There are two types of sleepers in the world- those who can sleep through a thunderstorm and those who will wake up at the drop of a pin. If you are in the first category, you may be bothered by how difficult it is for you to wake up sometimes. Would you like to know how to become a light sleeper?
You might think that people are either light sleepers or heavy sleepers, but that’s not so. This is a behavior that can change, but it may take some time. How to go from being a deep sleeper to become light in your sleep? Keep reading to find out how you can do it. And if you feel that you wake up too easily, I have some steps you can take to change that as well later on.
How to Become a Light Sleeper in Five Steps
Light sleepers might not even enter deep REM sleep for very long. They might not spend much time in this phase of sleep, which could be why they’re waking up so easily. However, many light sleepers sleep very well and get plenty of rest and wake up feeling refreshed. They manage to go through the entire sleep cycle, including a sufficient REM sleep cycle.
The difference between the average light sleeper and the average heavy sleeper are a few crucial factors. The light sleeper can often be classified as more motivated. They have more reason to get up, and once they get up, they are more likely to be industrious and quick to get moving.
The heavy sleeper may be someone who is more prone to struggling to get out of bed and struggling to get moving in the morning. They may lack some motivation and may be someone who stays up very late as well.
This is a somewhat stereotypical analysis, but it’s often true of light and heavy sleepers. From this quick little assessment, you may pick out a few things that could be changed about the heavy sleeper’s routine that could help that person become a light sleeper. Let’s dive into some of that.
Most often have a regular sleep schedule- a set time they go to bed and a set time to wake up. This may vary from time to time, particularly over the weekends, but they usually have a sleep routine that they stick to.
So, if you’re a heavy sleeper who wants to become a lighter sleeper, it makes sense that you would develop a sleep routine. This can help you get into a regular sleep schedule and ensure that your body is getting enough rest.
A big part of the reason why you may struggle to wake up could be down to how little quality sleep you’re getting and how messed up your body’s serotonin levels and sleep cycle are. Once you get these kind of things under control by getting on a regular sleep schedule, you may wake up more easily and find yourself more energized when you do wake up.
The light sleeper is often someone who is active throughout the day. They avoid naps during the daytime so that they can fall asleep easily and be well rested when they wake up. Someone who is getting enough rest is more likely to wake up easily. They may wake up at slight sounds in their bedroom or the sound of someone knocking at their door.
A heavy sleeper might not. The main difference there could be simply that the heavy sleeper isn’t getting enough sleep and isn’t feeling rested after they sleep. Their body is less likely to wake them up to full alertness at the smallest sound because it needs more recovery time.
So, in order to be a lighter sleeper, you should get some exercise during the day. If you wear yourself out too much, you may fall into a heavy sleep.
However, if you get a decent amount of activity during the day, you should sleep well at night and be able to wake up easily in the morning. If you have a regular exercise routine and a regular sleep routine, these two can work together to keep you feeling great and getting ample, restful sleep when you go to bed.
How to Become Less of a Light Sleeper
Let’s look at the opposite side of this coin. If you feel that you wake up far too easily and you would prefer to be able to sleep better during the night, there are some changes you can make. Would you like to know how to become a less light sleeper?
People who have trained themselves to wake up at any little noise might be people who are easily frightened or who may be kind of jumpy. This may be someone who has trouble falling asleep and who finds it difficult to stay asleep during the night. Every little sound, movement, and light can wake them up. They may not even realize why they woke up during the night, but they realize they are in overly light sleeper.
How to help become less of a light sleeper? The simplest thing you can do to make this change is to check your bedroom for anything that could be keeping you awake. Look for any flashing lights on routers, modems, laptops, or your phone. Even the light of a digital clock can keep you awake at night.
You want to unplug these things or turn them completely off to eliminate those low level lights. Though the lights may not seem like much when you’re awake, in the night when it is dark, those lights will be much more pronounced and may keep you awake.
Another thing you need to watch for if you’re looking for how to not become a light sleeper is any sound that may be in your house and particularly in your bedroom. If you’re in the habit of running laundry at night, you may want to change up your laundry schedule. Listen out for anything in your house that makes noises that could startle you from your sleep.
Maybe you have a loud fan or air conditioning unit that could benefit from a cleaning to make it quieter. Maybe you need to mute the notifications on your phone so that you’re not being woken up by messages throughout the night. Everyone’s house is different, and you should pay attention to what sounds might be keeping you awake at night and preventing you from getting restful sleep.
It may also help to use a white noise machine to block out other sounds. This can help your brain to experience some peace and quiet and can be quite soothing, allowing you to fall asleep more easily. If you’ve tried other methods but you’re still too light of a sleeper and you need some help falling asleep and staying asleep, you may want to give the white noise machine a try. See if it might make a difference for you.
If you sleep too lightly and you’d like to change that, it may help to get on to a more regular sleep schedule as well. This helps the heavy sleeper and the overly light sleeper. Regular sleep regulates your body’s serotonin levels and trains your brain to go to sleep at a specific time and wake up at a specific time. This allows your body to relax and your nerves to be calmed. When your body and your brain know what to expect and when you are supposed to be sleeping, they will be less likely to wake you up at the wrong time.
My name is Ellis Francis and I have been a personal fitness trainer, sports nutritionalist and health and fitness advisor for over 25 years. I am the lead health and fitness advisor at https://awellnessbody.com.
