Sometimes, I wake up and I find it difficult to fall back asleep. I wrote about how I prevent and deal with this experience a few months ago, and I wanted to add a few more notes:

Abstain from writing in the evening. It’s too energizing for the mind. If I find an idea, I will quickly write it down—no more than a phrase—and pick it back up in the morning.

I used to go to bed hungry, and wake up starving. I suspect a driving factor of fragmented sleep for me was because I didn’t eat enough. If this is the case for you, eat a snack around 8pm or 9pm. If it’s later at night, even a small bowl of roasted almonds or lentil soup could make the difference between a good night’s sleep and a 4am fragment.

Doing a workout at the gym improves the odds of a good night’s sleep. 

Walk 5,000 steps sometime during the day to help clear your head.

I previously wrote about a helpful technique, which is to imagine a mashup of my favorite TV shows. A mashup that has worked well for me has been to imagine Hacks crossing over with Ted Lasso. Some plotlines include Jimmy becoming Jamie’s manager, Rebecca and Deborah being friends, Roy catching up with Ava, etc. If I wanted to feed this mashup, I’d just read something about the shows—or watch an episode—before bed.

Room temperature can also make a big difference. This will probably be specific to you, not general. If your spouse needs a cooler temperature, throw an extra layer on.

You’ll probably experience a night of fragmented sleep at some point. When it happens, do your best to enjoy it. Treat it like an hour of actual relaxation, without screens or media. (As I previously wrote, my routine is to get out of bed, meditate, journal, and then read for a little bit before returning to sleep.)

Changing jobs also helped a lot. While I haven’t quite put my finger down on an exact cause, I know that I sleep much better now.