I’m Dr. Sanford Auerbach, board certified sleep specialist and neurologist. Ask me anything about how to develop healthy sleeping habits

Are there tips for how to fall back asleep if I wake up in the middle of the night?

It is not uncommon for people to have awakenings through the night. Hopefully, they are brief and we fall back quickly. If very short, we have no recall. For many, waking at about 3am may be a problem because we have already slept fo a period of time and our body is starting to gear up for the day. We need a greater degree of relaxation at that time. So, avoid any stimulation at that time. Do not look at the clock? Avoid, if possible, worrying. On the other hand, if you start to worry about not sleeping, you will be in trouble. It is then time to get out of bed and do something you find to be relaxing. If you still have issues, then investigating CBTI (behavioral techniques may be helpful. Then you may address this with your PCP.

Some days I can survive at 4hrs of sleep. Some days I struggle after even 7-8hrs of sleep. How do I make sure to wake up in the best possible emotional state?

The link between sleep and emotional state is interesting. Sometimes, our mood may determine our sleep, rather then the other way. For instance depression may lead to an increase in sleep need. A more precise reply would require a more detailed analysis.

1. What is the minimum hours a student in high school or college sleep? Is it for the entire day or at night?
2. Does night shift mode on phones really help in getting a better sleep?

This can vary across students, but most probably ”7-9 hours. Unfortunately, many of our students and many of the adults tend to run on the sleep deprived side. Ultimately, the sleep need is determined by the total sleep in a 24 hour period that one needs to functional at an optimal level through the day.

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Yes, melatonin can be used on a regular basis.

Is schedule disruption the only factor in sleep struggles when quarantining?

Certainly, maintaining a schedule has been a problem for many during the time of quarantine. A lack of exercise maybe a factor. For others, it may be the anxiety generated by the uncertainty of the quarantine. For some, there ma be a change in caffeine or alcohol consumption.

Thank you for doing this! Ive struggled with sleeping poorly for years. Ive changed work shifts, cut alcohol out, new bed, air purifier and humidifier. My current struggle is staying asleep. I wake up 10-20 times per night - any advice for less wakings? Its not a new sleep struggle for me just the one ive not been able make any improvements in.

It is always important to remember to judge the quality of sleep by how you feel during the day. We all have several brief arousals during the night. We may not always remember them, especially if very short.

I will assume this has a negative impact on daytime function. Certainly, it may be worthwhile to review with your PCP, First to make certain that there are no medical issues, etc. Often, additional care to insure proper relaxation is needed. There are several behavioral techniques that may be helpful (often considered together ass Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBTI. Sleep restriction therapy may be a reasonable approach.

Even before quarantine, I would on most days require 8-10 hours of sleep to function. I can even "make" myself sleep up to 18-20 hours a day no problem. What's wrong with me Doc? My regular doctors can't answer me on why this is.

It appears that you require an excess amount of sleep (hypersonic). There are many possibilities. If there is no obvious medical factors that your PCP can recognize, you may consider a referral to a Sleep Clinic. These problems can usually be diagnosed and treated.

Are there any tips on waking up in cycle 1 of your sleep cycle? And how big of a difference does it make which cycle you wake up in if any?

In general, we tend to go through 3-4 cycles of sleep. These cycles are alternating patterns of REM sleep (dreaming sleep) and nonREM sleep. The deeper stage of nonREM sleep are skewed to the beginning of sleep and the REM sleep is skewed towards the second half of the night. The deeper stages of nonREM are sometimes called slow wave sleep (SWS). All stages are important. There is some thought that waking up out of SWS may be associated with a fatigue feeling, sometimes referred to as sleep inertia. On the other hand, it is not clear. Sometimes this is applied to the optimal length of naps. Unfortunately, we do not know what stage we are in at any point in time. I advise people to observe for themselves, the optimal nap time.

Is there any evidence to support certain people have an inverse circadian rhythm or nocturnal patterns? I’ve never felt rested or recovered when I sleep at night, and I can always fall asleep faster if I lay down during the day. Since my sleep schedule tends to always gravitate and re-align to what is considered abnormal, am I crazy or can I just be one of those rare genuine “night owls?”

There are different reasons why some people find it easier to fall asleep in the daytime. In some, there is a disorder of the natural rhythm of sleep or the circadian rhythm of sleep. If your natural rhythm of sleep does not mesh with your lifestyle, it may be helpful to consider shifting the rhythm Often a combination of properly timed bright lights and maybe melatonin may be helpful This might require consultation with a sleep specialist.

Is it better to wake up during a certain point in your sleep cycle than to wake up naturally? If so, how do I figure out when in the cycle I should wake up?

WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH CONTROL OF WHAT STAGE WE WAKE UP FROM. SOME SAY THAT IF WE WAKE UP OUT OF SLOW WAVE SLEEP THAT WE WILLhave sleep inertia and a groggy feeling. This may be applicable to the timing of our naps. Ideally, not too long or too short. You should observe this for yourself.

I get headache if I oversleep, why does this happen ?

There are several possibilities that may contribute, even the continued positioning of your neck in an awkward position.

I sleep an average amount per night, but i always find myself waking up half way through my sleep, and then like every hour afterwards. Should i just stay awake when my body wakes itself up even if i only got 4 hours of rest or is there something else wrong with my sleep?

Also i got some melatonin pills online and those work nice to keeo me asleep better, but i dont want to have to rely on them every night to have some decent sleep

Waking up through the night like this is not necessarily a problem, especially if you fall back to sleep each time. The real question is how you feel during the day? Does taking the melatonin cause you to feel anymore refreshed during the day? If not, then it shows that you are sleeping fine.

If I have a screwed up sleep cycle (say...about, 5am-1pm sleeping), and I chose to then stay up a whole 24 hours, plus 8 hours to then sleep at 9pm the following day, would that put my sleep schedule back on track? If not, why?

Our body has a clock that determines our ideal sleep time. This can shift. For instance, this is why we are susceptible to jet lag when we find that our clock is out of sync with our surroundings. Sometimes people may be delayed (Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome). For most people, it is not easy to make a sudden shift like this. Even jet lag takes a few days to resolve completely. There are; methods that can be used to help you gradually shift. There may be information available thru the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). You may want to consider a sleep clinic.