WEBVTT - Watch those wake-ups

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to track when you wake up in

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of the night. By understanding what causes the

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<v Speaker 1>wake ups, you might be able to minimize them and

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy those visions of sugar plums dancing in your head.

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<v Speaker 1>I have five children, so I have experienced a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of interrupted sleep over the last thirteen years. But even

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<v Speaker 1>without little kids, sleeping eight hours straight is hard for

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<v Speaker 1>many adults to manage. And that's okay. There's some evidence

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<v Speaker 1>that humans historically would have slept in multiple shifts, going

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<v Speaker 1>to bed with the sun, waking up in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of the night for a while, and then experiencing a

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<v Speaker 1>wave of sleepiness in the hours before on. Waking up

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<v Speaker 1>once is not a problem. It's waking up multiple times

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<v Speaker 1>and then being unable to quickly fall back asleep that

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<v Speaker 1>can lead to fatigue. As with all things time related,

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<v Speaker 1>the best way to spend your time better is to

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<v Speaker 1>figure out where the time is going now, and that

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<v Speaker 1>includes overnight time. Even if you don't have any interest

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<v Speaker 1>in tracking your work time, or your leisure time or

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<v Speaker 1>your family time, if you'd like to sleep better, it

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<v Speaker 1>might be worth tracking your time with an eye toward

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<v Speaker 1>focusing on sleep. Track a full week all on sixty

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<v Speaker 1>eight hours, because you want to see things like daytime sleep,

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<v Speaker 1>snooze sleep, crashing on the sofa at night's sleep, and yes,

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<v Speaker 1>middle of the night wake ups. This last one requires

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of logistical planning to track, as you can

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<v Speaker 1>imagine most of us aren't in a mental state to

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<v Speaker 1>track overnight active as all that. Well, you can definitely

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<v Speaker 1>use sleep apps, and for many people that is a

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<v Speaker 1>great solution. I have my phone in airplane mode in

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<v Speaker 1>my room, and if I wake up in the night

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<v Speaker 1>to deal with the baby, I take a quick glance

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<v Speaker 1>at my phone to see the time. Because it's an

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<v Speaker 1>airplane mode, I won't get sucked in by a notification

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<v Speaker 1>or text. If you'd prefer not to use that solution

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<v Speaker 1>or a sleep app, you can put a small clock

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<v Speaker 1>by your bed. I have one across the room, but

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<v Speaker 1>I can't see that without my contacts end, so that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't work for me. I have trained myself to remember

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<v Speaker 1>the time, but if you don't think you will remember,

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<v Speaker 1>you could just write it down, keep a notepad and

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<v Speaker 1>a pen by your bed. Then in the morning you

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<v Speaker 1>can transfer the time from your notes to your log

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<v Speaker 1>as for the duration of the wake ups. This is

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<v Speaker 1>tricky too, at least if you're choosing not to use

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<v Speaker 1>an app. You clearly aren't looking at the time at

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<v Speaker 1>the exact moment that you fall asleep, but you can approximate.

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<v Speaker 1>After I'm done feeding or settling the baby, I checked

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<v Speaker 1>the time again, and I generally round to the next

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen minute mark to count when my sleep begins. If

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<v Speaker 1>I find myself lying awake for a while, I will

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<v Speaker 1>estimate or look at the clock again if sleep is

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<v Speaker 1>particularly elusive. In any case, you only need to do

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<v Speaker 1>this for a week or so. The point is to

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<v Speaker 1>see which nights are better than others, or if there

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<v Speaker 1>are any patterns. If you always wake up at, say

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<v Speaker 1>for am, it's highly likely that something external and routine

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<v Speaker 1>is triggering it, like a noisy machine that goes off then,

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<v Speaker 1>or an early rising neighbor whose dog sends him off

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<v Speaker 1>to work. You might also note if something internal is

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<v Speaker 1>triggering the wake ups, like you need to go to

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<v Speaker 1>the bathroom, or you're hot or cold. Many of these

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<v Speaker 1>issues can be alleviated with experimentation, like not drinking much

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<v Speaker 1>liquid right before bed or turning the thermostat down a

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<v Speaker 1>degree or two. The culprit might also be someone or something,

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<v Speaker 1>your own pets, or a partner. That last one does

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<v Speaker 1>not need to be a huge deal. You can love

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<v Speaker 1>someone intensely and still decide that sleeping together isn't the

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<v Speaker 1>best approach. Really, separate beds are not a signal of

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<v Speaker 1>a problem. Just spend plenty of time snuggling together before

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<v Speaker 1>going off to sleep separately, or build in some morning

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<v Speaker 1>cuddle time. You might also note if it's easier to

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<v Speaker 1>fall back asleep at certain times than others. Many people

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<v Speaker 1>have a hard time falling asleep if it's light out.

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<v Speaker 1>Blackoutchades can help, But maybe the problem is that when

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<v Speaker 1>you see light of any sort, it triggers a waking impulse,

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<v Speaker 1>so you might need to make sure that you don't

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<v Speaker 1>turn on the light in the bathroom if that's the case.

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<v Speaker 1>I have definitely learned not to try to read on

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<v Speaker 1>my phone when I'm feeding the baby in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of the night. Inevitably, it will take me a lot

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<v Speaker 1>longer to fall back asleep if I do, even if

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<v Speaker 1>it makes staying awake easier and more pleasant in the moment.

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<v Speaker 1>Many of us learn to function on compromised sleep, but

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<v Speaker 1>seldom at peak productivity. Figuring out ways to sleep better

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<v Speaker 1>can be a real gift to yourself. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>are not sleeping your best, track your time for a

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<v Speaker 1>week or two to see what you can learn. Try

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<v Speaker 1>some experimentation and troubleshooting. You just might wind up waking

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<v Speaker 1>up more rested and ready to take on the world.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at b for Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>pod that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p

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<v Speaker 1>o D. You can also shoot me an email at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com that

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<v Speaker 1>before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more

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