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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Jacob Rawley & Lucy Williamson & Michelle Cullen

TV doctor's key 'rule' for people who can't sleep after waking up in middle of night

Waking up in the middle of the night can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you find it hard to get back to sleep.

Many people find themselves counting down the hours until sunrise as they lay awake in bed, struggling to fall back into a slumber.

But what is the best thing to do in this instance?

READ MORE: Sleep expert lists five things you are doing that sabotage your night's sleep before you even go to bed

Well, according to TV doctor Michael Mosley, you might as well get up.

Waking up at 3am can be annoying, particularly if you have somewhere to be early the next morning, but sometimes the harder you try to sleep, the more difficult it can become.

With that in mind, diet expert Dr Mosely says you might actually be better getting up and waiting until you become tired again as he shared his '15 minute rule', My London reports.

The doctor also advises staying off of social media so that you aren't tempted to have a quick scroll through on your phone when you wake up in the middle of the night.

He sat down with Strictly star and ex-BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker and political reporter Adam Fleming on the 'Newscast' podcast.

Discussing Dan's hectic sleep pattern, he said: "I've managed to operate for the last seven years [at the BBC] on four hours sleep. I know that wasn't enough, but I knew I just had to get on with it.

"During my time on Strictly Come Dancing, I was still doing my breakfast shifts. I was still doing the NFL show on a Friday. I was trying to learn a dance.

"There were two weeks on Strictly where I slept no more than 24 hours over the course of the week. Now I know that is not ideal but what I discovered about myself is that the human brain is capable of doing amazing things when you put it in a corner. I was high functioning during those weeks on strictly."

Dr Mosley replied: "I would say you're massively deluded. People think they're' fine, but they're not. I'd have to talk to your partner to find out if you were as bright and as sharp as you think."

Dan admitted that he does often wake up at 3am.

Dr Mosley shared his helpful '15 minute' rule for people tossing and turning in the night.

He said: "The advice is broadly the 15 minute rule. If you are still awake after 15 minutes, get up and do something boring until you feel sleepy and then go back to bed.

"The rule is to associate bed with sleep and sex and nothing else. No Twitter, no TV, nothing else."

Another tip from Dr Mosley included getting an eye mask to block out the light.

People get 25 minutes less sleep on average during the summer months due to the brighter mornings.

Dr Mosley said: "I'd advise getting a pair of eye shades, not very sexy in bed. The early morning light is what wakes you up. Unless you have fantastic curtains, it's likely that the light will come in and wake you up."

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