Being awake at night:
why sleep quality matters more than sleep duration
You lie in bed, the room is quiet, but your mind stays active. Maybe you look at the clock, count the hours, or wonder whether you’ll be able to function tomorrow.
Being awake at night is one of the most common sleep complaints.
And yet, it rarely comes down to too few hours of sleep, but much more often to too little rest.
On this page, we share insights from the Tuur® podcast about lying awake, overthinking, and why focusing on “8 hours of sleep” often creates extra pressure instead.
Fact or myth: does everyone need 8 hours of sleep?
This is a myth.
As sleep experts explain in the podcast, we no longer look exclusively at sleep duration.
What truly matters is how restorative your sleep is.
Important to know:
sleep needs vary greatly from person to person. Some people function well on 6 hours of sleep, while others need 8 hours or more. Quality is decisive.
Those who cling to the idea that 8 hours is mandatory often experience: extra pressure in bed, fear of lying awake, and increased alertness instead of relaxation. And it is precisely that alertness that keeps you awake.
Why do we start overthinking when we can’t sleep?
Many people who lie awake recognise this pattern: the overthinking starts as soon as the lights go out.
This is no coincidence.
In the podcast, this is explained clearly:
“You switch into problem-solving mode. Your brain wants to fix everything and stays alert.”
What happens:
- Your brain detects “a problem”
- It switches to thinking, planning and analysing
- Alertness increases
- Relaxation disappears
For sleep, you actually need the opposite:
letting go instead of solving.
Overthinking about overthinking
What makes lying awake even more difficult is that people often start worrying about the fact that they are worrying. This creates a vicious circle that has nothing to do with your bed or mattress, but everything to do with mental alertness.
Thoughts such as:
- “Why can’t I fall asleep?”
- “Tomorrow will be a disaster”
- “I have to sleep now”
These thoughts cause:
- The body to remain tense
- Sleep to feel even further away
- The night to be experienced as a failure
How can you let go of overthinking?
Sleep experts emphasise that overthinking cannot simply be “switched off”, but it can be shifted.
One technique that is often recommended is scheduling a dedicated worry moment during the day.
In the podcast, it is described like this:
“Write everything out of your head onto paper, so you don’t have to take it with you to bed.”
The goal is not to solve everything, but to remove the mental work from the night.
What does this mean for your sleep environment?
When you lie awake, every detail becomes more important. A calm, supportive sleep environment helps to:
release physical tension, remain comfortable while lying down, and avoid additional stimulation. A bed cannot stop worrying thoughts, but it can ensure that your body doesn’t have to compensate for discomfort.
This keeps the threshold to sleep lower.
Looking for more insights into lying awake and sleep?
In the Tuur® podcast, sleep experts take a deeper look at:
- Lying awake and overthinking
- Sleep quality versus sleep duration
- Mental calm before bedtime
- Realistic expectations around sleep
Explore our other topics
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Sleep explained
Sleep is influenced by daily habits such as alcohol, caffeine, breathing and deep sleep. By understanding what happens in your body and brain during the night, you can work more deliberately on recovery and energy.
Sleeping as a (young) parent
As you become a parent, your sleep changes. Not because you suddenly sleep incorrectly, but because nights are more often interrupted and your rhythm becomes less predictable.