Category: Sleep Tips

It is 2am and your stomach has turned. A slow, queasy wave, maybe a dull ache under your ribs, and every time you shift position it rolls again. You are exhausted, but you cannot relax enough to sleep, because part of you is waiting to see if you are going to be sick. If nausea and stomach pain at night are keeping you awake, you are not imagining it, and there is a lot you can do from bed.

Here is the short answer. Sit up a little, or roll onto your left side. Loosen anything tight around your waist. Open a window for fresh air, and take small sips of a cold drink or ginger or peppermint tea. Then breathe slowly for 5 minutes and let the wave pass before you try to sleep. If the nausea comes with chest pain, pain spreading to your arm, jaw or back, or shortness of breath, call 911 now. Do not wait it out.

Stomach settling but your mind still racing? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Why nausea and stomach pain hit harder at night

During the day you are upright, busy and distracted. At night you lie flat in a quiet room with nothing to do but notice your gut. Two things change when you lie down.

• Gravity stops helping. The NHS page on acid reflux lists bloating and feeling sick as reflux symptoms, and says symptoms are often worse after eating, when lying down and when bending over. A late dinner followed by lying flat is a classic setup.
• There is nothing else to focus on. A mild queasy feeling you would shrug off at your desk feels huge in the dark, and the worry about being sick keeps your body on alert.

The cause usually shows up in the other symptoms you have. The NHS guide to feeling sick links them like this:

• Heartburn or bloating after eating: acid reflux.
• Diarrhea or vomiting: a stomach bug such as norovirus, or food poisoning.
• Headache and a high temperature: an infection such as flu.
• Headache with sensitivity to light or sound: migraine.
• Dizziness: an inner ear problem like labyrinthitis, or vertigo.

The same page adds pregnancy, anxiety, alcohol, medicines and recent surgery to the list. A late drink or a new prescription is worth thinking about if the nausea started recently. Check the leaflet of anything you started taking, and keep taking prescribed medicine until you have spoken to your doctor.

What to do in bed right now

Work through these in order. Most take a minute or two.

1. Get your head and chest up. Sit up against the headboard, or lie on your left side (more on why below). The NHS feeling-sick advice says not to lie down soon after eating, and lying flat is often when the wave builds.
2. Loosen your waistband. Pajama elastic, a tight T-shirt tucked in, a belt you forgot to take off. The NHS lists tight clothes around your tummy as something to avoid when you feel sick.
3. Get some cool, fresh air. Crack a window or turn on a fan. The NHS suggests plenty of fresh air, and Mayo Clinic names stuffy rooms, heat, perfume and food smells as common nausea triggers.
4. Sip, don’t gulp. Small, regular sips of a cold drink, or a warm cup of ginger or peppermint tea. Both are on the NHS list. Keep a glass of water on the nightstand so you do not have to walk to the kitchen.
5. Slow your breathing for 5 minutes. In through your nose for a count of 5, out gently for a count of 5. This is the NHS calming breath, and the NHS says to keep going for at least 5 minutes. It will not cure a stomach bug. It does stop you tensing up and gasping every time the nausea rolls, and many people find the wave feels smaller once they stop bracing against it.
6. Give your mind something else. The NHS suggests distraction, like listening to music. A quiet podcast or audiobook at low volume works well at 2am, and it keeps you off a bright screen.
7. Make a plan B, then stop guarding. Put a bowl or small trash can next to the bed and a towel within reach. It sounds silly. Once it is there, you can stop lying rigid in case you need to run.

The best sleeping position for a queasy stomach

If reflux is part of your nausea, your left side is the one to try. In a 2022 study that tracked 57 patients overnight with sensors, lying on the left side came with less acid in the food pipe, and faster clearing of it, than lying on the right side or on the back. A follow-up trial in 100 people with night-time reflux used a small wearable that buzzed whenever they rolled onto their right side. Night-time reflux symptoms dropped by at least half in 44% of that group, against 24% of people with a dummy device.

Two practical tips:

• Raise the bed, not just the pillow. The NHS suggests putting blocks or books under the head end of your bed to lift it by about 10 to 20 cm (roughly 4 to 8 inches), so your head and chest sit above your waist. It warns against stacking extra pillows instead, because they can increase pressure on your belly and make symptoms worse.
• Use a pillow behind your back. It stops you drifting onto your back or right side once you fall asleep.

If the burning in your chest is the main problem, our guide to heartburn keeping you awake at night goes deeper on that.

What to sip, nibble or skip at 2am

When your stomach is unsettled, keep it boring.

• Sip: water, ginger tea, peppermint tea, or small sips of a cold drink. Mayo Clinic also mentions cold, clear or sour drinks, and oral rehydration drinks if you have been sick.
• Nibble, if you feel like it: a couple of plain crackers, dry toast or a ginger cookie. The NHS mentions ginger biscuits, and Mayo Clinic suggests starting with easily digested foods like crackers and toast.
• Skip: anything hot, fried, greasy or spicy, strong smells (no reheating leftovers at midnight), a big glass of anything in one go, and alcohol. If you have diarrhea too, the NHS says fruit juice and fizzy drinks can make it worse.

Not hungry? Then do not eat. Waking up truly hungry is a different problem, covered in why you wake up hungry at night.

If it’s a stomach bug

Sudden nausea, cramping and then vomiting or diarrhea in the night usually means a bug or food poisoning. That night is about getting through it, not about perfect sleep.

• Fluids first. The NHS says the most important thing is plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, taken in small sips if you feel sick.
• Know the timeline. The NHS says vomiting usually stops in 1 or 2 days, and diarrhea within 5 to 7 days.
• Wait on solid food. Mayo Clinic suggests waiting about six hours after the last time you vomited before eating solid food.
• Set up your night. Water and a bowl by the bed, a clear path to the bathroom, a dim night light so you are not blinded by the overhead light every trip.
• Lower the bar. If you cannot sleep, lie still with your eyes closed between trips and let that be enough for tonight.

Being ill and wide awake is its own kind of miserable. Our guide on being tired but unable to sleep when sick has more for those nights.

When your stomach is in knots from stress

Sometimes there is no bug and no big meal. You had a hard day, you lie down, and your stomach clenches. The NHS lists stomach problems and difficulty sleeping among the symptoms of anxiety, and its reflux page lists stress and anxiety as things that can cause or worsen heartburn.

This kind of nausea often follows a loop. You feel queasy, you worry about being sick, the worry tightens your stomach, and the queasiness grows. Then you start doing the math on how few hours are left before the alarm, and your body gets the message that this is no time to sleep.

What helps here is calming your body first, before you try to argue with your thoughts:

• Do the 5-minute slow breathing above, with one hand resting on your belly.
• Name what is happening, quietly: “This is my stress stomach. It has passed before.”
• Turn the clock away so you stop counting hours.

If your heart pounds when you lie down too, read heart racing when lying down to sleep. And if anxiety is with you most days, not just at bedtime, talk to your doctor. The NHS says talking therapies like CBT are the usual first treatment.

Why does my stomach hurt at night?

When pain is the main problem and the nausea is mild or missing, the NHS stomach ache page points to a few common causes:

• Feeling bloated and passing a lot of gas: trapped wind.
• Feeling full and bloated after eating, with heartburn or feeling sick: indigestion.
• Being unable to poop: constipation.
• Watery stools, feeling sick, vomiting: a stomach bug or food poisoning.

It also lists less common causes that matter more at night. Severe pain lasting hours in the center of the tummy or just under the ribs on the right can be gallstones. Sudden pain in the lower right can be appendicitis. These need a doctor, not a better pillow.

For gas, bloating, cramps, constipation and IBS flares with in-bed fixes for each, see stomach pain keeping you awake at night.

Once the wave passes: getting back to sleep

The nausea fades, and now you are wide awake with a racing mind. This is where a lot of nights are really lost.

• Stay in the dim. No bright overhead light, no phone scrolling.
• Use the 20-minute rule. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says that if you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something quiet without a lot of light, and stay off electronics. Then go back when you feel sleepy.
• Ease back down. Many people find it helps to stay propped up for a little while before lying flat again.

More on this in how to fall back asleep in the middle of the night.

Make tomorrow night calmer

If this keeps happening, the evening before is where most of the fix lives.

• Eat earlier and smaller. The NHS advises not eating within 3 or 4 hours of bed if you get reflux, and eating smaller, more frequent meals. The AASM says to avoid a large meal before bed and to keep it to a light snack if you are hungry.
• Know your triggers. The NHS names coffee, tomatoes, alcohol, chocolate and fatty or spicy foods as common reflux triggers. A week of quick notes (what you ate, when, how the night went) shows your own pattern faster than guessing.
• Move caffeine and alcohol earlier. The AASM advises avoiding caffeine in the afternoon and evening and alcohol before bed.
• Stay upright after dinner. The NHS advice on feeling sick includes not lying down soon after eating. Do the dishes or take a short walk instead of stretching out on the couch.

For what to eat in the evening, see foods that help you sleep, and if late dinners are your habit, late-night eating and can’t sleep.

When to call a doctor

Call 911 or your local emergency number if you suddenly feel sick and have chest pain that feels tight or heavy, pain spreading to your arms, back, neck or jaw, or shortness of breath. The NHS says this could be a heart attack. Also get emergency help for sudden or severe stomach pain, a stomach that hurts when you touch it, vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds, black or bloody stools, being unable to pass gas or poop, a stiff neck with a high fever, or a sudden, severe headache. These come from the NHS and Mayo Clinic lists linked above.

Get urgent advice the same day if you cannot keep fluids down, or you show signs of dehydration like strong thirst, dark urine, peeing much less, or dizziness when you stand.

Book a regular appointment if:

• the nausea does not ease after a few days, or keeps coming back (NHS)
• you have heartburn most days, or food feels like it gets stuck (NHS)
• vomiting lasts more than 2 days, or bouts of nausea go on for more than a month (Mayo Clinic)
• you are losing weight without trying (NHS, Mayo Clinic)
• you are pregnant and the nausea or pain worries you: your midwife or doctor wants to hear about it

Tonight, keep it simple

Head and chest up, or on your left side. Waistband loose, window cracked, cold water within reach. Small sips, slow breaths for 5 minutes, a bowl by the bed so you can stop guarding. Once the wave passes, stay in the dim and let sleep come back on its own. Tomorrow, an earlier and lighter dinner. You are not after a perfect night. You want a body that can settle, so the morning feels clear instead of foggy.

Want a calm, guided way to switch off tonight? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are unsure what is causing your symptoms, or you take regular medicine, check with your doctor or pharmacist.

It is 2am. Your bump is propped on one pillow, another is jammed between your knees, and you have already been to the loo twice. The baby picked this exact moment to start kicking. Your body is heavy and tired, but your brain is wide awake, counting the hours until the alarm. If pregnancy insomnia means you can’t sleep at night, you are not doing anything wrong. It is one of the most common parts of pregnancy, and there is a lot you can do about it.

Here is the short answer. Go to sleep on your side with a pillow under your bump and one between your knees. Keep caffeine to the morning, stop eating about 3 hours before bed, and sip rather than gulp in the evening. If you wake and cannot drift off again, breathe slowly and gently for 5 minutes, and get up for something quiet and dim if 20 minutes pass. And if your baby is moving less than usual or the pattern changes, call your midwife or maternity unit straight away, even in the middle of the night.

Body settled but your mind still racing? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Why you can’t sleep at night when you’re pregnant

You are far from alone. Cleveland Clinic says about 1 in 4 women have insomnia in the first trimester, and up to 80% report insomnia symptoms by the end of the third. Many have never had a sleep problem before.

The reasons change as the months go by:

• Early on, hormones. Cleveland Clinic says rising estrogen and progesterone affect your breathing and the phases of your sleep cycle. Add nausea, which does not always wait for the morning, and nights get choppy fast.
• Later, your body. The growing baby presses on your back, joints and bladder. Finding a comfortable position takes ages, and then you need to pee.
• The rest of the list. Leg cramps, heartburn, a faster heart rate, feeling short of breath, a stuffy nose, and a baby who is busiest when you lie still.
• Your mind. Worry about the birth, money, work or being a parent can keep you alert. Then you start worrying about the sleep you are losing, which keeps you up even more.

That last loop is the one most people miss. The discomfort wakes you. The worry keeps you awake. You can work on both.

Set up your bed for a bump

Position is the first fix, and in the third trimester it is also a safety point. The NHS says the safest way to go to sleep is on your side, left or right, because research suggests that after 28 weeks falling asleep on your back can double the risk of stillbirth. The same page says not to worry if you wake up on your back. Just turn onto your side and go back to sleep.

Left or right? You may have read that the left side is the only safe one. Tommy’s, the UK pregnancy charity, says that claim is not backed by good evidence, and that either side is fine. That matters at 3am, because it means you can switch sides when one hip starts to ache.

A setup that works for a lot of people:

1. A pillow under your bump, so it is not pulling on your lower back.
2. A pillow between your knees, so your top leg does not twist your hips.
3. A pillow behind your back. Tommy’s suggests this to make rolling onto your back less likely.

You do not need to buy anything special. Tommy’s says regular pillows and pregnancy pillows work equally well. If your back or hips still hurt, our guide on how to sleep with lower back pain has more pillow ideas. If the pain shoots down one leg, see how to sleep with sciatica.

Third trimester: can’t sleep because the baby keeps moving

You lie down, finally comfortable, and the kicking starts. This is so common that the NHS week 29 guide mentions it directly: babies seem to have a habit of being really active just as you want to go to sleep, because they keep their own sleep and wake patterns.

What helps here is less about stopping the movement and more about not fighting it:

• Let it be normal, not a problem. Kicks at bedtime are something the NHS expects. Many people find it easier to drift off once they stop waiting for the kicks to end.
• Give your mind something slower to follow. Rest a hand on your bump and breathe slowly (the breathing below). Some find that following the rhythm of their own breath makes the kicks feel less like an alarm.
• Change sides. Turning over can shift how the movement feels, and it gives a sore hip a break.

One thing never to sleep through: a change. The NHS says to call your midwife or maternity unit immediately if your baby is moving less than usual, if you cannot feel them moving anymore, or if their usual pattern changes. Do not wait until the next day, even if it is the middle of the night. There is no set number of kicks to count; what matters is knowing your baby’s usual pattern. And the NHS says not to use a home doppler to check for yourself.

What to eat and drink so the night goes easier

Small changes during the day make a real difference after dark.

Caffeine. The NHS says to have no more than 200mg of caffeine a day while pregnant. For sleep, timing matters too: Cleveland Clinic suggests avoiding caffeine for 8 hours before bed. Remember that tea, cola, energy drinks and chocolate count.

Heartburn. If burning in your chest wakes you, the NHS heartburn advice for pregnancy is to eat small meals often instead of three big ones, not to eat within 3 hours of going to bed, and to prop up your head and shoulders when you lie down. Sleeping on your left side can also help. More on that in heartburn keeping me awake at night. Ask your midwife or GP before taking anything for it.

Night-time peeing. You cannot stop it in pregnancy, and you should not stop drinking. Cleveland Clinic suggests no more than a glass of water in the two hours before bed, taken in small sips. The Sleep Foundation suggests a night light instead of the overhead light for bathroom trips, so you do not wake up fully. If you then lie there wide awake, our guide on what to do when you can’t sleep after waking up to pee walks you through it.

Legs. Cramps and restless legs are both common. If a calf locks into a hard knot, see how to stop leg cramps at night. If your legs feel crawly and you have to move them, read restless legs at night in pregnancy. Cleveland Clinic notes restless legs can be linked to low folate, so mention it to your midwife.

When you wake at 3am and can’t fall back asleep

For many pregnant people, falling asleep is not the hard part. Getting back to sleep after the bathroom trip is. This is the sequence I would try tonight:

1. Check your position. Back on your side, bump supported, pillow between your knees. Settle in once instead of shuffling every minute.
2. Keep the lights low and the phone down. Cleveland Clinic warns that the screen tells your brain to wake up. Checking the time starts the countdown math in your head.
3. Breathe slowly for 5 minutes. The NHS breathing exercise is gentle and works lying down: breathe in through your nose for a count of up to 5, let it flow out through your mouth for a count of up to 5, without forcing it, for at least 5 minutes. If you feel light-headed, go back to normal breathing.
4. Give the worry a place to go. If your mind starts a to-do list, write it on a notepad by the bed and close it. Cleveland Clinic suggests a journal for exactly this, so you can bring the worries to your next appointment.
5. Get up after about 20 minutes. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises getting out of bed if you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes and doing something quiet in low light, with no electronics. Fold some baby clothes. Read a dull page. Go back when your eyes feel heavy.

That last step feels backwards. But lying there braced and frustrated teaches your brain that bed is a place for being awake. Short, calm breaks protect the bed for sleep. There is a fuller version in how to fall back asleep in the middle of the night.

When the worry is what keeps you up

Lying awake, you might start worrying that the lost sleep is hurting the baby. The NHS is reassuring here: feeling tired will not harm you or your baby, even if it makes life harder. Hold onto that line at 3am. Many people find that dropping the goal of sleeping, and simply resting, is what finally lets sleep come. If this loop sounds familiar, how to stop worrying about not sleeping tonight is written for exactly that.

The NHS also says that strange dreams or nightmares about the baby and the birth are normal in pregnancy, and that talking about them with your partner or midwife can help.

Naps and daytime habits

• Keep naps short and early. Cleveland Clinic says naps of no more than 30 minutes can help you catch up, but long or late-afternoon naps can keep you up at night. The NHS advises against napping in the afternoon or evening.
• Move a bit every day. The NHS suggests activity like a lunchtime walk or swimming, or an antenatal yoga or pilates class (tell the instructor you are pregnant). Earlier in the day is better for sleep.
• Get up at a similar time each morning. A steady wake time helps your body know when night is. Cleveland Clinic recommends a regular sleep schedule, weekends included.
• Accept help. The NHS suggests putting your feet up during the day and saying yes when family or colleagues offer to help.

Sleeping pills, melatonin and supplements

Please do not take anything for sleep, including melatonin, herbal remedies or over-the-counter sleep aids, without talking to your midwife, doctor or pharmacist first. The Sleep Foundation explains that your own melatonin crosses the placenta and helps set up the baby’s sleep-wake cycle, and that experts generally recommend pregnant people avoid sleep medications and check with a doctor before starting any sleep supplement. Cleveland Clinic adds that many sleep medicines have not been tested for safety in pregnancy, so your provider has to weigh it up with you. That is a conversation for them, not for a website.

The treatment that has been tested in pregnancy

If your nights have been bad for weeks, there is a proper, drug-free treatment with evidence behind it: cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I. In a randomised trial of 194 pregnant women with insomnia, published in Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2019, 64% of those given CBT-I no longer had insomnia by the end, compared with 52% in the comparison group, and they got there faster. CBT-I works on the habits and thoughts that keep insomnia going. The Sleep Foundation notes it can also be done by phone or online. Ask your midwife or doctor whether it is available to you.

When to talk to your midwife or doctor

Pregnancy insomnia is common, but you do not have to just put up with it. Cleveland Clinic says to tell your healthcare provider if lack of sleep is affecting how you function during the day. Also speak to them if:

• You snore loudly, gasp or stop breathing in your sleep. Sleep apnoea can get worse in pregnancy and needs its own treatment.
• Your legs feel so restless you cannot lie still.
• Heartburn keeps you up even after you change what and when you eat.
• You feel low, hopeless or anxious most of the time, or you have lost interest in things you used to enjoy. The NHS says sleeplessness with these symptoms can be a sign of depression, and its page on mental health in pregnancy says depression and anxiety can start for the first time in pregnancy and that talking therapies like CBT can help. Tell your midwife or GP honestly how you feel. If you are in crisis or think you might harm yourself, get urgent help right away through your emergency number.

And always, without waiting: call your maternity unit if your baby’s movements slow down or change.

Will it get better?

Cleveland Clinic says the body changes that keep you up at night return to normal soon after the birth. They are honest that the newborn weeks bring their own broken nights. If you find you cannot sleep even when your baby finally does, this guide is for later: postpartum, can’t sleep even when baby sleeps. The skills you practise now, settling your body and letting go of the clock, will help then too.

Tonight, keep it simple

On your side, pillow under the bump, pillow between the knees. Caffeine done by lunchtime, dinner finished 3 hours before bed. If you wake, turn back onto your side, breathe slowly for 5 minutes, and get up after 20 minutes instead of lying there doing the math. You do not need a perfect night. You need your body to remember how to power down, so tomorrow you feel more like yourself and less like you are running on fumes.

Want a calm, guided way to switch off tonight? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

This article is general information, not medical advice. Your midwife or doctor knows your pregnancy best, so please check with them before changing anything, and before taking any medicine or supplement.

It is 2am and the pain is back. A hot, electric line runs from your lower back, through your bottom and down the back of one leg. You roll onto your side, then your back, then your side again. Every position seems to find the nerve. And the more you shift, the more awake you get. If you are searching for how to sleep with sciatica, you are not being soft. Nerve pain at night is hard, and losing sleep on top of it makes the whole day harder.

Here is the short answer. Find a position that keeps your spine in one straight line and stop the nerve being pulled: on your side with a firm pillow between your knees, or on your back with pillows under your knees. Use gentle heat or cold for about 20 minutes before bed, do a minute or two of gentle stretching, and if the pain wakes you, change position slowly and breathe long and low before you try again. If you get numbness around your bottom or genitals, or trouble peeing or pooing, that is an emergency. Get help straight away.

Pain eased but your body still wired? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Why sciatica feels so loud at night

Sciatica is not a disease of its own. It is the name for pain from the sciatic nerve, which the NHS describes as running from your lower back to your feet. When something presses on or irritates that nerve, you can feel a sharp or burning pain down the back of one leg, pins and needles, numbness or weakness. The NHS says a slipped disc is the most common cause, and that the pain can get worse when you move, sneeze or cough.

Cleveland Clinic adds one detail that matters in bed: the pain can get worse when you lift your legs while lying on your back. So the simple act of stretching out flat can tug on the nerve. That is part of why the first ten minutes in bed can feel worse than the whole evening on the sofa.

There is also the quiet. During the day you are moving, talking, busy. At night there is nothing else to notice, so the pain gets all of your attention. Cleveland Clinic’s sleep guide puts it plainly: your sciatica pain may feel more noticeable at night, and what you do during the day affects how bad it gets after dark.

And the good news, because you need some at 2am. Cleveland Clinic says many cases improve within four to six weeks without medical treatment. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says about 80 to 90% of people with sciatica get better over time without surgery. This is very likely a hard season, not a forever.

The best sleeping positions for sciatica

There is no single perfect position. Cleveland Clinic’s physical therapist is clear on that: the cause of your sciatica changes which positions feel good, so you test and adjust. Start with the one that sounds most like how you already sleep.

On your side, with a pillow between your knees

Lie on your side with your knees slightly bent and a firm pillow between them. Cleveland Clinic says this aligns your hips and takes pressure off the pelvis. The Irish health service, the HSE, gives the same tip: a small, firm cushion between your knees when you sleep on your side. Many people do best lying on the side that does not hurt, and Cleveland Clinic notes side sleeping can take pressure off the nerve, especially on the side opposite your pain.

Two small upgrades. Tuck a second pillow behind your back so you do not roll onto your painful side in your sleep. Or use a long body pillow, which stays in place better than a normal pillow that slides out at 3am.

On your back, with your knees lifted

If you sleep on your back, put pillows under your knees. The HSE suggests several firm pillows underneath your knees. Cleveland Clinic says a pillow under your knees keeps your back from arching too much. Keep your head pillow small enough that your head, shoulders and hips sit in one straight line, with the pillow under your head and neck, not your shoulders.

Slightly curled or raised, if it is spinal stenosis

If a doctor has told you the cause is spinal stenosis (a narrowing in the spine), Cleveland Clinic says a slightly rounded position can help: a wedge pillow under your head and upper back, a recliner, or lying on your side with your knees curled up. It also warns that if stenosis is not your cause, these positions can make the pain worse. So treat it as an experiment, not a rule.

Stomach sleeping: usually not, sometimes yes

Lying on your stomach makes most backs arch and twists your neck, so it is usually best avoided with sciatica. But Cleveland Clinic’s therapist notes that for a few people, arching the back actually brings relief. The rule that wins every time: stick with the position that hurts least.

A 10-minute wind-down that helps your back and your sleep

You do not need a full routine. Pick what fits tonight.

1. Heat or cold, about 20 minutes. Cleveland Clinic suggests ice in the first few days, then heat after that, for about 20 minutes at a time. If your leg or bottom is numb, be careful with heat: the HSE warns against hot water bottles because you could scald skin you cannot properly feel. A heat pack wrapped in a towel is safer.
2. One or two minutes of gentle stretching. Cleveland Clinic’s sleep guide suggests stretches like the piriformis stretch or cobra pose for one to two minutes, three to five times a day, including right before bed. A simple one from its sciatica page: lie on your back, bring one knee toward your chest, hold behind your thigh until you feel a gentle stretch, then switch sides. Stop if it sends pain down your leg.
3. A warm bath or shower. Cleveland Clinic says a warm soak before bed can ease sore muscles and help you unwind. It also eases the hard switch from moving around to lying still.
4. Set up the pillows before you lie down. Knee pillow, back pillow, head pillow. Getting comfortable in one go beats ten minutes of fidgeting in the dark.

If you want guided movement, the NHS has a short video of gentle exercises for sciatica led by a physiotherapist. Do those earlier in the evening, not as your last act before sleep.

When sciatica wakes you at 3am

The pain wakes you. Your heart is going. Your brain starts the math: “If I fall asleep now, I get four hours.” This is the part that steals the night, more than the pain itself. Here is what to do instead.

1. Move slowly. Roll as one unit, knees together, rather than twisting. Put the knee pillow back where it was.
2. Find the least-bad position, not the perfect one. Good enough to rest in is good enough.
3. Breathe long and low for five minutes. The NHS breathing exercise works lying down: breathe in gently through your nose, counting to five if you can, then let it flow out through your mouth for five. Keep going for at least five minutes. If 4-7-8 is your thing, here is how to do it in bed.
4. Do not check the time. The number only feeds the math.
5. If you are still wide awake after about 20 minutes, get up. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises getting out of bed if you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes and doing something quiet in low light, without electronics. With sciatica, many people find a slow walk to the kitchen and back eases the leg more than lying there braced.

The shift that helps most people is small: stop fighting for the perfect position and settle for the least-bad one, pillow between the knees, long slow breaths. You may still wake up some nights with sciatica. The goal is to stop losing the hour after. That hour is where most of the sleep goes, and it is the part you can change tonight. More on that in our guide to falling back asleep in the middle of the night.

Your mattress and bed setup

Do not rush out to buy a new mattress at 3am. Cleveland Clinic’s therapist suggests first finding a comfortable position on the mattress you already have, using pillows or a mattress topper to make small changes. Then, if you do need a new one, Cleveland Clinic points to a review of studies that found a medium-firm mattress best for lower back pain. The aim is a surface that keeps your spine in its normal line instead of letting your hips sink. If you suspect your mattress is part of the problem, this guide on an uncomfortable mattress walks through what to try first.

What you do in the day changes the night

It sounds backwards, but a lot of better sleep with sciatica is won before bedtime.

• Keep moving. The NHS says to carry on with your normal activities as much as you can and not to sit or lie down for long periods. Even if moving hurts, it says, it is not harmful and can help you get better faster. Cleveland Clinic adds that short rest in the first day or two can help, but too much rest can make pain worse and slow recovery.
• Break up sitting. Cleveland Clinic lists sitting for long periods as a strain on the lower back. If you work at a desk, get up and walk around between long stretches of sitting.
• Ask about pain relief. The NHS suggests asking a pharmacist about painkillers, and notes that paracetamol is unlikely to help and it is not clear how much anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen help with sciatica. A pharmacist or doctor can tell you what is safe for you.
• Go easy on late caffeine and alcohol. The AASM advises avoiding caffeine in the afternoon or evening and alcohol before bed.

Sciatica in pregnancy

Cleveland Clinic says sciatica is common during pregnancy, as hormones loosen ligaments in the spine and the growing baby can press on the nerve. Options it lists include physical therapy, massage, warm showers, heat and good posture, and it notes the pain often improves after birth. Many pregnant women find side sleeping with a pillow between the knees the most comfortable position. Check any medicine with your midwife or doctor first.

When to see a doctor about sciatica at night

Most sciatica eases with time and the steps above. The NHS says to see a GP if the pain has not improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse, or is stopping you doing your normal activities. If it is wrecking your sleep night after night, that counts. You do not have to just put up with it. A physiotherapist can also help you work out which positions and movements suit your back.

Get emergency help (in the UK, A&E or 999; in the US, the ER or 911) if you have:

• sciatica on both sides
• weakness or numbness in both legs that is severe or getting worse
• numbness around or under your genitals, or around your bottom
• trouble starting to pee, cannot pee, or cannot control when you pee, and this is not normal for you
• not noticing when you need to poo, or not being able to control it, and this is not normal for you

The NHS says these could be signs of a serious back problem that needs hospital treatment as soon as possible, and that you should not drive yourself.

If it is not sciatica

Not every pain down the leg is the sciatic nerve. Cleveland Clinic says hip problems often cause pain in the groin or when you put weight on the leg, while sciatic pain usually starts in the lower back and comes with numbness, tingling or weakness. If your pain sits around the hip joint, our guide on how to sleep with hip pain fits better. If your back aches but nothing shoots down your leg, see how to sleep with lower back pain, or falling asleep with chronic back pain if it has lasted months. And if your calf locks into a hard knot that lets go after a few minutes, that is more likely a cramp: here is how to stop leg cramps at night.

Tonight, keep it simple

Heat or cold for 20 minutes. One gentle knee-to-chest stretch. Pillow between your knees, or pillows under them. Lie down once, set up right. And if the nerve wakes you, move slowly, breathe long and low, and get up after 20 minutes rather than lying there braced. You do not need a pain-free night to get a decent one. You only need to stop the pain from also stealing the hour after it, so tomorrow you wake up a bit clearer instead of running on four broken hours.

Nerve calmer but still wide awake? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

This article is general information, not medical advice. If sciatica is new, severe or getting worse, please see a doctor.

It’s 2:40am and you wake up because your hand isn’t there. Not painful exactly. Just thick, buzzing, dead, like it belongs to someone else. You shake it, flex your fingers, wait for the pins and needles to fade, and by the time it does, your brain is wide awake. If your hands going numb at night is what keeps waking you, you’re not imagining it, and it’s usually fixable.

Here’s the short answer. Most night-time hand numbness comes from pressure on a nerve: lying on your arm, sleeping with your wrists curled, or sleeping with your elbows tightly bent. When it happens, shake your hand gently and straighten your wrist and elbow until the feeling comes back. To stop it happening, keep your wrists straight and your elbows open while you sleep (a wrist splint or a towel loosely wrapped around the elbow helps), and see a doctor if it keeps coming back. Then use a slow breathing reset so the wake-up doesn’t cost you the rest of the night.

Feeling back but still wide awake? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Why your hands go numb at night

Numbness is a nerve signal, not a hand problem. Nerves run from your neck down your arm into your hand, and if one of them gets squeezed or stretched for long enough, your fingers start to tingle or go numb. At night you lie still for hours in the same position, which is exactly when that happens.

The three most common reasons are below. Which fingers go numb is the best clue to which one you have.

1. You slept on your arm (pins and needles)

This is the simple one. The NHS explains that pins and needles happens when the blood supply to the nerves is cut off, usually when you sit or sleep on part of your body. It only lasts a few minutes and stops once the weight comes off and blood flow returns (NHS: Pins and needles).

If it happens now and then, after sleeping with your arm under your pillow or under a partner, and clears in a few minutes, it’s usually nothing to worry about. Change the position and move on.

2. Carpal tunnel syndrome (thumb, index and middle fingers)

If the numbness is mostly in your thumb, index, middle and part of your ring finger, carpal tunnel syndrome is the usual suspect. It’s pressure on the median nerve where it passes through a narrow tunnel in your wrist. The NHS says its symptoms (numb hands, tingling, an ache in the fingers, hand or arm, and a weak grip) often come and go and are usually worse at night (NHS: Carpal tunnel syndrome).

Why at night? The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons explains that many people sleep with their wrists bent, and that’s why the symptoms can wake you from sleep. The numbness, tingling and burning often wakes people up at night (AAOS OrthoInfo: Carpal tunnel syndrome).

It’s also more common than many people think. MedlinePlus, from the US National Library of Medicine, notes that women are three times more likely to have carpal tunnel syndrome than men, and lists hormone changes such as pregnancy, menopause and an underactive thyroid among the things that can cause swelling in the wrist (MedlinePlus: Carpal tunnel syndrome). If you’re in your 40s or 50s and this started around the same time as other perimenopause changes, it’s worth mentioning to your doctor.

3. Cubital tunnel syndrome (ring and little fingers)

If it’s your little finger and half of your ring finger that “fall asleep,” the ulnar nerve at your elbow is the more likely cause. This is the nerve you hit when you bang your “funny bone.” AAOS explains that many people sleep with their elbows bent, which stretches the nerve and can make you wake at night or in the morning with your fingers asleep (AAOS OrthoInfo: Cubital tunnel syndrome).

Sleeping curled up on your side with your hands tucked under your chin is the classic position for this.

Other causes worth knowing about

Less often, numbness or pins and needles in the hands comes from something else. The NHS lists diabetes, a trapped nerve in your neck or back, some medicines, drinking too much alcohol and a poor diet among the possible causes of long-lasting pins and needles. That’s why repeat numbness deserves a proper check rather than a guess. If you also wake with neck pain, our guide on how to sleep with neck pain covers pillow height and position.

What to do the moment you wake up numb

You’re awake, your hand is buzzing and you’d like to be asleep again in ten minutes. Here’s the order that works:

1. Take the pressure off (10 seconds). Roll off the arm if you were lying on it. Straighten your wrist and your elbow.
2. Shake it out gently (30 to 60 seconds). AAOS notes that many people with carpal tunnel find that moving or shaking their hands helps relieve the symptoms. Open and close your fist slowly a few times too.
3. Don’t grab your phone. The feeling usually comes back within a few minutes. Checking the time or scrolling while you wait turns a short wake-up into a long one.
4. Breathe slowly while the tingling fades (2 to 5 minutes). The NHS breathing exercise is simple: breathe in gently through your nose counting to 5, then let it flow out through your mouth counting to 5, and keep going for a few minutes (NHS: Breathing exercises). If you prefer a longer out-breath, our 4-7-8 breathing guide walks you through it.
5. Settle into a “straight arm” position. Lie on your back or on your side with your arm in front of you, wrist flat and elbow open, not tucked under the pillow or your cheek.

If you’re still wide awake after that, our guide on falling back asleep in the middle of the night has the next steps.

How to stop your hands going numb while you sleep

Keep your wrists straight

This is the main fix for carpal tunnel at night. The NHS recommends a wrist splint worn at night to keep your wrist straight and relieve pressure on the nerve, and says you may need to wear it for up to 6 weeks before it starts to feel better. You can buy one online or at a pharmacy. AAOS says the same: a brace or splint at night stops you bending your wrist while you sleep, and a straight, neutral wrist reduces pressure on the nerve.

A splint can feel strange for the first night or two. Give it time before you judge it.

Keep your elbows open

For ring and little finger numbness, the trick is not letting your elbow stay sharply bent all night. AAOS suggests wrapping a towel loosely around your straight elbow, or wearing an elbow pad backwards, so it’s uncomfortable to bend the arm while you sleep. The British Society for Surgery of the Hand suggests the same folded-towel idea and notes these simple steps may be curative in early cases (BSSH: Cubital tunnel syndrome).

Rethink your sleep position

• Hands out from under the pillow. Tucking your hand under your head bends the wrist and adds weight.
• Don’t sleep on your arm. If you’re a side sleeper, hug a pillow in front of you. It keeps the top arm from flopping and the bottom arm from being trapped.
• Avoid the “praying hands” curl. Fists tucked under your chin bends both the wrists and the elbows at once.

Side sleeper with a sore shoulder too? Our page on how to sleep with shoulder pain covers pillow setups that also help the arm.

Ease off the daytime triggers

The NHS suggests stopping or cutting down on anything that makes you bend your wrist often or grip hard, such as vibrating tools or playing an instrument. AAOS adds that holding something for a long time with your wrist bent, like a phone or a book, can bring on symptoms during the day. Scrolling in bed with your wrist bent back is one habit worth breaking for both your hands and your sleep.

When to see a doctor

Occasional numbness after lying on your arm isn’t a worry. Get it checked if:

• it keeps coming back, or you wake numb most nights (the NHS advises seeing a GP if you constantly have pins and needles or it keeps returning)
• your symptoms are getting worse, or home treatment such as a splint isn’t working
• you notice weakness, dropping things, or trouble with small tasks like buttons

Don’t wait it out for months. AAOS warns that if pressure on the median nerve continues, it can lead to nerve damage and worsening symptoms, which is why early treatment matters. A doctor can usually diagnose carpal tunnel from your symptoms and a hand exam, and treatment ranges from splints and injections to a short surgery if needed.

Call 911 (or 999 in the UK) straight away if numbness comes on suddenly down one side of your body, or comes with face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech or confusion. The NHS lists these as signs of a stroke (NHS: Stroke symptoms). This is very different from waking with a tingly hand that fades once you move it, but it’s worth knowing the difference.

Why this wrecks your sleep even after the feeling comes back

The numbness itself might last two minutes. The real cost is what happens after. You’re alert, a bit alarmed, maybe checking the clock and doing the math on how many hours are left. If it happens several nights a week, many people start bracing for it at bedtime, and that tension makes falling back to sleep harder.

So treat it as two problems. Fix the nerve pressure with the position and splint changes above. Then give yourself a reliable way to power down after any wake-up, so a buzzing hand at 2:40am doesn’t turn into lying awake until 5. If night leg cramps are part of the picture too, our guide on stopping leg cramps at night uses the same approach.

The short version

Numb hands at night usually mean a squeezed nerve: lying on your arm, curled wrists, or bent elbows. Shake it out, straighten up, breathe slowly. Wear a wrist splint or wrap a towel around your elbow at night, keep your hands out from under the pillow, and see a doctor if it keeps coming back. Give the changes a few weeks, since the NHS says a splint can take up to 6 weeks to help.

Hand fine but mind still awake? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Sources

• NHS. Carpal tunnel syndrome
• NHS. Pins and needles
• NHS. Breathing exercises for stress
• NHS. Stroke symptoms
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, OrthoInfo. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, OrthoInfo. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome (Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at the Elbow)
• MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• British Society for Surgery of the Hand. Cubital tunnel syndrome

It is 3am and your calf suddenly locks into a hard, burning knot. You grab your leg, your toes curl on their own, and for a long minute you cannot think about anything else. Then it lets go, and you are left wide awake with a sore leg and a racing heart. If you are searching for how to stop leg cramps at night, you are not being dramatic. A night cramp can hurt a lot, and the hour after it is often where the sleep really goes.

Here is the short answer. When the cramp hits, straighten your leg and pull your toes up toward your shin, or stand up and press your foot flat on the floor. Rub the muscle, then put some warmth on it. To make cramps less likely, stretch your calves every evening just before bed, loosen the sheets at the foot of the bed, and drink enough through the day. If cramps are waking you often, last longer than 10 minutes, or come with numbness or swelling, get them checked.

Cramp gone but your body still wired? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

What is actually happening in your leg?

A night leg cramp is a muscle that tightens on its own and will not let go. It usually hits the calf, sometimes the foot, and less often the thigh. The NHS leg cramps page says a cramp can last from a few seconds to 10 minutes, and the muscle can feel sore for up to 24 hours afterwards. That leftover ache is why your calf still feels bruised the next morning.

The NHS also says leg cramps are common, usually harmless, and that most people get them at night or while resting. You are far from alone. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that 33% of people over 60 have a sleep-related leg cramp at least once every two months, and that leg cramps happen in about 40% of pregnant women, usually easing after the baby is born. The AASM adds that cramps tend to come and go over the years, so a bad month does not mean a bad forever.

How to stop a leg cramp at night, right now

When the cramp grabs you, your instinct is to curl up and point your toes. Pointing your toes keeps the calf short, and the stretch you need goes the other way. So do the opposite.

1. Pull your toes toward you. Straighten the cramped leg and flex your foot so your toes point up at your shin. Cleveland Clinic suggests pulling on your toes if you can reach them. If you cannot, loop the top sheet or a towel around the ball of your foot and pull gently.
2. Or stand on it. The NHS says standing up and putting your weight on the leg with the cramp may help. Put your foot flat on the floor and lean forward a little. Hold the bedside table if you feel wobbly.
3. Rub it. Stretching and massaging the muscle may ease the pain, according to the NHS. Use the heel of your hand and firm, slow strokes up the calf.
4. Walk it out. Cleveland Clinic suggests walking around and wiggling your leg as you go. A slow lap of the bedroom is enough.
5. Add warmth or cold. Cleveland Clinic lists a heating pad or a warm bath, or an ice pack wrapped in a towel. At 3am a hot water bottle you can fill quickly is the easy option. Many people find warmth feels better once the knot has let go and only the ache is left.

One thing that will not help in the moment: painkillers. The NHS says paracetamol or ibuprofen can ease the soreness after a cramp, but they will not help while it is happening, because they take too long to work.

Getting back to sleep after a cramp

The cramp itself is often over in a minute or two. What keeps you up is everything after it: the sore muscle, the shock of being woken by pain, and the fear that it will come back the moment you drift off. The AASM notes that the soreness after a cramp can make it hard to go back to sleep. So treat the next ten minutes as their own small job.

• Settle the leg first. Lie on your back with a pillow under your calf, or on your side with a pillow between your knees, and keep your foot relaxed, not pointed.
• Slow your breathing. The NHS breathing exercise is simple: in through your nose, out through your mouth, counting steadily from 1 to 5 each way if that helps, for at least 5 minutes. If you prefer a set rhythm, our 4-7-8 breathing guide walks you through it.
• Do not lie there fighting it. The AASM healthy sleep habits advice is to get out of bed if you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes, and do something quiet in low light, away from screens. Sit with the hot water bottle on your calf, then go back when you feel sleepy.

If your leg has settled but your mind has not, our guide on how to fall back asleep in the middle of the night goes deeper on that part.

The 5-minute stretch that helps prevent night cramps

This is the one habit with real research behind it. In a randomised trial in the Journal of Physiotherapy, 80 people over 55 with night leg cramps were split into two groups. One group stretched their calf and hamstring muscles every night, just before going to sleep, for six weeks. They ended up with fewer cramps, and less painful ones, than the group that did not stretch. It was one small study, but it matches what the NHS and the AASM both recommend.

The NHS calf stretch goes like this:

1. Stand facing a wall and stretch out your arms until your hands can just touch it. Stand up straight with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Lean forward, pressing your hands against the wall, until you feel your calves stretch.
3. Hold for 2 or 3 seconds, then stand up straight again.
4. Repeat a few times for 5 minutes. The NHS suggests doing this 3 times a day, with the last one just before bed.

The NHS says that if your cramps become less frequent, you might only need to stretch once or twice a day. It also says the stretch may reduce cramps but may not stop them completely, which is honest and worth knowing. For the back of your thigh, a simple option is to sit on the edge of the bed with one leg straight out, heel on the floor, and lean forward gently until you feel a mild pull. If you want a fuller wind-down, our bedtime stretches fit nicely after the wall stretch.

Small bedtime changes that make cramps less likely

Untuck the sheets

Covers tucked in tight can press your toes down into a pointed position for hours. The AASM suggests untucking the sheets before you get under the covers. It takes ten seconds.

Keep your toes up

A Cleveland Clinic family doctor suggests that back sleepers use pillows to keep their toes pointing upward, and that stomach sleepers let their feet hang off the end of the bed. The idea is to stop your feet being held in a pointed position all night.

A little movement before bed

The same Cleveland Clinic advice includes gentle leg stretches or mild exercise, like a walk or a short bike ride, right before bed. Gentle is the key word. If your cramps follow a hard workout, our guide on how to sleep after leg day covers the evening after a heavy session.

Warmth before bed

The AASM says a massage or a hot shower before bed might be helpful. Let the warm water run over your calves for a minute, then do the wall stretch while the muscles are loose.

Drink enough, but time it well

The NHS lists not drinking enough fluids among the causes of leg cramps, and Cleveland Clinic suggests 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, more if you are active, especially outside. It also suggests limiting alcohol and caffeine, as another way to avoid getting dehydrated.

There is a catch for sleep. The AASM healthy sleep advice is to reduce how much you drink right before bed. So spread your water across the day rather than downing a big glass at 10pm. If you already wake up to pee, our guide on how to stop waking up at night to pee helps you find the balance. And if a nightcap is part of your evening, here is why alcohol wakes you up at night, cramps or not.

Why do I get leg cramps at night?

Often there is no clear reason. The NHS says the cause of some cramps is unknown, and Cleveland Clinic calls these idiopathic cramps. When there is a reason, these are the usual ones the NHS lists:

• Getting older. Cleveland Clinic explains that tendons naturally shorten with age, which is one reason cramps get more common.
• Too much strain on the muscles during exercise, which can be worse in hot or humid weather.
• Pregnancy, usually in the later stage.
• Certain medicines, for example statins for cholesterol and diuretics for high blood pressure. If you think a medicine is behind your cramps, talk to your doctor before you change anything. Do not stop a prescription on your own.
• Not drinking enough fluids.
• Liver disease from drinking too much alcohol.

Cleveland Clinic adds a few everyday ones for night cramps in particular: sitting for long periods, overusing your muscles, standing or working on concrete floors, and poor posture during the day. If your job keeps you on your feet or in a chair all day, the evening stretch matters even more.

Is it leg cramps or restless legs?

These two get mixed up all the time, and they need different help. A cramp is a muscle that locks tight and hurts. Restless legs is an uncomfortable, crawling urge to move your legs, usually in the evening as you try to settle. The AASM explains that restless legs usually does not involve pain or a tight muscle, and eases as soon as you move. A cramp needs more time and more stretching before it lets go.

If the description of restless legs sounds more like you, read how to sleep with restless legs or our guide to restless legs at night that keep you awake.

If it is your hands rather than your legs, going numb or buzzing until you wake, read hands going numb at night for what usually causes it and what helps.

Does magnesium help night leg cramps?

Magnesium is the supplement most people reach for, so it is worth being straight about it. A 2020 Cochrane review pooled 11 trials and concluded that magnesium is unlikely to give meaningful protection from cramps for older people with ordinary muscle cramps. For cramps in pregnancy, the studies disagreed and the authors said more research is needed. Some people in the trials also got stomach side effects such as diarrhoea.

So if you take magnesium for sleep and like it, that is your call, but do not count on it to fix the cramps. If you are curious about dosing anyway, our guide on how much magnesium for sleep covers the safe limits. The stretch is still the better bet.

You may also hear about quinine. The US FDA warns that quinine is not considered safe and effective for treating or preventing leg cramps, and links it to serious side effects. In the UK, the NHS says a GP may offer quinine tablets only if exercise has not helped, after talking through the risks. Either way, it is a decision for you and your doctor, never something to try on your own.

When to see a doctor about night leg cramps

Most night cramps are a painful nuisance and nothing more. The NHS says to see a GP if:

• leg cramps are disturbing your sleep
• you also have numbness or swelling in your legs
• cramps last longer than 10 minutes

Cleveland Clinic also lists cramps in other parts of your body, changes in the skin of your leg, and waking over and over with cramps as reasons to talk to a provider soon. It advises going to the emergency room if a cramp lasts longer than 10 minutes or becomes unbearably painful, or if it comes after contact with something that could be poisonous or infected.

Notice that the first NHS point is about sleep. If cramps are costing you nights, that alone is reason enough to book the appointment. You do not have to just put up with it.

Tonight, keep it simple

Five minutes of the wall stretch before bed. Sheets loose at the foot of the bed. Toes up, not pointed. A glass of water earlier in the evening, not at the last minute. And if the cramp still comes, pull your toes toward you, stand on it, rub it out, then breathe slowly until your body settles. You do not need a perfect night. You only need to stop one cramp from stealing the rest of it, so tomorrow you wake up clear instead of limping into the day on four hours.

Leg calm but still wide awake? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

This article is general information, not medical advice. If leg cramps are new, severe or getting worse, please see a doctor.

It is 2am and you are trying to find the one position where your neck does not pull. You turn your head, it catches. You punch the pillow flat, then fold it in half, then give up and stare at the ceiling. If you are searching for how to sleep with neck pain, you are not fussing over nothing. A sore neck can keep you up for hours, and a bad night often makes it stiffer by morning.

Here is the short answer. Sleep on your back or your side, not your front. Use one low, firm pillow that keeps your head level with the rest of your body, so it does not tip up or sag down. A rolled hand towel inside the pillowcase can fill the gap above your shoulder. Put a heat or cold pack on your neck in the evening, and if pain wakes you, move your head and body together and calm your breathing before you try again. If the pain has not eased after a few weeks, or comes with numbness or weakness, get it checked.

Neck settled but your mind still wired? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Why does neck pain feel worse at night?

During the day you move your neck hundreds of times without thinking. In bed it sits in one position for long stretches, often bent or twisted, with your whole head resting on it. If the pillow is too high, too soft or too flat, that small angle is held for hours.

The NHS neck pain page lists the neck “becoming locked in an awkward position while sleeping” as one of the most common causes of neck pain, alongside bad posture (for example long hours at a desk), a pinched nerve, and injuries such as whiplash. The NHS also says most neck pain only lasts a few weeks.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons adds two more common causes: muscle and ligament strains, and wear and tear in the neck (cervical spondylosis), which usually shows up from around age 40. Neck problems can also send pain into the upper back, shoulders or arms, which is why a “shoulder” ache at night is sometimes really your neck.

There is also a sleep side to this. A small study in PLoS One filmed people sleeping at home for two nights. Those who woke with neck symptoms changed position more often, spent more time in postures that provoke pain, and reported poorer sleep than people without symptoms. So the way you lie matters, and it is something you can change.

The best sleeping position for neck pain

You do not need a perfect position. You need one that keeps your neck roughly in line with your spine, so it is not bent forward, back or sideways for hours.

On your side: the easiest place to start

A BMJ Open review of the research found that side lying was generally protective against waking spinal pain and stiffness. The authors are honest that there are not many good studies yet, so treat it as a sensible starting point, not a guarantee.

• Fill the gap, nothing more. Your pillow should fill the space between your ear and the mattress so your nose lines up with the middle of your chest. Too thick and your head tilts up. Too thin and it drops down.
• Try the towel roll. The Sleep Foundation suggests rolling up a hand towel and sliding it along the long edge of the pillowcase, then shaping it to fit the curve of your neck. It costs nothing and you can adjust it in seconds.
• Keep your chin neutral. Curling into a tight ball with your chin tucked to your chest bends the neck forward all night. Let your chin rest level.
• A pillow between your knees stops your top leg from rolling forward and twisting your spine. Many people find it makes side lying easier to hold.

On your back: good if you can settle there

Back sleeping can work well, as long as your head is not pushed forward by a tall stack of pillows. The Sleep Foundation suggests a small pillow at the base of the neck to keep your head neutral, a pillow under your knees, and your hands by your sides or resting on your chest rather than above your head.

On your front: the one to avoid

Lying on your stomach means your head has to turn hard to one side for hours. The NHS advises not sleeping on your front if you are prone to neck pain, and the Sleep Foundation notes that stomach sleepers report the most neck pain during the day. If you always end up there, place a pillow along your side so it is harder to roll over. It takes a few nights to get used to, so be patient with yourself.

Your pillow: the one thing worth getting right

You do not have to buy a special neck pillow. The NHS advice is simple: use a low, firm pillow, and make sure your head is the same height as the rest of your body. Start with what you have:

• Two soft pillows stacked? Try one. Stacking often pushes the head up too far, which the Sleep Foundation warns can cause neck pain on its own.
• One flat, tired pillow? Fold it, or add the towel roll, so it actually holds your head up.
• Not sure if you are level? The Sleep Foundation suggests asking someone to take a photo of you lying in your usual position. A crooked neck is much easier to see in a picture than to feel.

The mattress matters too. The NHS recommends a firm mattress to help prevent neck pain. If yours sags in the middle, you may be fighting it all night. Our guide on what to do when an uncomfortable mattress keeps you awake has quick fixes that do not mean buying a new bed tonight.

What to do in the hour before bed

A calmer neck at 11pm starts around 10pm. A few small steps help you get into bed less sore.

• Heat or cold. The NHS suggests a pack of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel for 5 minutes, up to 3 times a day, or a hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel for 20 minutes, 2 to 3 times a day. Use it while you are still up and awake. The Sleep Foundation warns against falling asleep with heat or ice on your skin.
• Gentle movement. The NHS recommends neck flexibility exercises and keeping your neck moving, and says not to wear a neck collar unless a doctor tells you to. Slow chin tucks, side tilts and shoulder rolls are a calm way to end the evening. Our bedtime stretches include a few gentle ones.
• Pain relief, if you use it. The NHS lists paracetamol, ibuprofen or ibuprofen gel as options for neck pain. Follow the label, and ask a pharmacist if you take other medicines or are not sure what suits you.
• Put the phone down, or hold it up. Looking down at a screen for long stretches strains the neck, as the Sleep Foundation points out. Scrolling in bed with your chin on your chest is the same posture in a worse spot. If you need a nudge, here is how to stop using your phone before bed.
• Let your shoulders drop. The Sleep Foundation notes that stress can build tension in the neck and slow recovery. If your shoulders are up near your ears, our guide to releasing tension before bed walks you through it. If you also grind your teeth, read about jaw clenching at night, since a tight jaw and a tight neck often go together.

When neck pain wakes you up in the night

You were asleep, you turned, and a sharp pull woke you. This is the moment most people make it worse: they jerk their head, check the clock, and start worrying about tomorrow. Try this instead.

1. Move as one piece. Do not twist your head on its own. The NHS says not to twist your neck in bed. Roll your shoulders, hips and head over together, like a log.
2. Reset the pillow. Pull it in so it supports your neck as well as your head, or slide the towel roll back into the gap.
3. Breathe slowly for five minutes. The NHS breathing exercise is simple: in through your nose, out through your mouth, counting steadily from 1 to 5 each way if that helps, for at least 5 minutes. Our 4-7-8 breathing guide is another option many people like.
4. Do not lie there for hours. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises that if you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes, you get out of bed and do something quiet in low light, away from screens. Sit up with a warm pack on your neck, then go back when you feel sleepy.

If your neck has settled but your mind has not, our guide on how to fall back asleep in the middle of the night goes deeper on that part.

Waking up with a stiff neck?

A stiff neck in the morning usually points back to the night: the wrong pillow height, sleeping on your front, or one long stretch in a twisted position. Change one thing at a time for a few nights so you can tell what helped. Start with the pillow height, because it is the easiest fix.

In the morning, move gently rather than holding your neck still. A warm shower on the back of your neck and a few slow turns often help it loosen. And at your desk, the NHS advice is to sit upright, roll your shoulders back gently, and not keep your neck in one position for a long time. A neck that has a calmer day usually has a calmer night.

Why protecting your sleep helps the pain too

It is easy to think the neck is the problem and sleep is just the casualty. The research suggests it works both ways. A review in The Journal of Pain found that poor sleep is a stronger and more reliable predictor of pain than pain is of poor sleep. In plain words: a bad night can make you feel pain more the next day.

So the effort you put into a calmer bedtime is not a luxury. It is part of letting your neck heal. That is also why the breathing and settling steps above matter as much as the pillow.

When to see a doctor about neck pain

Most neck pain gets better on its own in a few weeks. The NHS says to see a GP if the pain or stiffness does not go away after a few weeks, if painkillers have not worked, if you are worried, or if you have other symptoms like pins and needles or a cold arm.

The AAOS says to get medical care if neck pain is constant and does not go away over time, is severe, spreads down your arms or legs, or comes with headaches, numbness, tingling or weakness. Get help straight away after an injury such as a car accident or a fall. The AAOS also flags that trouble with fine tasks, like buttoning a shirt or a sudden change in your handwriting, can be a quiet sign of a spine problem worth checking.

The Sleep Foundation adds fever, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, nausea, and pain in the arm or jaw as reasons to talk to a doctor soon. Trust your instinct here. If something feels wrong, it is worth a call.

Other pains that keep you up

If it is not only your neck, these guides cover the same problem in other places:

• How to sleep with shoulder pain
• How to sleep with a headache
• How to sleep with lower back pain
• How to sleep with hip pain
• Hands going numb at night

Tonight, keep it simple

Back or side, never front. One low, firm pillow with your head level. A warm pack before bed, not in it. And when your neck wakes you, roll as one piece and breathe out slowly. You do not have to fix your neck tonight. You only need to give your body a fair chance to rest, so tomorrow you can turn your head without wincing and get through the day clear instead of foggy.

Want help switching off once you are comfortable? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

This article is general information, not medical advice. If neck pain is new, severe or getting worse, please see a doctor or physiotherapist.

You rolled onto your side, and there it is again: a deep ache at the point of your hip that pulls you right out of sleep. You shift, you stuff a pillow somewhere, you try the other side, and now you are wide awake at 2am, doing the math on how many hours are left. If you are trying to work out how to sleep with hip pain, you are not being dramatic. Night is often when a sore hip hurts most.

Here is the short answer. Sleep on the side that does not hurt, with a firm pillow between your knees so your top leg stays level. If both hips hurt, lie on your back with a pillow under your knees. Soften the pressure point with a mattress topper or extra cushions, ice the hip in the evening, and when pain wakes you, change position slowly and calm your body down before you try to sleep again. If the pain is new, getting worse, or still there after two weeks of home care, get it checked.

Hip settled but your body still wired? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Why does hip pain get worse at night?

Lying down puts weight on parts of the hip that get a break during the day. When you lie on your side, the bony point at the outside of your hip (the greater trochanter) takes a lot of your body weight, all night, in one spot.

That spot matters. A small fluid sac called a bursa sits right over it. When it gets irritated, it is called trochanteric bursitis, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says the pain is typically worse at night, when lying on the affected hip, and when getting up from a chair. The same page notes that lying on one side for a long time can itself irritate the hip.

The NHS hip pain page lists a few other common causes, each with its own pattern:

• Bursitis: pain that can spread into the outer thigh and feels worse when moving or lying on your side.
• Osteoarthritis: more common over 45, with pain that is worse when walking and stiffness after moving.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: pain and stiffness that are worse after not moving, for example when you wake up.
• A strain or tendon problem: pain, swelling or bruising after hard or repetitive exercise.

The NHS is clear that you should not try to diagnose the cause yourself. The patterns are useful for one thing: telling a doctor or physio exactly when it hurts. “It is worst when I lie on my left side after about an hour” is a far more helpful sentence than “my hip hurts.”

The best sleeping positions for hip pain

There is no single perfect position. The goal is simple: keep weight off the sore spot and keep your hips and knees lined up so nothing twists for six hours.

If you sleep on your side

• Lie on the side that does not hurt. This keeps your weight off the sore point. If both sides hurt, see the back position below.
• Put a firm pillow between your knees. Without it, your top knee drops toward the mattress and pulls on the outside of the top hip. Many people find a firm pillow, or a folded blanket, that keeps the top leg roughly level with the hip makes the biggest difference of anything on this list.
• Hug a second pillow. It stops you rolling forward onto your front, which twists the hip again.
• Bend your knees a little, not tucked up tight to your chest.

If you sleep on your back

Back sleeping takes pressure off both hips at once. A pillow under your knees softens the pull on the front of the hips and lower back. If you tend to roll onto your side in your sleep, a pillow along each side of your body can act as a gentle bumper.

If you sleep on your stomach

Lying on your front usually turns one leg out and twists the hips and lower back. If it is the only way you can fall asleep, a flat pillow under your hips can keep things more level, but most people with sore hips do better learning one of the positions above over a week or two.

Your mattress, topper and pillows

A very firm mattress pushes back hard on the bony point of a side sleeper’s hip. A very soft or sagging one lets the hips sink below the shoulders, so the joint sits twisted all night. Either can turn a sore hip into an awake hip.

You do not have to buy a new mattress tonight. A mattress topper a few inches thick spreads the pressure on the hip point, and the NHS advice on bursitis says extra cushions around the affected joint while you sleep can help protect and support it. If your mattress is old or has a dip where you lie, our page on sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress walks through the cheap fixes first.

What to do in the hour before bed

A sore hip settles better if you do not take it straight from the sofa to the mattress.

• Ice it after a busy day. The NHS suggests an ice pack, or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel, on the painful area for up to 20 minutes at a time, every 2 to 3 hours.
• Skip the low sofa. The NHS warns that low chairs put extra pressure on your hips. A firmer, higher chair for the evening is kinder to the joint.
• Do a few gentle stretches. Slow and easy, never into sharp pain. The NHS links to these hip exercises from Arthritis UK, and our bedtime stretches work well as a wind-down too.
• Ask about pain relief. The NHS lists paracetamol or ibuprofen gel (or ibuprofen tablets if needed) for hip pain. A pharmacist can tell you what is safe for you, especially if you take other medicines.
• Set up your pillows before you lie down, so you are not building a fort in the dark at 2am.

How to stop pain from waking you up at night

You may not be able to stop every wake-up while the hip is healing. What you can stop is a 2-minute wake-up turning into a 2-hour one. The pain wakes you, and then the frustration, the clock and the worry about tomorrow keep you up.

1. Move slowly. Bend your knees, keep them together, and roll as one unit onto your back or your good side. Quick twisting moves are what make the hip flare.
2. Put the knee pillow back. It has usually slipped out. That alone is often the reason you woke.
3. Do not check the clock. Knowing it is 3:12 adds a second problem to the first.
4. Breathe out longer than you breathe in. The NHS breathing exercise is a gentle place to start: breathe in for a count of up to 5, out for a count of up to 5, for at least 5 minutes. Some people prefer the 4-7-8 breathing method, which stretches the out-breath further.
5. Let the rest of your body go. Pain makes you brace without noticing: jaw tight, shoulders up, good leg tense. Our guide to relaxing your body to sleep walks through it from head to toe.
6. If you are still awake after about 20 minutes, get up. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends getting out of bed if you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes and doing something quiet, in low light, away from screens. Walking a little often eases a stiff hip too. Come back when you feel sleepy.

For more on the getting-back-to-sleep part, see how to fall back asleep in the middle of the night.

Why a bad night makes the next day’s pain worse

Pain and sleep feed each other, and not only in the direction you would expect. A 2013 review in The Journal of Pain by researchers at Johns Hopkins found that poor sleep reliably predicted new and worsening chronic pain, and that sleep problems predicted pain more strongly than pain predicted sleep problems.

That is actually good news. It means protecting your sleep is part of treating the hip, not a side issue. Every night you get through with less tossing and turning gives the joint and your patience a better day. If you lie down and your body feels buzzing and braced even when the hip is quiet, that is a separate problem worth fixing, and our page on physical tension that keeps you awake is a good next read.

When to see a doctor about hip pain at night

Most hip pain at night is not an emergency, but some of it needs a proper look. The NHS says to see a GP (your regular doctor) if:

• hip pain is stopping you doing normal activities or affecting your sleep
• the pain is getting worse or keeps coming back
• the pain has not improved after 2 weeks of treating it at home
• your hip is stiff for more than 30 minutes after waking up

Get urgent help, the same day, if the severe pain started suddenly without a fall, your hip is swollen and feels hot, the skin around it has changed colour, or you feel unwell with a high temperature. After a fall, if you cannot walk or put weight on the leg, or you have tingling or loss of feeling in the hip or leg after an injury, call emergency services (911 in the US).

A physical therapist is often the person who helps most with night pain. They can find which movements and positions set it off and give you exercises for the muscles around the hip.

Quick answers

Which side should I sleep on with hip pain?

The side that does not hurt, with a firm pillow between your knees. If both hips are sore, try your back with a pillow under your knees.

Is a firm or soft mattress better for hip pain?

Usually something in between. Too firm presses on the hip point, too soft lets your hips sink and twist. A topper is the cheapest way to test softer before you spend money.

Why does my hip only hurt when I lie down?

Lying on your side puts your body weight on the outside of the hip for hours. With bursitis in particular, that is exactly when it hurts most. It is worth mentioning that pattern to your doctor.

Does a pillow between the knees really help?

For many side sleepers, yes. It keeps the top leg from dropping and pulling on the hip. It needs to be firm and thick enough to keep the knees about hip-width apart. A thin pillow squashes flat by midnight.

Other pain that keeps you up

If it is not only the hip, these guides cover the same problem for other spots:

• How to sleep with lower back pain
• How to sleep with shoulder pain
• How to fall asleep with chronic back pain
• How to sleep with neck pain
• How to stop leg cramps at night
• How to sleep with sciatica

Tonight, keep it simple

Good side down, firm pillow between the knees, a softer surface under the hip, and a slow breath out when it wakes you. You do not have to fix the hip tonight. You only need to give your body a fair chance to rest, so tomorrow you wake up clearer instead of sore and running on coffee.

Want help switching off once you are comfortable? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

This article is general information, not medical advice. If hip pain is new, severe or getting worse, please see a doctor or physical therapist.

The curtains are glowing silver, the room is brighter than it should be, and you have been lying here for an hour. Someone mentioned it’s a full moon tonight, and now you can’t stop wondering if that’s why. If you can’t sleep during a full moon, you are not imagining things, and you are not stuck with it either.

Here is the short version: some studies find people sleep a little less around the full moon, and others find nothing at all. Either way, the things that help tonight are the same. Make the room truly dark, stop checking the clock, slow your breathing once you lie down, and if you are still awake after about 20 minutes, get up for a little while. One bright night will not ruin your week.

Wide awake under a bright moon? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Is the full moon really keeping you awake?

Maybe a little. The honest answer is that the science is split.

The study everyone quotes came from a sleep lab in Basel, Switzerland. Researchers went back through older recordings of 33 volunteers who had slept in a room with no view of the sky. In a 2013 paper in Current Biology, they reported that around the full moon, people took about 5 minutes longer to fall asleep, slept about 20 minutes less, got less deep sleep and had lower evening melatonin. Nobody had planned to look at the moon when the data were collected, which is what made it so interesting.

A bigger study followed people in their real lives. In a 2021 study in Science Advances, researchers tracked sleep with wrist monitors in Toba/Qom communities in northern Argentina, some of them without electricity, and in college students in Seattle. In every group, people went to bed later and slept less in the nights leading up to the full moon. A 2021 Uppsala University study of 852 people’s home sleep recordings also found shorter sleep in the half of the cycle when the moon grows toward full, with the clearest drop in sleep quality among men.

Now the other side. When another team checked the lab findings in three much larger sets of sleep recordings, they found no lunar effect. A Swiss study of 2,125 people who had full sleep tests at home found no meaningful difference between moon phases either. The Sleep Foundation sums it up the same way: some studies find worse sleep around the full moon, others find little or none.

So the fair reading is this. If there is an effect, it is small, it seems to touch some people more than others, and it is measured in minutes, not hours. That matters, because it means the moon is rarely the whole story on a bad night.

Why the nights before the full moon can feel the worst

Here is a detail most articles skip. In the Science Advances study, the latest bedtimes and the shortest sleep came 3 to 5 days before the full moon, not on the night itself. The researchers point to timing: in those days the moon is already bright and up in the evening, in the hours after dusk when people would normally be winding down. Wake-up times barely changed across the month. The effect was mostly about falling asleep later.

The same researchers suggest that electric light at night may now do what early evening moonlight once did, nudging sleep later. That is good news in a way, because evening light is something you can actually control.

Make the room dark enough to stop noticing

Whether the moon is nudging your body clock or simply shining through a gap in the curtains, the fix starts with light. The Sleep Foundation’s advice for anyone worried about moon phases is the basics: a dark bedroom, less caffeine, less screen light and a steady sleep schedule.

• Close the gap. If moonlight lands on your pillow, a clothes peg on the curtains, a towel over the rod or a cheap blackout liner fixes it for every bright night to come.
• Try an eye mask. It costs little and works just as well on a full moon night as on a light summer evening.
• Dim the last hour. Lamps low, overhead lights off. If you use your phone in bed, turn the brightness right down, or better, leave it across the room.
• Cover the little lights. Charger dots and standby lights add up in a room you are trying to keep dark.

There is more on this in our guides to light in the room keeping you awake and winding down when your phone keeps you up.

The expectation trap

For a lot of people, the belief is louder than the moon. You hear “full moon tonight,” you lie down already braced for a bad night, and every minute awake feels like proof. Then you check the clock. 1:12. Then 1:40. Each check adds a small jolt of worry, and worry keeps you up far better than a bit of silver light on the wall.

Try this instead. Turn the clock away and put the phone out of reach. When the “it’s the moon” thought shows up, answer it plainly: “Maybe. Even so, I can rest right now.” Lying still and resting is far kinder than fighting to sleep, and it takes the pressure off. If clock watching has become a habit, our guide on falling back asleep without checking the clock walks you through breaking it.

A 5-minute downshift for a bright night

When your body feels switched on, your breath is the easiest lever you have. The NHS breathing exercise for stress can be done lying down: gentle breaths into your belly, counting steadily in and out, for about five minutes. Here is how we like to do it in bed:

1. Get heavy (30 seconds). Lie on your back or side. Let your jaw go loose and your shoulders sink into the mattress.
2. Slow breaths, long breath out (about 4 minutes). Breathe in gently through your nose for a count of about 4, then let it flow out slowly for a count of 5 or 6. No forcing. If you lose count, just start again.
3. Feel three things (30 seconds). The weight of the blanket. The cool side of the pillow. Your feet against the sheet.
4. Let thoughts pass. If a thought pops up, call it “thinking” and go back to the next slow breath out.

If you like a fixed count, 4-7-8 breathing works the same way, with an even longer breath out.

Still awake after 20 minutes? Get up for a bit

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises that if you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, you get out of bed and do something quiet without a lot of light, and especially without screens. It feels backwards. The idea is that your bed stays the place where you sleep, not the place where you lie awake arguing with the ceiling.

Keep it dim and dull. Fold some laundry. Sit with a warm caffeine-free drink. Read a few pages of a paper book by a small lamp. Skip the window and the moon photos. When your eyes feel heavy, go back to bed. If you wake again later in the night, the same steps apply, and our guide to falling back asleep in the middle of the night has more.

Tomorrow, and the rest of the month

One short night is something you can get through. What helps most the next day is not trying to win the lost sleep back.

• Get up at your usual time. The AASM recommends the same wake time every day, weekends included. A long lie-in tends to make the next night harder to start.
• Keep any nap short and early. A long late nap can leave you wide awake again at bedtime.
• Track two moon cycles. For about two months, jot down when you went to bed, roughly how you slept and how you felt. If your bad nights really cluster before the full moon, you will see it. If they don’t, you have learned something more useful: the cause is something else, like stress, late caffeine or a schedule that keeps shifting.

If the pattern points to your timing in general, our page on circadian rhythm sleep problems can help you work out which type fits. And if your sleep feels thin most nights, moon or no moon, read why you might be sleeping so lightly.

When it’s probably not the moon

If you struggle to sleep at least three nights a week and it has gone on for three months or more, the moon is not the main problem. The AASM describes that pattern as chronic insomnia and suggests seeing a sleep doctor. It names cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as a recommended treatment: a structured program that works on the habits and thoughts that keep you awake. It is also worth talking to your doctor if you are so tired during the day that it gets in the way of work, driving or family life.

Questions people ask about the full moon and sleep

Does the full moon affect everyone’s sleep?

No. Even the studies that found an effect reported an average across a group, with big differences between people. In the Uppsala data, men showed a clearer drop in sleep quality than women, and the large studies above found no effect at all. If you sleep fine on full moon nights, nothing is wrong with you either.

Can the full moon wake me up at 3am?

The research points more to falling asleep later than to waking up. In the Science Advances study, wake-up times barely moved across the month, and the authors note that moonlight is unlikely to wake someone who is already asleep. If you wake at 3am around the full moon, check the simple things first: light coming in, a warm room or a busy mind.

Should I take melatonin around the full moon?

That is a question for your doctor or pharmacist, especially if you take other medicines. A dark room, slow breathing and getting up after 20 minutes are a good place to start tonight.

How many nights does it last?

In the field study, the shortest sleep came in the 3 to 5 nights before the full moon. So if the moon plays a part for you, it is a handful of nights a month, and then it passes.

Tonight, keep it simple

Close the gap in the curtains. Turn the clock away. Take long, slow breaths out once you lie down. If you are still awake after about 20 minutes, get up, keep the lights low and come back when you feel heavy. The moon moves on in a few nights. These steps work on any night, bright or dark, and a rested morning is what you are really after.

If you would like a short guided version for bed, the free sleep reset walks you through it in about five minutes.

Want a calmer night? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

The house is quiet, the light is off, and that is exactly when it hits. During the day there were calls to make and people around you. Now it is just you, the dark, and the fact that they are gone. If you can’t sleep since someone you love died, you are not doing grief wrong. Broken sleep is one of the most common things grieving people go through, and there are small, gentle things that make tonight easier.

Here is the short version: you do not have to stop thinking about them to rest. Give the thoughts a place before bed, slow your breathing once you lie down, and if you are still awake after about 20 minutes, get up for a little while instead of fighting it. Rest, even without deep sleep, still counts.

Lying awake and missing them? Try the free 5-minute sleep reset →

Why grief keeps you awake

You are not imagining it. A 2020 systematic review in Sleep Medicine Reviews looked at 85 studies with more than 12,000 bereaved people and found sleep problems are common after a loss, and that stronger grief tends to go with more trouble sleeping.

The Sleep Foundation describes the pattern many people know too well: thoughts of the person make it hard to fall asleep, and then you wake in the middle of the night and can’t get back down. A few things are usually going on at once:

• The quiet gives the mind room. All day you were busy. At night there is nothing between you and the memories, the what-ifs, and the last conversation.
• Your body is on alert. Loss is a huge stress. A body under stress has a hard time powering down, even when you feel completely drained.
• Your routine is gone. Maybe they were the one who locked up, or you used to talk before lights out. The cues that told your body “it’s time to sleep” have changed overnight.
• The bed itself feels different. If you lost a partner, the empty side of the bed can be the hardest part of the whole day.

Before bed: give the thoughts somewhere to go

Trying to push them out of your head rarely works. What helps many people is giving the thoughts a set time and place, so they are not all waiting for you on the pillow.

1. Take 10 minutes about an hour before bed. Sit somewhere that is not your bed. Write whatever comes: things you wish you had said, a memory from today, the tasks that are worrying you. Nobody reads it.
2. End with one small thing for tomorrow. “Call Mom’s bank at 10.” Writing it down tells your brain it does not have to hold on to it all night.
3. Close the notebook on purpose. That is the signal: the thinking had its time. If the same thought shows up in bed, you can tell yourself, “It’s on the page. I’ll come back to it tomorrow.”

If your head is full of work, money and to-do lists on top of the loss, this guide on what to do when you can’t sleep because of your thoughts goes deeper into the busy-mind side.

In bed: a 5-minute downshift

You do not need to feel calm to start this. You just need to do it.

1. Lie on your back or your side and let your jaw go loose. Grief often lives in the jaw, the throat and the chest. Notice them, then let them be a little heavier.
2. Breathe out longer than you breathe in. In through the nose for a count of 4, out slowly for a count of 6 to 8. Do this for a few minutes. The NHS breathing exercise for stress uses the same idea of slow, steady breathing to help you relax.
3. Feel three points of contact. Your head on the pillow. Your back on the mattress. Your feet under the blanket. Just notice them, one by one. This brings you back into the room and out of the memory.
4. If tears come, let them. Crying in bed is not a failure of the routine. Many people find they feel heavier and sleepier afterward. Breathe slowly again when it passes.

When you wake at 3am and the loss hits again

The middle-of-the-night wake-up is often the worst part. For a second you forget, and then you remember. Here is what tends to help:

• Leave the clock alone. Doing the math on how many hours are left only adds pressure. This page on falling back asleep without checking the clock explains why it helps.
• Use the same breathing as above. Long, slow breaths out. Your body learns the routine faster when it is the same every time.
• Get up after about 20 minutes. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises getting out of bed if you can’t fall asleep after 20 minutes and doing something quiet in low light, away from screens. Sit on the couch with a blanket, look at an old photo if that comforts you, or just sit. Go back to bed when your eyes get heavy.
• If you dreamed about them, give yourself a minute before trying to sleep again. Some dreams feel like a visit. Others are painful. Both are normal. If a bad dream woke you, this page on getting back to sleep after a nightmare has a few steps for that moment.

If you keep waking well before your alarm and lying there until morning, the steps in waking up too early and can’t get back to sleep can help too.

Small daytime habits that make the nights easier

You do not need a full sleep makeover while you are grieving. A few anchors are enough:

• Get up at roughly the same time each day, even after a rough night. A steady wake-up time is one of the habits the AASM’s healthy sleep habits list starts with, and it helps your body find its rhythm again.
• Step outside in the morning, even for five minutes. Fresh air and daylight make the day feel like a day.
• Watch the evening glass of wine. It is a very human way to take the edge off, and many people notice it makes them wake up more in the second half of the night. Here is why alcohol can wake you up at night.
• Keep naps short if you need one, and earlier in the day, so you still feel sleepy at night.
• Let people help. A short walk with a friend, a meal someone drops off, a call in the evening. Not being alone with it during the day often makes the night less heavy.

How long does grief insomnia last?

For most people, sleep slowly gets better. A study that followed 220 recently bereaved people in the journal Sleep Medicine found three main patterns over the following year: about 47% stayed fairly resilient, about 43% had insomnia symptoms that improved over time, and about 10% had insomnia that stayed. So if your nights are hard right now, you are in very large company, and for most people it eases.

There is no set timetable for grief, and you do not need to rush it. But sleep and grief affect each other. In that same study, people whose insomnia stayed were much more likely to still be struggling with intense grief a year later. That is a good reason to take care of your sleep now, not a reason to worry.

When to get more help

Please talk to your doctor if poor sleep goes on for weeks and is making it hard to get through the day, or if you are thinking about sleeping pills or alcohol to get by. A therapy called CBT for insomnia (CBT-I) is a proven, drug-free treatment, and the American Psychiatric Association notes it can help with sleep problems that come with very long, intense grief. Grief counseling and support groups can help too.

If you feel you can’t go on, or you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please reach out right now. In the US you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time of day or night.

Common questions

Is it normal not to sleep after someone dies?

Yes. Trouble falling asleep and waking in the night are among the most common things people report after a loss. It does not mean something is wrong with you. It means you lost someone who mattered.

Why do I sleep worse on the bad days, like birthdays and anniversaries?

Those days bring the loss right back to the surface, and the night before can be full of memories and dread. Many people find it helps to plan something small and kind for that day and to do the writing step earlier in the evening.

Should I take something to help me sleep?

That is a question for your doctor, who knows your health and any medicines you take. Ask before you start anything, including over-the-counter sleep aids or supplements.

I feel guilty when I do sleep well. Is that normal?

Many grieving people feel that. Resting does not mean you miss them less. You need sleep to carry the grief, to be there for the people around you, and to be yourself during the day.

Tonight, keep it simple

Ten minutes with a notebook before bed. Long, slow breaths out once you lie down. Feel the pillow, the mattress, the blanket. If you are awake after about 20 minutes, get up for a while and come back when you are heavy. That is enough for tonight. And if anxiety on top of the grief is what keeps you up, our guide on how to sleep with anxiety may help.

If you would like a short guided version you can play in bed, the free sleep reset walks you through it in about five minutes.

Want some rest tonight? Get the free 5-minute sleep reset →

It is past midnight. You finally drift off, and then it starts again: that dry tickle at the back of your throat, one cough, then five, and now you are sitting up in the dark, wide awake and annoyed. If you are searching how to sleep with a cough, here is the short version: prop your upper body up, keep a warm honey drink and a glass of water by the bed, and use slow nose breathing to ride out each coughing spell instead of fighting it.

Imagine it is 1am, the tickle starts, and instead of bracing for an hour of hacking you take a sip, lean back on your raised pillows, breathe slow through your nose, and two minutes later you are drifting again.

Want a calm 5-minute wind-down for nights like this? Start free on the improvesleep home page.

The short answer: 5 things to do tonight

1. Raise your head and chest. Lying flat lets mucus pool at the back of your throat. Two firm pillows or a wedge so your chest sits higher than your waist is often enough.
2. Have a warm honey and lemon drink. Half a lemon squeezed into a mug of hot water with 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey is the simple version the NHS cough page describes. Never give honey to a baby under 1.
3. Put water within reach. A small sip the moment the tickle starts can stop a spell before it builds. The NHS also lists rest and plenty of fluids as the first steps for a cough.
4. Keep the bedroom air from getting too dry. Many people find a cough feels scratchier in a dry, heated room. A humidifier kept clean, or a warm shower before bed, can make the air feel kinder on your throat.
5. Breathe through your nose, slowly, between coughs. Quick mouth breathing dries the throat and can tip you into the next fit. Slow nose breaths keep things calmer.

None of these will switch the cough off like a light. The goal is fewer, shorter spells, and a body that stays calm enough to fall back asleep after each one.

Why your cough gets worse when you lie down

You probably notice you cough less during the day and more the minute your head hits the pillow. You are not imagining it. A few things change when you lie flat.

Mucus drips down the back of your throat

When you have a cold or allergies, extra mucus can drain from your nose down the back of your throat. That is called postnasal drip, and Cleveland Clinic lists a cough that bothers you more at night as one of its signs. Their tip is to keep your head raised six to eight inches at bedtime, which is exactly why the pillow trick helps.

Acid can creep up

Reflux is a less obvious cause. The NHS page on heartburn and acid reflux lists a cough or hiccups that keep coming back as a symptom. If your night cough comes with a sour taste or burning in your chest, our guide to heartburn keeping you awake at night walks through what to change at dinner and at bedtime.

Your room is quieter, so you notice everything

During the day, work and noise pull your attention away from the tickle. At night there is nothing else to focus on. Each cough also nudges your body into alert mode, which is why you can feel wired after a coughing spell even though you are exhausted.

A 5-minute reset for a coughing night

Use this when a spell has woken you up and you can feel your heart going a little faster. It is about calming your body back down so sleep can return, not about forcing the cough to stop.

1. Sit up and sip (1 minute)

Sit up fully. Take two or three small sips of water or your honey drink. Let the cough finish instead of holding it in, because a held-back cough usually comes back stronger.

2. Rebuild your slope (30 seconds)

Fix your pillows so your head and chest are raised again before you lie back. Many people slide flat in their sleep without noticing.

3. Slow nose breathing (2 minutes)

Breathe in gently through your nose for a count of four. Breathe out through your nose, or through soft lips, for a count of six. Keep it light, not deep, because big gulps of air can set the tickle off again. If you want more breathing options, see how to breathe to fall asleep.

4. Drop your shoulders and jaw (1 minute)

Coughing tightens your chest, neck and jaw. Let your shoulders fall away from your ears. Unclench your teeth. Let your tongue rest on the floor of your mouth.

5. Give yourself permission to rest (30 seconds)

Tell yourself you do not need to fall asleep right now. Lying still with your eyes closed is still rest. That small shift takes the pressure off, and the pressure is often what keeps you awake after the cough has settled.

Best sleeping position with a cough

• Raised on your back: Good for postnasal drip. Use firm pillows or a wedge so you do not sink flat.
• On your side, slightly raised: Many people find this the most comfortable middle ground, and it helps if you also snore when you are blocked up.
• If reflux is the cause: the NHS suggests raising the head of the bed itself by about 10 to 20cm (roughly 4 to 8 inches) with blocks or books, rather than piling up extra pillows, because extra pillows can press on your belly and make reflux worse.

If your nose is blocked as well, our guide on how to sleep with a stuffy nose covers rinsing, steam and positions in more detail.

Does honey really help a night cough?

It is one of the few home remedies with some research behind it. A 2021 review in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine pulled together 14 studies on colds and similar infections and found that honey improved cough frequency and cough severity compared with usual care. The authors also say better placebo-controlled trials are still needed.

An earlier 2007 study of 105 children aged 2 to 18 with a cold looked at night cough specifically. Parents rated a dose of honey before bed as the most helpful option for both the child’s night cough and their sleep, ahead of a common cough medicine and no treatment.

The NHS is more cautious and says the evidence for honey and lemon is limited. So think of it as a cheap, gentle thing worth trying, not a cure. And again: no honey for babies under 1.

What about cough medicine at night?

A pharmacist is the right person to ask, especially if you take other medicines, are pregnant, or are buying for a child. The NHS notes that cough medicines will not stop a cough, but some may help you cough less, and some are not suitable for children under 12. Always read the leaflet, and check whether a product is a daytime or night-time formula before you take it at bedtime.

When the cough is gone but your sleep is not

Here is the part people do not expect. A week of broken nights can leave your body used to waking up. The cough clears, but you still find yourself awake at 2am, alert and waiting for something to happen.

That is normal, and it usually settles when you give your body a few calm, predictable nights. Keep the same wake time, get daylight in the morning, and if you wake, use the same slow breathing and shoulder drop from the reset above. Our guide on how to fall back asleep after waking up has more for those nights. If you are still under the weather in general, tired but can’t sleep when sick covers the bigger picture.

When to see a doctor about a night cough

Most coughs from a cold clear up on their own within about three to four weeks, according to the NHS. Get checked by a doctor if:

• your cough has lasted more than 3 weeks
• you are losing weight for no reason
• you have a weakened immune system

Get urgent medical help if you find it hard to breathe, you have chest pain, you are coughing up blood, you feel very unwell, or the cough is very bad or getting worse quickly. These signs come from the NHS guidance on coughs. This article is general information, not a diagnosis, so trust your gut and get seen if something feels wrong.

Related sleep guides

• How to sleep with a stuffy nose
• Tired but can’t sleep when sick
• Heartburn keeping me awake at night
• How to fall back asleep after waking up

Want a calm reset for tonight?

The free 5-minute sleep reset is a short, guided way to bring your body back down after a rough spell. You do it lying in bed. Start on the improvesleep home page.