Do you find yourself constantly struggling to fall asleep when you go to bed? Or do you regularly wake up unprovoked in the middle of the night? You must have experienced it before, just like anyone else, the inability to sleep at night after what feels like a very long day.
It could be a very frustrating situation that can become a challenge if you do not address it as soon as it starts happening. But even if it feels like a vice for you at the moment, there is still hope for you. In this article, we’ve outlined a series of techniques to follow to help you rediscover how it feels to have a good night’s rest.
Pre-Bedtime Tips That Can Help You Fall Asleep Faster
You can employ the tricks that we suggest here to be taken just before getting into bed, and they should set you in the right frame of mind and body.
- Run down the clock for at least half an hour before getting into bed. Simple exercises like stretching and reading your favourite novel can do the trick.
- Switch off all electronic devices, or keep them out of view. These gadgets, phones, laptops, and tablets can trigger your brain and make it difficult to condition your body for a good rest.
- The right lighting can be the difference between a good night’s rest and a restive night. Most people respond better to dim lights or none at all. The trick is to know which light intensity works best for you and then stick with it.
- The temperature of your room plays a key role in determining the comfort of your sleep. Most people like it cooler, but this is not cast in stone. The prevalent weather conditions will affect the temperature of your room. So you should know when to ramp up the coal in the fireplace and when to lower the temperature in your air conditioning unit.
- Before you hit the sack, try to set the conditions that can soothe your senses in the right way. You can find scents and perfumes that can calm your nerves.
- Stay away from heavy foods, spicy foods, and anything that contains caffeine before going to bed.
Long Term Strategies To Help You Sleep Better
To permanently put all your sleep issues to bed, you’ll need to develop a long-term plan and find the best ways to implement them. This plan will build up steadily, long before you even change into your pyjamas.
Here is one trick that could help; heads up, it could be very tricky, but it revolves around two alarms.
Multiple Alarms
First, set the alarm (with a very low ring volume) to ring at some point in the night during which you should be asleep. The trick is that the volume is loud enough to be perceived only if you’re awake. So if you find that the alarm does not wake you up, it could mean that you have a threshold time that you can plan your sleep time around.
Next is to set the alarm for your wake-up time. Only this time, you can make the volume loud enough to jerk you out of your sleep. With this technique carefully executed, you can manage your total sleep time and adjust it whenever you deem it fit. When your body gets accustomed to this routine or any other helpful sleep routine, it will become wired by default to follow the pattern. You can condition yourself to sleep around a particular time mark and then wake up at another exact time or something close.
Reduce Workload
The hectic life that some people live can be very draining, both mentally and physically. From the clutter of the kitchen to the clatter of living rooms, there are so many stress points that parents go through during the day. And before they can draw the curtain on an eventful day, their body is already vulnerable to the fallout. So if you can afford to cut back on your daily workload or stress yourself a little less, you will be giving yourself a headstart over the night’s troubles.
Exercise
Invest in exercise as much as you can. Exercises are a very effective way to ease your body and free your mind. You don’t necessarily have to load up on the barbell or do anything overly draining. You can do light stretches and a good number of pushups every day, preferably not too long away from bedtime. Do this for about 10-15 minutes or more every day, and you’ll be setting yourself up nicely ahead of the night.
The Right Environment
You can create an enabling environment for your sleeping, which should help your cause. From the intensity of your lighting to the smell that fills the room, or even the kind of music that serenades you, tweak every condition in your favor.
Don’t Give Up Early
Whenever you wake up in the night, don’t become discouraged and tempted to walk up to the fridge and take a beer. Cut yourself some slack and be patient with yourself. Give yourself a couple of minutes to fall back to sleep, and you will, eventually. But if you don’t, try to engage your mind or body by doing some small exercise or domestic work. Or you could even pick up a journal and scan through the pages, anything to take your mind away from the struggles of the present.
Changes In Lifestyle
Embrace a lifestyle change, and you might start to see changes in your sleep pattern. Studies have shown that excessive consumption of tobacco products and alcohol impacts the sleeping behaviour of people. So if it is not too much to ask, stay away from these unhealthy practices. The payoff should be significantly greater than the tradeoff in the long run.
Consult Medical Advice
If you have exhausted all the options outlined here and are still not getting enough sleep, you might need to see a doctor. You might need to see a sleep specialist or even need therapy. Sometimes your lack of sleep could be a pointer to a more serious problem, and perhaps an underlying health issue is the root cause of your night restiveness. These specialists are best positioned to advise you on the best possible way to tackle your sleep challenge. They’ll recommend the right drugs to take and the best treatment schedule to follow. And just maybe, you’ll find redress to your issues.
