No trouble falling asleep? Really nice. Waking up at 3 am? Really frustrating.
Not being able to stay asleep is its own problem, and advice aimed at those who cannot fall asleep won’t cut it.
If you wake up in the middle of the night and the only thing that stops you from thinking about that one embarrassing thing you did in 2017 is Googling how to stay asleep at night, this one’s for you.
Waking up in the middle of the night isn't technically abnormal.
Your sleep isn't one long block of unconsciousness. It's a series of 90-minute cycles, each moving through light, deep, and REM sleep. At the end of each cycle, you briefly come to the surface.
Most people just roll over and continue. But if things like stress, temperature, blood sugar, or a full bladder are in the way, that moment can become a full wake-up.
Sometimes you wake up because your body never fully settles. Even if you fall asleep easily, stress, muscle tension, or general nighttime unease can keep pulling you back into lighter sleep.
Look, if you've been trying to figure out how to stay asleep throughout the night, you've probably already read about sleep hygiene. But there's a difference between knowing something and getting it right consistently.

Improving these is the key to staying asleep:
| Sleep hygiene habit | Why it’s important |
| Consistent sleep/wake time | Trains your circadian rhythm |
| Dark room | Melatonin suppression by light |
| Cool room (16-19°C) | Core body temperature needs to be lower |
| No screens 1 hour before bed | Blue light delays melatonin |
| No caffeine after 2 pm | Caffeine's half-life is 5-6 hours |
| No alcohol close to bedtime | REM disruption |
| The bed is only for sleeping | Your brain starts to associate bed with sleep |
Neither of these should be underestimated. Sometimes your body needs all of these in order to get proper rest.
By doing all of this consistently, you can avoid the stressors that keep pulling you out of sleep. And it gives your body a better chance to settle and stay relaxed, so you can sleep through the night without waking up.
So you've woken up. It's dark, it's quiet, and your brain is already composing a list of everything you need to worry about. What now?
The moment you see the time, your brain starts calculating: I've been asleep X hours, I have Y hours left, if I fall asleep right now... None of that helps. Turn your clock away and don't check your phone.
Trying hard to sleep activates your nervous system. Instead, try what sleep researchers call paradoxical intention. Tell yourself you'll just lie there quietly without trying to sleep. This removes the performance anxiety that keeps you awake.
Start at your feet. Consciously relax each part of your body, moving upward. Feet, calves, knees, thighs. By the time you get to your shoulders, you should be asleep. The scan gives your brain something boring to do other than catastrophise.
Imagine moving through grass from a cat’s point of view, passing over land like a storm, or floating in a bubble through a forest. Low-stakes, surreal scenarios let your mind wander and mimic impossible things you can only see in dreams. You should slip into real dreams easily; just don’t make the scenarios too interesting.
If you can’t sleep, get up and do something calm in low light. Reading is perfect. Go back when you feel sleepy. You're training your brain that bed equals sleep, not anxiety.
Good practices are good practices, but sometimes, following them doesn’t help. Here are some natural supplements that can help you stay asleep at night.
CBD has been used in wellness for a while now, and for a good reason. It’s a non-psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. It’s often used in the evening to help the body and mind wind down.
It can support restlessness, physical tension, and that wired-but-tired feeling that makes going back to sleep hard.
Taking CBD oil in the evening may support a sense of calm and body relaxation that makes staying asleep more natural. It’s a useful addition to your wind-down routine if your sleep issues stem from restlessness or unease.
Magnesium can help with nervous system regulation and muscle relaxation. Glycinate is the form most recommended for aiding sleep due to its high absorption rate.
Mixed evidence, but it has a long history of traditional use for anxiety and sleep.
Melatonin is like a sleep-timing signal. It works better for things like jet lag and shift-work disruption rather than staying asleep, but it may help you establish a routine.
Staying asleep at night is the result of a bunch of small decisions. What you eat, how you manage stress, what your evening looks like, and how consistently you practice good sleep hygiene habits.
The good news? There is much you can do on your own, and if you’ve tried it all, natural supplementation can often help.
If that sounds like the kind of support your sleep routine is missing, our CBD products are easy to add to your evening wind-down and may help make staying asleep feel a little less like a nightly battle.