Happio - Your Mental Wellness Toolkit

*By Louise Buckingham *

You wake up suddenly. It’s dark. Quiet. And yet, your mind feels wide awake. Minutes pass. Then an hour. And the harder you try to sleep, the more elusive it becomes.

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Waking in the night, sometimes called “sleep maintenance insomnia,” is one of the most common disruptions to healthy sleep. For some people, it happens occasionally, while for others, it becomes a regular part of the night.

But here’s the important part: this experience isn’t a failure. It’s a signal, and how you respond makes all the difference.

At Happio, we support people through moments like this. Our approach combines therapeutic tools, calming routines, and self-awareness to help you meet wakefulness with kindness, not panic. Sleep isn’t something you force; it’s something you invite back in.

1. Start with compassion, not control

The first instinct when we wake up is frustration: *“Why am I awake? I need to sleep. I’ll be exhausted tomorrow.” * These thoughts increase the body’s arousal state, raising cortisol and heart rate, making sleep even less likely.

From a psychological perspective, this is the “sleep paradox.” The more we demand sleep, the more it withdraws. The nervous system detects pressure and becomes alert.

Instead of trying to wrestle your body into sleep, try this reframe: “I’m awake right now, but I can still rest. My body knows how to sleep. I’ll return there when it’s ready.” This gentle acceptance reduces the internal struggle; often, that’s precisely what allows sleep to return. In Happio:

Start a quick evening journal entry on the empty page or chat with your AI Sleep Coach to externalise your thoughts. Use the prompt “What would feel kind right now?” to guide your next move.

2. Understand what your brain is doing, and gently interrupt the loop

Night-waking is often driven by underlying stress, unresolved emotion, or a heightened arousal system. This is particularly true for people who tend to overthink, worry, or bottle up emotions during the day.

The brain is meant to power down at night. But if the day was full of stimulation or emotion was suppressed, the brain may seize quiet hours as a chance to “catch up.”

This is an opportunity to co-regulate from a therapeutic lens, to calm the brain down without ignoring it. You might try:

A guided visualisation, such as Happio’s “Castle in Scotland” – designed to soothe the imagination and bring a sense of containment
Breathing with attention, using a 6-second inhale and 6-second exhale pattern
Listening to a familiar audiobook, allowing your mind to rest in a soft story without requiring engagement**

These techniques calm the amygdala (your brain’s alarm system), helping to deactivate alert mode.

Explore Happio’s Self-Care Hub:

Delta Waves – These slow brainwave frequencies help transition the mind into deeper sleep states
Looping Rainfall Sounds – Steady nature sounds support sleep onset and reduce night-time arousal.
Visualisation Audio Library – Each is designed to reduce mental noise and foster a sense of emotional safety.

3. If you feel restless, give your body permission to move

Sometimes, staying in bed while wide awake builds tension. You may start to associate the bed with stress rather than safety. When this happens, it’s okay to get up briefly. This is a well-established method in cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I): remove yourself from the “struggle zone,” do something calming and low-stimulation, then return to bed when drowsy. Try: Sitting by a window with a cup of herbal tea

Writing down your thoughts in your Happio journal

Doing gentle yoga or stretching in a dimly lit room

Keep lighting soft and stimulation low. Avoid screens, problem-solving, or anything that tells your brain “daytime has started.”

4. Name and reframe the worry spiral

Anxiety is a frequent nighttime visitor. Once you're awake, you may start anticipating the worst:

“Tomorrow will be ruined,” “This always happens,” or “I’m broken.”

These thoughts aren’t facts; they’re symptoms of a tired, reactive brain. But they can have a real impact if left unchallenged. Instead, take a therapeutic pause. Ask:

Is this thought helpful?

Would I say this to a friend in the same situation?

What’s a kinder way to respond to myself right now?

Try these reframes:

“This is a blip, not a pattern.”

“I’ve made it through tired days before; I’ll manage again.”

“My body is trying to protect me, not punish me.”

In Happio: Use your Fatigue Plan journaling feature to track these recurring thoughts and explore how they connect to daytime stress, expectations, or pressure.

5. Understand the broader picture, sleep is part of your emotional ecosystem

When night-time wakefulness becomes a pattern, it usually reflects something more profound. Sleep is not isolated; it’s closely linked to your emotional regulation, stress response, and daily rhythms. Ask yourself:

Have I been overstimulated lately, socially, digitally, or emotionally?

Have I created time during the day to process my emotions?

Am I giving my body enough signals that it’s safe to rest?*

Final Thought: You don’t have to get it perfect

You won’t sleep well every night, and that’s okay. Healing your sleep isn’t about rigid routines or self-criticism. It’s about learning how to respond when rest doesn’t come easily.

By approaching your body with softness, using evidence-based tools, and supporting your emotional rhythm, you teach yourself something far more potent than sleep: you learn how to rest without fear.

And that is often what brings sleep back, naturally.

Looking for more support? The Happio 4-week Fatigue Plan helps you rebuild your rest from the inside out. With CBT-based journaling, audio therapy tools, delta wave soundscapes, and daily therapeutic support, you need everything to move from restless nights to restored energy.