What is Sara Cox's advice for waking up in the middle of the night and does it stand up to science?

Do you ever find yourself waking up unexpectedly successful the mediate of the night? BBC presenter Sara Cox mightiness person conscionable the solution for you.

Sometimes we can’t pinpoint a crushed wherefore we randomly aftermath up successful the aboriginal hours of the morning, but nevertheless, it tin beryllium frustrating to miss retired connected a good, uninterrupted night’s sleep.

Hosting the BBC Morning Live show, Cox precocious shared immoderate proposal with a caller, Steve, who has been suffering from his ain sleeping problems. The erstwhile BBC Radio One big told Steve and chap viewers astir instrumentality she uses to get backmost to slumber erstwhile she wakes up astatine 2.30am.

Cox shared that she follows the proposal of the precocious wellbeing adept Michael Mosley, who died successful June, 2024. “I recovered the superb doc Michael Mosley’s small slumber pod, and helium gives you immoderate breathing exercises,” the 50-year-old said. “But helium besides tells you the science down it, which is ace interesting, benignant of distracts you from the information that you’re trying to get backmost to sleep, and earlier you cognize it, due to the fact that you are doing the breathing exercises, you listen, you snooze backmost off.”

Mosley has said that heavy breathing successful the aboriginal hours of the greeting tin beryllium “quite life-changing” erstwhile it comes to falling backmost asleep. “They’re truly simple, called 4-2-4,” helium told BBC Radio Wales successful 2023. “What you bash is you inhale done your chemoreceptor for four, you clasp it for a mates of seconds and past you respire retired done your rima for benignant of for. You bash that for a infinitesimal oregon so, your bosom complaint slows down.”

The wellness guru said that by pursuing the breathing exercise, we activate the parasympathetic tense system. “And that acts similar a benignant of braking strategy connected your assemblage and your brain,” helium added. “Keep going for a infinitesimal oregon so, possibly 2 minutes, you’ll find that a large mode of falling asleep.”

Mosley dedicated overmuch of his aboriginal vocation to sleep, investigating Australia’s slumber gyration successful a bid past twelvemonth and penning a guide, 4 Weeks to Better Sleep successful 2023. So what different guidance has helium shared for erstwhile we can’t get backmost to slumber successful the night?

“Find a quiescent corner, work a dull book, perceive to immoderate euphony until you consciousness sleepy and past you get backmost to bed,” helium said. “The crushed you bash that is it’s astir the 2 S’s – furniture should beryllium for sleeping and enactment and thing else. You shouldn’t beryllium lying determination astatine 3 successful the greeting worrying astir life.”

Cox herself besides shared immoderate further proposal for those struggling with their sleep, who whitethorn find their acold feet successful furniture keeping them up. “Recently I’ve started wearing fluffy socks successful bed, and it’s a gamechanger. I’m definite that’s wherefore astir nights I’ve been sleeping OK... I urge it.”