{"id":527771,"date":"2026-03-10T22:45:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/527771\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T22:45:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:45:23","slug":"anxiety-has-been-waking-me-up-at-3am-for-months-but-im-sleeping-through-again-after-just-one-week-of-trying-this-viral-wellness-hack-heres-how-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/527771\/","title":{"rendered":"Anxiety has been waking me up at 3am for months, but I’m sleeping through again after just one week of trying this viral wellness hack \u2014 here’s how it works"},"content":{"rendered":"

Staring at the ceiling. Heart racing. Thoughts whirling. Nighttime anxiety<\/a> is a horrible feeling, and it affects a lot of us. In fact, 68% of adults<\/a> have experienced disrupted sleep because of anxiety, and I\u2019m one of them.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m feeling particularly stressed or anxious, it can take hours to fall asleep. And, when I finally drop off, a rush of cortisol<\/a> in the early hours usually jolts me awake at 3am.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I needed a solution. Something that would help me relax in the evenings, distract my busy mind and improve the quality of my sleep. So I turned to the weirdest wellness hack I could find.<\/p>\n

Stress relief = great sleep<\/p>\n

Friends and family have long told me about the benefits of acupuncture, but I\u2019d never heard of \u2018acupressure\u2019 before. Like acupuncture, it\u2019s a form of Chinese medicine where pressure is applied to certain points on your body to stimulate your healing process.<\/p>\n

From stress relief to allergies and nausea, the benefits that acupressure claims to offer are varied. And you can do it from the comfort of your own home.<\/p>\n

When I saw the Pranamat<\/a>, a mat and pillow adorned with hundreds of spikes and filled with 100% natural coconut fiber, I knew I wanted to try it. The website boasts of increased sleep quality<\/a>, relaxation and stress relief. Exactly what I needed to get over my anxious evenings.<\/p>\n

\n

\"An\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)How lying on a bed of spikes helped me sleepMy first impressions<\/p>\n

When I pulled the mat from the packaging, I dropped it immediately. The spikes were sharp. Much sharper than I thought they\u2019d be, and I immediately doubted my ability to lie on them.<\/p>\n

The mat came with an instruction booklet on how to use it safely, advising that you should wear a T-shirt if it\u2019s your first time and that you should only lie on the mat and pillow for a maximum of 10-minutes. You can slowly increase that time as you get used to it.<\/p>\n

It seemed simple enough. So after brushing my teeth and slipping into my PJs, I lay the mat and pillow down on the floor to start my new nighttime routine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lauren,\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)Night 1<\/p>\n

Night one can be summed up in one word: ouch. I\u2019m not joking when I say I was shocked at how painful it felt, so much so that I was convinced I was doing it wrong. But after adjusting my position, I realised that this was how it was supposed to feel.<\/p>\n

I genuinely didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be able to last even two minutes. I set a timer for 10 and tried my hardest to relax.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t think I achieved relaxation. I spent the whole 10 minutes telling myself to keep going and not give up. Towards the end, I think the pain subsided slightly, and my body became numb, but not significantly.<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

When the timer finally sounded, I was incredibly relieved. It wasn\u2019t what I was expecting, and I have to admit I was slightly disappointed that it wasn\u2019t the relaxing, stress-free experience I was promised.<\/p>\n

But then I got into bed, and I realised my body felt completely tension-free. It was the kind of exhausted, heavy feeling you get after a massage where all you want to do is curl up and sleep for hours. And that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n

I fell asleep within minutes<\/a>, and I didn\u2019t wake all night.<\/p>\n

Night 2-7<\/p>\n

I had an odd mixture of excitement and dread for my next Pranamat session. Surely it couldn\u2019t have been as painful as I\u2019d remembered? I set my timer for 15 minutes on night two.<\/p>\n

It was like I\u2019d had a full-body massage<\/p>\n

Nope. I hadn\u2019t misremembered. Agony, again. However, as I got past the 10-minute mark, my body became tingly and relaxed a little, making the last five minutes more bearable.<\/p>\n

As soon as I was off the mat, it was like I\u2019d had a full-body massage. Again, an uninterrupted deep sleep<\/a> followed, proving the first night wasn\u2019t just a one-off.<\/p>\n

Over the next few nights, I realised that having this period of time before bed where I couldn\u2019t move or scroll on my phone and instead was forced to process my day (without the pressure of falling asleep) greatly reduced my nighttime anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\"A\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

It acted as a period of mindfulness, and had a similar effect to when I used to practise yoga before bed. This meant I was less likely to toss and turn with a racing heart when I did get into bed.<\/p>\n

Over the week, I managed to increase the time spent on the mat to 20 minutes, although I still couldn\u2019t lie on it without wearing pajamas even on day seven \u2014 kudos to anyone who can.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t necessarily get less painful, but the longer I was on it, the more my body felt tingly and numb, instead of like I was being stabbed with a thousand tiny knives.<\/p>\n

I have to admit, it was the best week of sleep I\u2019d had in a while.<\/p>\n

The science behind acupressure and sleep<\/p>\n

There is plenty of discussion around whether acupressure can, scientifically, improve sleep quality.<\/p>\n

However, a recent 2025 study<\/a> concluded that acupressure \u201cis an effective and relatively safe non\u2010invasive intervention to improve sleep quality and sleep parameters.\u201d<\/p>\n

I spoke to Olga Grigorenko, the founder of Pranamat, to find out how it works and what evidence there is for improving our sleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that my sleep becomes noticeably deeper when I use the Pranamat mat before bed,\u201d Grigorenko says. Describing a similar experience to mine, he says that \u201cThe calming effect it has on my body is undeniable, and I wake up feeling… refreshed.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also told me that many customers reported an increase in deep sleep<\/a> phases, confirmed by their smartwatches.<\/p>\n

\n

\"The\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch from 2014 further supports these observations,\u201d Grigorenko says, citing a clinical study<\/a> that found using Pranamat for just 20 minutes each day is 95% effective in helping people fall asleep faster<\/a>, wake fewer times during the night, and enhance deep sleep.<\/p>\n

Deep sleep is an essential sleep stage for physical and mental recovery, and most people should get around 1.5 to 2 hours of deep sleep<\/a> a night to wake feeling refreshed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEstablishing a relaxing routine before bed is key to good sleep hygiene<\/a>,\u201d Grigorenko says. \u201cPranamat, as part of this ritual, helps release stress, calm the mind, and prepare the body for a restful night\u2019s sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Humans are creatures of habit, and a nighttime routine that\u2019s repeated every evening can signal to our bodies that it\u2019s time to wind down and switch off, making falling asleep easier.<\/p>\n

My verdict<\/p>\n

Personally, I found the Pranamat super effective. Even if the acupressure wasn\u2019t doing anything to improve my sleep \u2014 although I think it certainly was \u2014 creating a (somewhat) calming nighttime routine that I could repeat every evening helped reduce my stress levels and anxiety.<\/p>\n

I no longer dreaded going to bed, and I looked forward to my body feeling so relaxed I could lie down and sleep in minutes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d recommend people give it a go. It\u2019s not a small investment, with a Pranamat costing around $340 on Amazon<\/a>, but it\u2019s not just sleep that the acupressure can help with. According to the team, you can expect enhanced recovery after physical activity, stress relief and toned skin.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\"Google\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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