What to Do When You Can't Fall Asleep for More Than Twenty Minutes

Lying in bed awake trains your brain to associate bed with wakefulness. If you haven't fallen asleep within roughly twenty minutes, get up and move to another room. Do something calm and boring — read a dull book, fold laundry, sit quietly. Go back to bed only when you feel genuinely sleepy. This technique, called stimulus control, is one of the most evidence-backed methods in sleep therapy. It feels counterintuitive, but it works by rebuilding the association between your bed and sleep.