This is a list of what I believe are the ten most important things anyone can do to improve their sleep. Whether it`s the occasional couple of nights of restless sleep or if it`s full blown insomnia, these tips helped me and other people I know tremendously.
In order of importance, with 1) being the most important, I urge you to follow these tips and your sleep WILL improve.
Here they are:
1) Do not take naps in the day.
The number one most important thing you can do to improve sleep in my experience is NEVER nap or sleep in the day, no matter how tired you are. If you`re very tired it may be a real struggle at first but it WILL pay off and it will get easier.
The reason you shouldn`t nap is that if you`re struggling for sleep we need to quickly reset your Circadian rhythm, and the best way to do this I've found is to avoid daily napping. If you keep napping, it will just delay this resetting from happening and prolong your sleep problems. This is the first part in resetting your Circadian rhythm. Follow this step before moving onto step 2.
2) Wake up earlier than usual.
The second part in resetting your Circadian rhythm is setting your alarm to wake you up earlier than usual. Even waking up as little as half an hour earlier than you are used to will make a big difference to readjusting your sleep pattern. Half an hour is the minimum. Try for an hour if you can. This is also a very important step in starting to get a healthy, refreshing nights sleep every night.
The reason this works well is because if the body is used to catching up on sleep later in the morning it doesn't prepare properly for sleep at night. It`s hard to control when you go to sleep, but you can control when you wake up. When you change the time you wake, you can more easily change the whole of your sleep cycle. Set your alarm half hour to one hour earlier.
3) Do not do anything else in bed apart from sleep and have sex.
Doing activities such as reading, watching TV, playing games, talking on the phone and eating should all be banned from bed. Only sleep and sex from now on should take place in bed. If you want to read, then find a comfortable chair, if you want to watch TV, sit in the living room (I've banished my TV from my bedroom).
This technique utilises a simple school of psychology known as Behaviourism. You need to build associations between bed and sleep, not bed and excitement or tension from other activities. Whatever you do in bed, your sub conscious will associate that with being in bed.
For example, if you watch horror films in bed, each time you get into bed your sub conscious will be thinking about horror films, and the excitement and fear that comes with it. Therefore your heart rate will increase and your mind will find it hard to relax. That`s not a good way to prepare for sleep. Admittedly that is a slightly over the top example but it shows the power of Behaviourism.
4) Hide the clock.
It`s simple really, when you know you can`t sleep, and keep reminding yourself you can`t sleep, it becomes stressful, especially if you have an early start. So do yourself a favour and get rid of the glow in the dark alarm clock, move your phone to somewhere else in the room if you use it for an alarm, and get rid of the cuckoo clock, they're old-fashioned and annoying anyway!
5) Exercise regularly.
Regular exercise will improve many of the bodies functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, building bone and muscle, combating stress, relieving muscle tension etc. The type of exercise and time of day you do it is important. Afternoon exercise appears to be the most beneficial and it certainly ties in with my own experience. I like to get to sleep around midnight, so I find exercising between 2:00PM - 4:00PM is most beneficial.
Exercising late in the evening is not a good idea. I find it hard to wind down after an intense workout. If you must exercise in the evening because of certain commitments I would advise that you exercise at least three hours before your bed time. This should give you enough time to wind down.
Some researchers believe cardiovascular exercise is best for sleep, which they may be right. I personally like to lift weights, so usually finish off my lifting routine with 15 minutes of moderate cardio and on non lifting days, I`ll do straight cardio at a higher intensity. This seems to have the most sleep benefits for me as well as the other all round health benefits.
6) If you can`t sleep, get up and do something really boring.
This is one tip that I hate, because whenever I can`t do something, like most people I want to try harder, but when it comes to sleep, consciously trying harder to sleep is counter productive as we all know - most of us from our own experiences.
So, the best thing to do, is get up, turn the light on, and do something boring for 15 minutes. This doesn't include watching TV, checking email, exercise, etc. It MUST be boring, an example would be reorganising your sock draw (that`s unless you enjoy reorganising your sock draw!) or counting your penny jar, basically whatever you find really boring.
The reason for this is also basic Behaviourism. You must not reward bad behaviour. You must punish it, just like you must reward good behaviour. In this case you will be punishing your sub conscious for not sleeping by giving it something boring. This will train your mind that staying awake equals boredom. So your mind will want to sleep when in bed. The boring activity will also help you `switch off`.
7) Do not drink caffeine or alcohol after 3pm.
Try to avoid alcohol altogether, and don`t use it as a sleep aid. Caffeine will obviously keep you awake. If you drink lots of caffeine, try to cut down to five cups a day or less and don`t drink any after 3:00PM. I don`t recommend cutting out caffeine altogether as tea in particular has various health benefits, including aiding cardiovascular functions which will improve general health and will therefore likely improve sleep. Just don't go overboard with caffeine.
Most people think alcohol helps us sleep better, but although alcohol makes us drowsy and sleepy, it makes it harder for most people to get a refreshing, deep sleep, which is the most important part of a good nights sleep.
Ever notice how after a boozy night, you can sleep longer than usual but feel more tired? I certainly do, so I try to limit the amount of alcohol I drink. If you`re a big drinker of alcohol and struggle with sleep, I suggest you cut down as much as possible. You will notice the benefits.
8) Wear socks in bed... really.
Recently researchers from The Netherlands have discovered that wearing socks in bed will help you get a much more restful sleep. They found that wearing socks increases the temperature of your feet which signal neurons in the brain to fall asleep. This is probably due to having warmer feet makes us feel more comfortable and secure. It certainly does work for me anyway.
You do want to make sure you are not too hot in bed, so although wearing socks is a good idea, try not to wear other items of clothing. I never sleep in a shirt, as I get too hot and restless and therefore wake up frequently. If you`re brave enough, I suggest wearing nothing but socks to go to sleep in. Just remember to put some clothes on when you get up in the morning if you have company. We don`t want you looking like a streaker!
9) Laugh yourself to sleep.
Stress is a major cause of depression, and depression is well-known by many to cause major sleep problems in some sufferers. In fact I saw a GP on BBC news the other morning saying whenever a patient comes to him with sleep problems depression is often his first thought as to the cause.
This shows the importance of having a healthy mind. So, whenever you are stressed take a step back, ask yourself what you are stressed about, try to solve the problem before you get into bed, and laugh about it if possible.
Laughter is well-known as one of the most powerful antidotes to stress. Yes, admittedly, when you`re stressed it`s often hard to see the funny side, but you must try. Put on your favourite comedy, tell a joke, or just laugh for the sake of it. Even laughter that is false, is shown to lower blood pressure in some studies. Just the act of laughing is very powerful.
10) Only go to bed when you are actually sleepy.
Do not try to force sleep if you`re not actually sleepy. You`ll only increase your frustration and stress at not being able to sleep. What does stress cause - depression which causes a lack of sleep. A vicious circle. You may already be getting little sleep so don`t try and force it, believe me it doesn't work. Wait till you are sleepy, then hit the hay.
All of these tips are derived from psychology, physiology, scientific research and my own experiences. This is just a simple guide of the best tips I've read and discovered and, most importantly tried and tested my self.
Try to incorporate one of these tips daily, and you will start to sleep better. I hope this article is useful to you all and you start getting a better nights sleep... tonight.
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