“[Waking up around 2 a.m.] is something called ‘middle sleep,’ which is a normal, physiologic wake-up between two symmetric blocks of sleep. I used to stress about it, thinking, oh no, I’m awake in the middle of the night; this is going to be a bad night of sleep; tomorrow is going to be a bad day. And it turns out, that narrative I was telling myself, by stirring up my stress response, became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Now, instead, I reassure myself that this is just middle sleep. I use the bathroom, have a sip of water, and then rest with my eyes closed, trusting that I’ll fall back asleep momentarily. And I do.”
—Holistic psychiatrist Ellen Vora, M.D., on this article