Watch what you’re eating

Don’t isolate yourself

Get through the day, no matter what

Of course sugar and fat are the two things you’re going to be wanting when you’re miserable, tired and feeling like a pod-person. While snacking on sugary stuff genuinely helps pep you up through the day (a lot of insomniacs I spoke to swore by Fruit Pastilles), there’s fairly solid research that says people who haven’t slept will often eat an extra thousand calories. “There aren’t really any foods that help with fatigue,” says Dr. Stanley, “but we crave sugary, fatty foods, which is a bit of a problem. Essentially, you should eat no differently because you’re sleepy as you would do on any other day. Try to resist the temptation, don’t go for that Mars Bar, because it’s only going to worsen your situation.” Fellow insomniacs had some food-based tips for avoiding a double fry-up: “If you must have sugar, try and have some protein, too, as that really helps. Nuts are good for snacking,” says Beth. Another insomniac added: “I try to drink Emergen-C, which you can get from Holland and Barrett; while it’s probably a placebo, it seems to help if I’m really drowsy.”So it turns out that my favourite technique actually doesn’t help at all. Similar to “get through the day”, you shouldn’t withdraw from polite society because it’ll just end up making you way more miserable and inward-facing. Rather than sitting in a dark cloud of mist, brooding on how shit your life is, force yourself to be nice to other humans who have quite possibly enjoyed a nice sleep. “Interaction with other people, whether it be work colleagues or friends, is very important when you’re struggling through the day on little sleep,” says Dr. Stanley. “Don’t just sit staring at your computer all day in silence – that isn’t going to help. It’ll just make the day a lot less pleasant.” Insomniac Ben agrees: “Laughing helps. With colleagues, at colleagues, at stuff on your computer, at members of the public and, if the situation gets particularly desperate, at nothing at all. Hysteria is always an option.” While – if you’re anything like me – you may be concerned about accidentally being a giant prick, if you’ve employed the rest of the tips in this article, your perspective should be a little brighter. Meaning you’re less likely to snap. Or you can do the ole 'fake it 'til you make it' thing, where you force yourself to pretend to be really happy, make yourself say something nice or engage a colleague in some gentle chat about X Factor (I always use this as a reference, having never actually watched it), despite the fact you want to jump out of a window, until you find the dark clouds lifting. Or, at the very least, until you stop feeling fully Sauron. Which can only be a good thing.If you’re reading this at 6am with a big day at work ahead of you, feel free to yell “Well if I thought I could do that I wouldn’t be reading this article, dickhead” into the inky blackness. But you can actually get through the day. Both experts agreed on the importance of maintaining a positive perspective, and the self-belief that you are capable of way more than you think. “Getting on with your life is the most important thing you can do when suffering with insomnia,” says Dr. Meadows. “Even with all the symptoms that are showing up. The reason for this is because, in the middle of the night, one of the things keeping us awake is the anxiety that we won’t be able to get through the day. But if you prove to yourself that you can in fact live your life, there’s less reason to struggle at night, and you can start to break the vicious cycle, and begin a whole new one. Everything about this is psychological, and a change of perspective is crucial.” Mindfulness (see the first point, above) helps with this, but so does every other tip in this article. Gather them up and use them as weapons. Have a coffee, get outside, do everything you can in order to get through the day and you’ll find the period of insomnia doesn’t last quite as long as you thought it would. See it as a battle, a challenge that you’re going to overcome – like a really long run you thought you couldn’t finish, but did; or a massive cake you thought you couldn’t finish, but did. “Splashing your face with cold water, putting on new clothes and putting on makeup all really help me”, says Clare, who has built up an insomnia arsenal of sorts. Gina adds: “Put together a killer playlist for the next day that’ll see you through. It’s the same sort of logic as listening to pumping music at the gym.” You can do it, mate. I, and everyone at Refinery29, believe in you.