Can’t sleep? Should you stay in bed and keep trying?
Can’t sleep? Should you stay in bed and keep trying? The myth is that lying there long enough will get you there. This Short shows the advice sleep specialists actually give, in twenty seconds.
Watch on YouTube · SleepBetter channel · Sleep Tips & Sound Tests
Made with AI. Parts of this video are AI-generated (see “How this was made” below).
What it says
Myth: lie there and keep trying until sleep comes. Fact: if you’re wide awake, get up, do something calm in low light, and go back when you feel sleepy. The idea comes from stimulus control, one part of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Lying in bed for a long time frustrated can teach your brain that bed is a place for being awake, so the aim is to keep bed linked with sleep.
Try it tonight
Decide in advance where you will go and what you will do: a chair in another room, a dim lamp, a paper book or something calm to listen to. Avoid bright screens and the clock. Our guided sleep meditation for overthinking works well for this, or a steady brown noise at low volume. Go back to bed only when your eyes feel heavy. It can feel worse for a few nights before it helps.
This is general information only, not a treatment. If you struggle to sleep most nights for weeks, a doctor can refer you for CBT-I.
What counts as calm
Anything quiet, dull and low-light: folding laundry, a gentle stretch, a familiar book, an audiobook you have heard before. Try to skip the things that pull you in, such as work email, the news, scrolling or a gripping series. Keep the lights low and warm, and stay out of the kitchen if you can. The point is not to tire yourself out, but to wait somewhere comfortable until sleepiness comes back on its own.
About these Shorts
Our myth vs fact Shorts put one common sleep belief next to what the evidence says, with the source listed below. There is no voice: the myth and the fact appear as text over an AI-made picture of a lamp-lit room. For more, see our Short on whether alcohol helps you sleep.
Transcript
There is no narration. The on-screen text, in order:
Can’t sleep? Should you stay in bed?
Myth: Lie there and keep trying until sleep comes.
Fact: If you’re wide awake, get up. Do something calm in low light, then go back when you feel sleepy.
Source: Sleep Foundation · CBT-I guidance
How this was made
No voice. The lamp-lit room is an AI-generated still image; the text and the soft pad underneath are made by SleepBetter.
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Sleep videos and guided relaxation are for general wellness, not medical advice. If poor sleep is affecting your days, talk to a doctor or a sleep specialist.