[Twitchy]

The adrenalin rush upon wakening in the night is difficult to deal with. It occurs as a result of the fight or flight syndrome inbuilt into our psyche and the only way I have found to deal with this is by the 4,7,8 counting routine. After a while the method wanes a little but I have not found a substitute for it but would like to,or of course, even better not wake up early in the morning!
Recommendations appreciated.

[Martin Reed]

What you are describing is quite common and is often a symptom of hyperarousal.

First of all, it can be helpful to understand that waking during the night is common and is actually a normal part of sleep. With that being said, if we start to worry or become concerned by these awakenings, it can become harder to fall back to sleep — and the consequent struggle after that awakening can train us to see these awakenings as awful events that predict hours of struggle. This, of course, perpetuates the problem.

In these circumstances, it can be very helpful to simply get out of bed as soon as you start to feel worried, anxious, or frustrated about being awake. When you feel calm and relaxed again, return to bed and see what happens. You may need to repeat this process.

If you combine this technique with allotting an appropriate amount of time for sleep and following a regular sleep window, you will start to spend more time in bed asleep rather than awake and this can help reduce that intense level of arousal.

I hope this helps.

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