The one thing you should never do if you wake up in the middle of the night

If you struggle with waking up in the middle of the night, there’s one big mistake you might be making which could be stopping you getting back to sleep.

An expert has warned that checking your phone in the early hours is actually “telling your brain to wake up” and makes falling asleep much more difficult.

Sleep expert Dr Jeff Rodgers spoke to Bustle, saying: “The blue light from your phone mimics daylight and suppresses the production of melatonin, the hormone which regulates your sleep-wake cycle.”

Looking at the screen automatically causes your brain to go into waking up mode, and it could be making it harder for many people to get a good night's sleep.

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Waking up in the night is a very common thing. Johns Hopkins Medicine states that most people have two or three wake-ups per night.

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Getting back to sleep isn’t always easy, but one thing we definitely can do to make it easier is put the phone away and out of sight.

"Just glancing at the time can be enough to wake you up, while checking email, reading news, or engaging in other activities such as playing games or texting can make getting back to sleep difficult or impossible," sleep expert Rose MacDowell also told the publication.

Rogers added: "Checking texts, emails, and social media can cause your brain to go into 'worry-mode'.

"Exposing your brain to your phone and thus 'reconnecting' to all the stressors in the world can activate anxiety, making it a lot more difficult to fall back asleep — particularly if, while 'sleeping,' half of your brain is actually waiting for a text or email to come through."

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