Q If I can't sleep, should I force myself to keep lying down?
A No—if sleep doesn't come within 20 minutes, it is more effective to get up, do something simple in a dark room, and lie down again only when you feel drowsy.
Detailed Answer
Forcing yourself to stay in bed conditions the bed to arousal and anxiety, reinforcing insomnia. The CBT-I technique that prevents this is stimulus control. The principle is to use the bed only for sleep and intimacy, and if sleep doesn't come within 20 minutes, to get up, dim the lights, do a simple activity such as reading, and lie down again only when you feel drowsy.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
In Korean medicine, forcing yourself to sleep further consumes the Heart Qi (simgi). At Dongjedang, on sleepless nights we recommend a cup of warm jujube tea or roasted sour-jujube-seed tea. Quietly repeating abdominal breathing (inhale 4 seconds, hold 7 seconds, exhale 8 seconds) 15 times activates the parasympathetic nervous system and helps you fall back asleep.
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