my mind too engaged. Instead I take a deep breath to relax my heart and body and just focus on my breathing. Next thing I know, I'm waking in the morning. I have fallen asleep in 3 breaths. I promise it works.
Sorry I'm so late to this, but, if I may, a question. You say lowering the heart rate is important. What about someone like me whose heart rate is governed by a pacemaker? The pacemaker generates a floor rate of 60RPM. My natural heart rate at rest is in the low 40s, sometimes in the upper 30s - the cardiologist once said "much lower and you'd be dead." Looks as if I'm stuck as far as heart rate goes...
Everyone is different. I’m talking about someone sitting there filled with anxiety, heart rate pounding because of stress that they can’t fall back to sleep.
Interesting that as I turned on UA-cam after waking in the middle of the night and not able to get back to sleep, thus is the first video the algorithm suggested.
It’s 3:28 am, I have to be at work in the morning. This isn’t working. I’m on the fence whether to commit to staying up or try to get two hours of sleep.
It's very hard to fall back asleep once I wake up my mind just drifts back in time then all of a sudden I fine myself thinking of - Pepé Le Pew - that little character cracks me up lol.
Next time that happens - now you know the basics of the sleep tips. Dry slow deep breathing. Resist tue urge to pick up your phone - that blue light tricks your brain and that’s another reason why you can’t go back to sleep!
@@MandaPanda254 I only pretty recently learned that I have it, and now it makes so much sense why I was always confused at the concept of counting sheep. I was always like, "but how?!?" 🤔🐑😴😂
@@linds7774 I only realised like 6 months ago. My mind was absolutely blown when I found out people can actually 'see' things in their mind. I always thought everything was a figure of speech.. 'picture this/imagine your on a Beach/think of a flower and tell me what it looks like' etc. It's so fascinating we can live our lives and have no idea 😄
Stop with the 'it's all psychological/worry' crap. The most common, long termnsleep maintenance insomnia is in post menopausal women and is likely physiological (even though we dont really knowcwhy). I can do any counted breathing technique or visualisation... for hours (used to teach this stuff). Relaxation has nothing to do with it. If i wake at 2-3am, I WILL be awake for 3 hours ie two sleep cycles.
Yep, take another ambien. Boom lights out. I do NOT have any imagination, I couldn't picture a door in my mind let alone a hallway with a bunch of them. Ambien it IS! Works like a sledge hammer to your head. 😂
OK, the not getting up or switching on a light doesn't work if your bladder says it's full. I'm getting up and turning on a light to pee. Sorry, but no other way to do it.
Why do you need background music when you're talking? I wish wish wish channels that aren't actually music channels would just talk if they are relating information.
Best thing to do to get back to sleep is to lie as close as you can to the edge of the bed, you're bound to.....drop off. If you're an insomniac, a sure fire cure is.....get plenty of sleep.
Do you also have a problem falling back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night?
Next: 4 7 8 Breathing Exercise | Effective Sleep Technique: ua-cam.com/video/VSgRAJX9gUc/v-deo.html
Using 4-7-8 breathing method shows little change in pulse rate on my blood pressure equipment.
I have been doing the 478 method for 4 years now. Every night and puts me fast asleep every time!
I don't have a television in my bedroom, nor do I carry my phone to bed. So I have that covered. But I do suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia. The breathing helps. Also my visualization exercise is as follows: I'm in a vast snow-covered field and there is a raging blizzard. To stay warm, I have crawled into an igloo or a special weather-resistant tent that protects me from the polar conditions outside. It's weird, but it relaxes me and often helps me fall back to sleep.
OMG! I do something similar but it's a cabin in the woods with rain falling on the roof. Must try yours.
Same. I have a special tent that protects from the elements and fall asleep inside it. I visualize setting it up and laying out the bedding. By the time I go inside the bedding I'm asleep.
Wow. I’ve been doing similar for years
Nurse Sarah, the comments section can be pretty rough (some people are just cranky), but thank you for making this video to try and help us all.
You are so welcome!
Haha I don’t worry about those! They left a comment! Love it! Thanks though very sweet of you!
Nurse? … I feel cheated 😂
Thank you nurse Sarah, I needed this, will try this tonight, and stay off my phone early hours of morning, got to stop having big meals before I go to bed. The corridor idea ill definitely try, thank you Nurse Sarah.
great, glad your doing those things! Have you treid meditation before falling alseep? Let me know how the corridor works
@NurseSarahJeffries sorry, I'm not having a go at you, but I am surprised at your poor grammer and spelling.
Its great to hear your lovely English voice Sarah the majority of video's on the Internet are voiced in American accents and I will definitely be trying your suggestions when I wake up tonight I am very grateful that I came across your video has I was watching something entirely different at the time, Thank you Sarah.😊❤😊❤😊
Oh thank you! Appreciate your time! Are there any topics you’d like me to talk about?
@user-wm1j7fj6g Absolutely agree! Its near impossible finding any speakers other than American !
Just subbed! Th you for yr work. Could you pl cover upper arm tendinitis, pl?@@NurseSarahJeffries
So, I woke up a little after midnight, turned on a couple of lights, ate a bowl of fruit, then opened my IPad, saw this video and watched it. Now I’m ready to fall easily back to sleep 😴
I will definitely try this. Something that works well for me when I wake up worried about something is counting backwards from 200. I rarely get to 100. If I’m concentrating on the counting I’m not concentrating on my problems 👍
Perfect!
I do this too! Mostly works.
Oh my God, this works like real magic! You should be given the UA-cam Nobel prize for probably what is the most helpful UA-cam video in existence. Thank You, THANK YOU!!
On low sound I play Gods Promise for Sleep video in the background. That focuses my mind on something greater than anything this work has to offer. It brings peace and sleep!
Sarah, thank you sooo much for these tips. It happens to me often and I have tried both the relaxing technique along with the breathing technique. I’ll be trying the corridor method next time. Thanks again!!!!
Your welcome! Let me know how you get on? X
Thanks, but many of us actually need to get up (generally 2-3x per night) to empty our bladders, as it's very hard to fall asleep with pressure down there. That spikes HR a bit, but as you say, the 4-7-8 method does work (my resting rate is in the low-mid 40s, so it can't go much lower). I try not to drink much within several hours of retiring and avoid caffeine after mid-morning, but it's rare to get through the night without at least one "pit stop," and once I'm awake, my mind gets active--not so much with "worries" but creative ideas--and those can be even harder to ignore!
If you're male maybe get that prostate gland checked!
As a Type II diabetic, I'm lucky to have a warning when my blood sugar drops. If I can't get back to sleep & feel "jittery" I know to check my blood sugar.
Thank you. It’s what I did years back and need to revisit. I imagined a waste basket outside my bedroom where I put in all my worries saying I’ll attend to them in the morning. Thank you again
aw cool yes thats the same concept
Thank you I needed this.
Your welcome! Hope it helps?
Came across this vid whilst wide awake at night scrolling UA-cam
Put the phone down please 🙏
Surprised high cortisol levels weren't mentioned here. Also, vitamin B12 deficiency can be a huge barrier with getting to sleep/back to sleep (and low magnesium intake).
I have many other videos on sleep. Hard to get all info in one without bombarding. But appreciate the feedback thank you
A lady at church shared that if she wakes up in the middle of the night, and can’t get back to sleep, she prays the alphabet. She prays for anyone whose name begins with A, then B, etc….
She said she never makes it all the way to Z!
@@candybishop429
I hope it works for you🌻
Too tired to argue - Zara x
??????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor sick zebra.
Everyone I prayed for fell asleep on the spot.
Yes the 4 7 8 really works thank you
Your welcome! So glad to hear it!
@@NurseSarahJeffries you're
. Simply wonderful???
I agree with not looking at the time. It makes all the difference. Also repeating letters, numbers or a short phrase or words will help such as 1, 2 or a,b, or light bulb. Even focusing on one object in your mind can help. Anything to keep the focus specific to keep your mind from wandering. The breathing has worked for me too.
Spelling words.....backwards! 🙂
I need to see the time though, to know if I need to take my melatonin or if it’s already too late- like 5 or 6 am.
Great tips. I liked the visualization of the white card with the doors on the sides. That makes lots of sense. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it! I often like to take the time and design a new hallway 😆before I know it I’m asleep and bot caring about putting worries in the doors 😆
@@NurseSarahJeffriesThank you! I started using the hallway and doors. It helps a lot. Is there a video that might help ?
I usually sleep pretty well, but I can't go to sleep unless the TV is on. My mind wanders too much otherwise. I usually wake up around 3 or 4 a.m. and turn the TV off (maybe to to the bathroom) and then fall right back asleep. But now and then I find myself awake for a couple of hours in the middle of the night (usually if I've fallen asleep too early). I'll give these tips a try next time. Cool video.
Insight timer on your phone might work. It's a meditation app that has many different soothing sounds to listen to and relax with, it's free.
Good tips. Impact of eating on sleep is dependant on the individual. Ive tested this on myself for years..If I wake and Im hungry and dont eat I'll lie awake until I do. Eating scramble egg or yogurt and honey sends me back to sleep. There is also research suggesting that increasing insulin before bed helps reduce sleep latency. On keto I can go without eating but staying on keto has its downsides...
Good advice and you have a great accent.
Thank you! 😃
Yup. It's a Cockney accent. 😂
@@TrueBlade-1889 def not... makem all the way
Thanks so much💚💚💚💚😍😍😍😍
You're welcome 😊
Great suggestion about the hallway thing. I will have to try it with the breath count. The thing is when I am lying in bed and start stressing about not sleeping if I get up then I am not trying to sleep and the stress instantly stops. I walk very slowly and don't turn on any lights. I then have a cup of herbal tea with my cats then try to sleep again. This usually works but I am up for a couple of hours before I have my second sleep. So I am always looking for faster solutions to get back to sleep.
Happy to talk more to you if you want?
Thanks. I'll give it a try.
Great advice, I will try both methods, I waken between 3 and 4 during week and cannot get back to sleep when I have to get up for work, no problem sleeping when I'm off, hopefully your advice will work, thanks Sarah
Let me know! Good luck
This is very helpful
Happy to hear
I tried doing the walk down the hallway and was met by those two dead girls from The Shining.
I’m so glad you said that because it’s exactly what I was thinking. This method would have me stressing not relaxing lol
Haha omg! It takes practice to get rid of that image!
“Come play with us Danny!”😆
@@DioneN so creepy 😄
😂😂😮
I just woke up can’t get back to sleep and found this video😂thx
I do turn my phone on to UA-cam. I turn the sound on real low with no light on screen and listen to a 15-20 minute Jim Gaffigan stand up comedy routine. Always lulls me back to sleep. He has even mentioned that numerous people have told him that their children, grandchildren, friends and themselves use the sound of his voice to fall asleep to. He told this on CBS Sunday Morning Show. I thought it was hilarious since I had been doing the same thing.
Tony's your husband? Wow I'm lucky to run into this. Great channel he's got.
Yes he is 👍🏻😆
I agree with not looking at the time. I used to have my alarm set to 6:30 and I hated it when I woke at 6:15 and knew there was little point trying to get any more sleep but I could not just avoid knowing the time because I also hated waking at 6:25 and rolling over to sleep and then the alarm going off. What I did was find an app that gradually increased the illumination of my phone screen between 6 & 6:30. That meant if I rolled over and my screen was dark then I knew I had at least half an hour, maybe several hours, so it was safe to go back to sleep and if it was very bright then I knew to just get up because the alarm was about to go off.
thats a great tip!
@@NurseSarahJeffriesYea, super tip 🙏
Thanks so useful! I wonder if this is age related, for the past 6 years my sleep has been bad as in keep waking up, started when I was 47?
Almost everyone I know has difficulty sleeping as they age.
yeah its true as we age our melatonin levels decrease. so keeping consistent with sleep hygeien is even more important.
@@NurseSarahJeffries hygiene, come on man
Beautiful thanks Joe
Tried that but ended up worrying about that difficult job of opening all those doors in the morning. But the breathing exercises do a very good job of achieving bradycardia and are helpful to fall back asleep. Also a ceiling fan on low creates that tranquil feeling of a cool summer breeze.
Thanks for sharing!
Another method that I use: I count sweet nurses 🙂
Perfect!
Thank you-
You're welcome
You are so lovely Nurse Sarah!! Thank you for this video!! It’s a pleasure to hear you speak. You are simultaneously charming and humble - such a wonderful combination.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
Any other topics you want to know about?
Thank you!! What a nice surprise to see your response:) If you’ve feedback about natural approaches to a woman’s “Second Spring” as it’s called in the east (menopause in the west) I would absolutely love it. Perhaps something congruent with this:
ua-cam.com/video/0LjLxUzU-Vo/v-deo.htmlsi=CA5BHCmR-7gYvEpj
Grateful ❤
Same 💕
Magnesium glycinate right before bed, cold temperature, quiet and no light exposure during the night does wonders.
I do all this and in addition, use a White Noise machine and still wake up after a couple hours of taking my Lunesta and cannot go back to sleep. In fact it is past 7:30 am …I’m still awake. Go figure.
@@Paoula Perhaps thyroid issues or insulin resistance? These both can cause night wakings.
Mag glycinate gives me a bounding pulse/pounding heart. It does this for a significant amount of people.
@@AdrianaValenti Really? Never experienced it so far, but good to know.
Yup, I take magnesium glycinate and melatonin (5 mg)
Thanks Poirot………
No, my phone is in another room. I got to my study to check my blood sugar. If my blood sugar is too Low, it's dangerous & I must eat. Will try the rest of your suggestions.
Awesome video. I have mitral valve prolapse and I suspect because of my leaky heart valve I can't sleep longer than two hours without waking up with chest pressure and a heart rate that can escalate very rapidly if I move. Can go from 80 to 150 in four minutes, a horrible experience. Seems life threatening when I wake up feeling chest pressure and an unstable heart rate. I use metoprolol but I still have issues. I'll probably die and people will think I'm dying peacefully in my sleep. It's not sleep apnea. Doctors are challenged to figure it out. Maybe it's a drop in blood pressure because of my leaky heart valve. It can be absolutely horrifying and I can't sleep longer than two or three hours. Sleeping longer than three hours is horrifying when I wake up and feel like I may die from all the chest pressure. It's a consistent problem. If I ever slept longer than five or six hours I would probably die waking up.
What does your cardiologist say? So sorry you’re dealing with that! Does it help to sleep propped up?
@@NurseSarahJeffries probably need a mattress to elevate my head that's very astute thank you. Also I think when I'm sleeping I get a little dehydrated so if I didn't have water and a glass on a table I would really be suffering the extra water helps my heart move the blood around better. Also I have low sodium so maybe the blood doesn't retain water as well. Maybe it's because my blood pressure dips and when I wake up it takes a while for my heart to adjust. Still an awful way to sleep knowing that if you sleep longer than three or four hours it will be horrifying to wake up and this is pretty consistent, metoprolol helps but maybe that causes a lot of pressure to build up in the chest area. Unfortunately there's not a lot of good assistance for people on the medical side very difficult to find a good cardiologist they're just too busy and not being paid enough. I have tried many and they only look at the paperwork actors drug dispensers to control symptoms. I guess it's very challenging to be a cardiologist although I was hoping for better care.
@@iampuzzleman282 well i9m here if you want to talk ok ... thats a lot to go through
Can I put the corridor in the door and shut it too ?!?
Very interesting and helpful information. I wonder if this could be made available to UK viewers using British English spellings? Thank you.
Where can I get this method?
4-7-8. 4 seconds inhalation, hold it for 7 seconds and then exhale slowly for 3-5 times, with no pause in between. It works magical every time... at least for me.
Your ear tip is missing off your stethoscope. But you probably know that by now.
😂
Sorry, couldn’t hear you, I have an ear tip in my ear.
The sign of a real medical professional.
@@taoofcraft554WHAT ??
😄
Woke up cuz my cat was eating something he wasn't supposed to.
I sometimes do something similar to the corridor thing. I kind of imagine an "inside out" situation where everything is personified, then i go in there as myself (the boss), and tell them to go sit in a corner. Then i call up whoever i need (sleep, dream, etc) and if anything i don't want comes back to "the control desk" thing, I tell them to go back to the corner with the others (i may have to do it more than once). I pretend to let sleep take charge, and if i start thinking of random stuff that could only happen in dreams, I praise these personifications and encourage more of it.
It's weird, but I think i usually pass out soon after cuz i got rid of all that "extra stuff."
Great explanation thank you! Erm what was the cat eating 😄
As a counselling psychologist I use reverse psychology in the form of the Mary Poppins' technique: stay awake, don't close your eyes, don't go to sleep, don't rest your eyes, don't dream. Works every time😊
I recite memorized bible verses or pray while doing the breathing exercises.
"Don't eat..."
Me, watching this video at 3:30 a.m. after having a sandwich and cookies because I was so hungry; "Well... dang."
Also, I came for the thumbnail and stayed for your lovely accent. You could tell me anything right now and I'd believe it.
Amazing thanks for that!! Haha 😆 well I can’t give any false info I have a license to protect
Great stuff thank you...
Glad you enjoyed it
Dios te bendiga !
I’ve had this issue for many years. Deep breathing is the only thing that really works. I focus on the breathing which helps clear my mind which is always a big part of the problem.
Awesome thanks is for sharing that. I think a lot of people forget we have this tool to help us sleep. Deep breathing also reduces the stress hormone cortisol. - if that’s high you would struggle to sleep.
Dear Nurse - i tried the 478 method and i found it really hard to breathe that way.Is this normal when u start this technique
Yes, it is. Try in your own time, do what you can. The point is to slow your breathing down and relax yourself.
Thank you for the video and tips. However, you mention 3 things that you should not do, 1 of those being you should not turn on any lights, else your body thinks that it is daylight and starts to wake up. My issue is that I cannot sleep without some form of light being in the room, probably a claustrophobic issue that I have at the moment. Any suggestions as to how I might get around this? Thanks
Hmmm interesting. What about a small orange hue night light, one that is below eye level. We hade these night light plug in for our kids.
@@NurseSarahJeffries Thanks for the reply. Originally I had the bathroom light on, with the door ajar and that worked to some degree, but it kept my wife up. Then we put in a small night light, but that did not work for me, so had to move to another bedroom. Then after seeing your video, on Saturday night I went cold turkey and had no light on, then when I woke up in the night I used the 4-7-8 breathing method. Result, I went to bed at 11.40 and woke at 5.40. Tried to do the same thing last night, woke in the night and thought I had put a good number of hours in. Looked at time it was only 1.40. My mind was not up for the 4-7-8 breathing, so got up for 1 hour, then went back to bed and listened to guided meditations until 7.00am. Waiting for a deliver of magnesium tablets to see if that will assist in combination with everything else. Thanks for your videos.
@@petervince4710 hows everything going? did you get those mag tablets?
@@NurseSarahJeffries Thank you for taking the time to follow up on this. Yes I did get the mag tablets and vit D tablets. The mag tablets are Magnesium Glycinate, (need to be the right type of mag) and Vitamin D for better absorption. According to the advice I found on line the mag tablets will get you off to sleep, but would not address the issue of waking up say 3 hours later, that is probably due to cortisol levels being too high at the wrong time. But thought I would start with the Mag and Vit D tablets and see how I got on. I am pleased to report that in 19 nights since starting to take the mag and Vit d tablets I have had only 2 nights where I woke in the night and could not get back to sleep and had to get up and go to the living room. One of those I suspect was because I had a hot chocolate which would have had some caffeine in it. Mots nights I go to bed at 10.30 - 11. Go straight to sleep. Wake between 1.30 and 2.15. Go to the loo, as have done for years. Go back to bed and quite soon go back to sleep. If I have something on my mind I use your corridor and door method. I still have a dim light on (working on that), but mainly waking up between 6 and 7. So at least getting some hours of sleep in. Note: I am also doing mindfulness practice, and now 4-2-4 breathing in the day as that has scientific evidence that it helps with the parasympathetic nervous system, if you only breath 6 times a minute. Generally I have to train the animal part of my brain that it should not over react for small/minor stressful situation. But I believe the mag/vit D tablets have helped. Hope this helps anyone else.
@@NurseSarahJeffries Thanks for asking. That's odd I wrote out a long reply to this and it looks like it did not take. So the short version is. 20 days ago I started taking magnesium glycinate (need to be this type) and vit D for better absorption. For 18 of those nights I have slept from 10.30-11pm to 1.30-2.30 and woke up. Went to the toilet. Then when back to sleep until 6.30-7.30. So tablets appeared to be helping. Plus made sure that I have not been having caffeinated drinks, this effected 1 of the nights were I had an issue sleeping. Also doing mindfulness exercises and getting plenty of physical exercise, running, tennis and padel.
Why are people so concerned with what she's wearing?
Because they don't listen
Because its disingenuous and an attempt to manipulate the viewer.
She is in her home, not a hospital setting, dressed like a Dr, when she is a nurse, and it backfires on her.
She is clearly lovely, but what she says should be enough in itself, without trying to manipulate.
Because they’re superficial.
Who else is watching this by 2am?
😱😱😰
Why do we sleep in one position and wake up in another? For example, I sleep on my left side, with a pillow in the middle of my legs, and sometimes I wake up on my right side, but I don't remember that I switched positions; Why does this happen?
Yup, me every other night except for the social media part. But definitely look at the stupid time.
Do we need the stethoscope and white coat ?? 🤣🤣🤣
Haha.i don't know what it is about the stethoscope for medics finding themselves in front of a camera.!
Of course! I feel naked without it 😆
I don’t see people asking this type of question on UA-cam channels by male doctors.
Do we really need to be a total wanker to people offering excellent information when it just makes us look like a superior twat?
Thanks, jerk - you raised my heart rate and made it harder for me to get back to sleep.
Studies show people will believe a person dressed up more.
I can't fall asleep counting. It keeps my mind too engaged. Instead I take a deep breath to relax my heart and body and just focus on my breathing. Next thing I know, I'm waking in the morning. I have fallen asleep in 3 breaths. I promise it works.
Thanks for sharing!
Sorry I'm so late to this, but, if I may, a question. You say lowering the heart rate is important. What about someone like me whose heart rate is governed by a pacemaker? The pacemaker generates a floor rate of 60RPM. My natural heart rate at rest is in the low 40s, sometimes in the upper 30s - the cardiologist once said "much lower and you'd be dead." Looks as if I'm stuck as far as heart rate goes...
Everyone is different. I’m talking about someone sitting there filled with anxiety, heart rate pounding because of stress that they can’t fall back to sleep.
I’m legit laying in bed unable to fall asleep watching this, night yall 😂
How did you sleep?
@@NurseSarahJeffries slept pretty good actually after I put my phone down 😂 as I need to do right now
@@brandonwaddell2583 same problem for so many... damn iphones
How to change from a stomach sleeper to a back sleeper?
Roll 180 degrees. You're welcome.
@@alan4sure thanks boomer
@@346ask anytime👍
pillows, lots of them
Interesting that as I turned on UA-cam after waking in the middle of the night and not able to get back to sleep, thus is the first video the algorithm suggested.
Enjoy!
Hope it helped! Next time try stay away from the phone 👍🏻
Some of us have to get up and walk around (to do a wee) 😊
The few times that I woke up , I always stay in bed and eventually I just fall sleep
Love the accent… :)
Cheers mate
Is it Irish or Scottish one?
It’s 3:28 am, I have to be at work in the morning. This isn’t working. I’m on the fence whether to commit to staying up or try to get two hours of sleep.
Amazing video
Thanks for the visit
It's very hard to fall back asleep once I wake up my mind just drifts back in time then all of a sudden I fine myself thinking of - Pepé Le Pew - that little character cracks me up lol.
Try slow deep breathing when this happens, it’s a trick to let your nervous system know you safe and can fall back to sleep
@@NurseSarahJeffries Thank you for taking me seriously, I'm going to try this - God bless.
The corridor I only imagine is from The Shining
😅 or a place to store your worries
I'll try the 4 7 8 breathing technique for sure, but I don't have the ability to visualise. It's called Aphantasia.
Tony Jeffries is your husband? holy, its such a small world, I watch his videos to workout before bed.
Watching this after waking up at 1am. 🥺
Walk down a spooky corridor? No way. Seriously, no way
I wake up for a pee. I'm old. It's not rocket science.
But... I'm going to think about Doctor Sarah from now on. 😊
oonderstand ? sounds Irish to me.
boot (but) - could be Liverpool ?
Mackem ❤️🤍
North East. Sunderland & Wearside accent.
Literally watching this in the middle of the night because I woke up and can’t get back to sleep
Next time that happens - now you know the basics of the sleep tips. Dry slow deep breathing. Resist tue urge to pick up your phone - that blue light tricks your brain and that’s another reason why you can’t go back to sleep!
And you know this is genuine I want to help people - and there use of be telling you to watch my vids on repeat 🤗👍🏻
What does a person do if they have restless legs syndrome?
I need to make a video on that because it may be caused by a few things
When I do the 478 technique my brain wakes up more due to the counting. And I walk down this endless hall for hours until my alarm goes off.
aw ,an, thats not good! keep trying, it takes practice
Cries in aphantasia 😭
I know right! 😬
@@MandaPanda254 I only pretty recently learned that I have it, and now it makes so much sense why I was always confused at the concept of counting sheep. I was always like, "but how?!?" 🤔🐑😴😂
@@linds7774 I only realised like 6 months ago. My mind was absolutely blown when I found out people can actually 'see' things in their mind. I always thought everything was a figure of speech.. 'picture this/imagine your on a Beach/think of a flower and tell me what it looks like' etc.
It's so fascinating we can live our lives and have no idea 😄
totally same. Brains are wild!
Did you mean 'back to sleep'?
It’s 4:56 now i woke up since 4:04 and i still can’t sleep 😭
Hot flashes wake me up! It’s the worst.
Def need to do a video on those
Won’t work for me, cuz I’ll just keep worrying I forgot to lock the door. 🙂
And squeaky slamming doors ? Be sure to check under your bed !
I tried the hallway door deal but it didn’t work at all,they were all locked
😂I’ve not heard that before
@@NurseSarahJeffries Apparently it’s a common refrain with insomniacs.
Stop with the 'it's all psychological/worry' crap. The most common, long termnsleep maintenance insomnia is in post menopausal women and is likely physiological (even though we dont really knowcwhy). I can do any counted breathing technique or visualisation... for hours (used to teach this stuff). Relaxation has nothing to do with it. If i wake at 2-3am, I WILL be awake for 3 hours ie two sleep cycles.
Yep, take another ambien. Boom lights out.
I do NOT have any imagination, I couldn't picture a door in my mind let alone a hallway with a bunch of them. Ambien it IS!
Works like a sledge hammer to your head. 😂
Every night?
OK, the not getting up or switching on a light doesn't work if your bladder says it's full. I'm getting up and turning on a light to pee. Sorry, but no other way to do it.
This advice is BALONEY !!!!!!!!!!!!
Why do you need background music when you're talking? I wish wish wish channels that aren't actually music channels would just talk if they are relating information.
Good point thanks 😊
We can have lots on our mind even if we're not a medal winning athlete ya know 😂😊
Ofcourse
magnesium glycinate has greatly helped my sleep/mood/energy and stopped peeing in the middle of the night
I usually just rub one out, then roll over and I'm fast asleep. ☺️
Best thing to do to get back to sleep is to lie as close as you can to the edge of the bed, you're bound to.....drop off. If you're an insomniac, a sure fire cure is.....get plenty of sleep.