Do you suffer from Insomnia? Do you have problems falling asleep? Do you toss and turn all night? Does your mind refuse to stop churning the day's events? Do you constantly worry about tomorrow's problems instead of sleeping? Does this sound like you?
"I take a long time to fall asleep."
"I wake up many times in the night."
"I wake up early and cannot get back to sleep."
"I wake up tired."
"I feel very sleepy during the day."
If you do, then perhaps this article will help you. I hope so. First let's start with a premise:
If you keep doing the same things, you will get the same results. In other words, if you don't change something, your sleep problems will never go away.
So, what do you have to change? Is there a secret to getting a quality night's sleep and having the daily energy you desire?Not being able to sleep can leave you with a combination of anger, frustration, and hopelessness. But then, you know that already. You feel tired; you know you need sleep....you give yourself enough time to sleep, yet you still end up awake half the night and feeling wrecked the next day, ready to do it all over again.
The truth of the matter is that most people have no idea how their body works when it comes to sleep, and it comes as no surprise that so many people have lifelong sleep and energy problems.
Let's look at some of the reasons why you are not sleeping. You need to know why you are not sleeping well, and only then can you take the action to fix this problem.
There is no one quick fix but there are many things you can do to help yourself to sleep better - without pills. Some of them are:
During the day
When I took a real estate course some years ago, my instructor said "You will meet all kinds of people in this business but you don't have to bring them home with you." In other words, leave your worries, frustrations, problems and other baggage at your office or workplace. Don't bring them home to interfere with your sleep.
Try not to work late. Getting into a routine will benefit your sleeping and remember, "It is just as easy to form good habits as it is to form bad ones." Stop any work you are doing at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. Give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not worrying about tomorrow's problems.
A half an hour of exercise a day can help you sleep better at night. It makes sense when you think about it. Getting yourself tired should help, right? It is not recommended to exercise close to bedtime though. It may have the opposite effect. Morning exercise is good!
Avoid cigarettes, coffee or other caffeinated beverages and food such as chocolate in the late afternoon and evening. These are stimulants and could keep you awake. I recall reading that caffeine leaves your body within four hours. Sorry, I don't buy that. If I drink coffee after 3: 00 PM, I will not sleep well that night.
Sleep is something that can be affected by lots of different things, and a main one in this day and age is stress. By learning to control, and gradually reduce your stress levels your body can relax more, allowing you to get to sleep easier and enjoy the benefits of getting a good nights rest.
Think about what causes you stress? What worries you? What is the likelihood of it happening? I learned a long time ago that 90% of what we worry about never happens! Whatever bothers you, put it in its proper perspective and don't let it affect your sleep at night. You need your sleep to deal with whatever tomorrow brings.
Routine before bed
Breathing exercises, yoga, reading part of a good book before retiring...for some people, a boring book does a better job of closing those eyelids! Having a warm bath or shower, not watching the news on TV, are all simple ways some people relax before going to bed.
Get yourself in the habit of doing the same things every night before you go to bed. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find those things that make you feel relaxed, then repeat them each night to help you release the day's tensions.
There are CDs you can buy with sounds of nature that can be helpful and restful. Sounds of waves hitting the shore, rain, waterfall, grass rustling gently in the breeze and forest sounds can be soothing for sleep.
If you want to eat something, try a high-protein snack or a piece of fruit. Both help your body to help produce internal chemicals which help you to sleep. Avoid foods that may give you a problem including dairy or breads. They may have effect on sleep, such as causing sleep apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.
Avoid alcohol in the evening. Initially it may make you sleepy but it can cause you to wake up a few hours into sleep and disturb your sleep pattern.
Read something relaxing, inspirational, happy - not something like a mystery that you don't want to put down. It may keep you awake long into the night. When you start to read the same paragraph over again, it's time to turn out the light and get some zzzzz's.
Try not to drink any liquids an hour or so before going to bed if you can help it. This will help you to sleep right through the night or at least minimize your overnight bathroom strolls.
Bedtime
Try to go to bed at the same time every day - including weekends. Sticking to a schedule allows your body to set its internal rhythm so you can get up at the time you want, consistently, every single day. Keep to the same schedule on weekends too - otherwise Monday morning you'll wake later and feel overly tired. This is not a good way to begin the week.
I read somewhere that "Beauty sleep is the sleep we get before midnight." I believe there is some truth in this. Late to bed and early to rise makes you baggy under the eyes!"I believe that saying, too!
Between 11:00 PM - 1:00 AM is when our bodies do a lot of recharging and recuperating. Not only the whole body but our organs as well. For example, it is during that time that the gallbladder gets rid of toxins. Being awake could cause these toxins to back up into the liver and disrupt your health.
Don't use an alarm clock unless you really need one. If you must use one, put it where you can't see the time and light dial otherwise this can keep you awake worrying about it. And, don't use a loud one! You don't need to start your day with a loud, jarring, stress-producing alarm. A radio set to a classical station is a better alternative. The best kind is an alarm that starts off low and gradually increases the sound until it wakes you up. These are available.
Your Sleeping Environment
Here are some pointers about your sleeping environment. It should be a restful place that welcomes you and where you go when it is time to sleep.
Keep you bed for sleeping. If you use it as a work environment, you will have a hard time thinking of it as the place where you relax and go to sleep.
Your bedroom should be as quiet as possible and completely dark. Good, solid, dark drapes help. They also deaden outside sounds. If you cannot darken your bedroom, wear an eye mask to block out light.
Can you manage in the bathroom without the light on? Of course you can. Bruno, it's okay to 'sit' in the middle of the night. No one will see you. It's dark, remember? If you must have a light in the bathroom, make it the smallest night light you can find. Light just activates your mind and you don't want to do that or you may not get back to sleep.
Keep your bedroom cool. You have a much better chance of dropping off and staying asleep when the temperature is lower. 70F / 21 C is a good nighttime temperature. Wear socks, though. Feet get cold first.
In conclusion, I have given you a number of ideas to try. It will take some time to test these ideas and work them into your routine. Routine is a key word in developing good sleep habits. The sooner you can get your mind and body into a good routine, the faster you will start getting a good night's sleep. The more of these you can include, the better your chances will be of getting a restful night every night.
