Sleep Hygiene
Just about everyone experiences difficulty sleeping at some point in their lives. As we all know, life is a bit stressful at times, and sleep can become disturbed. For some, falling asleep is difficult; for others, they can fall asleep quickly, but the sleep is interrupted. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help yourself.
Boost Your Mood
Lifting your mood during the day may help you fall asleep quicker and improve the quality of your sleep. You can do many things to help boost your mood, such as meditating, exercising, connecting with others, hobbies, being in nature, and lots more, anything that makes you feel peaceful and good.
Do you have racing thoughts when you get into bed? Or wake in the middle of the night with your mind going a hundred miles an hour? Anxiety and stress increase agitation, which can then keep your body aroused, awake, and alert. So doing what you can to lower it will help slow your mind down at night. If you do things that make you feel good during the day, you will have good things to think about when getting into bed.
Exercise
During exercise, our body releases feel-good chemicals such as endorphins which interact with serotonin and dopamine. Increasing serotonin and dopamine levels help improve neurotransmitter regulation, ultimately helping us feel mentally healthy, which will, in turn, help with sleep issues.
You don’t have to run a marathon or pump iron at the gym. Any form of exercise can help. Walking in nature is good exercise for the body and great for the mind. But don’t exercise directly before bed because you risk the chance of being too energised to fall asleep.
Caffeine
Avoid caffeine within six hours of bedtime. Caffeine makes it more difficult for the body to regulate sleep-wake cycles because it increases cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is needed during waking hours but inhibits the restorative qualities of sleep. This means that while caffeine may help you stay awake when you drink it, it will actually make you more tired once the effects wear off because it has disrupted sleep-wake cycles.
Food
Avoid eating large amounts of food late at night. It is recommended that you stop eating around three hours before going to sleep, allowing the stomach to digest and focus on preparing for sleep as bedtime approaches. Eating foods that contain tryptophan (an amino acid) throughout the day may help to promote a good night’s sleep. Tryptophan is involved in the synthesis of melatonin and serotonin (the happy hormone).
Technology
Remove all electronic devices from the bedroom. These emit a bright light that tricks your brain into thinking it is daytime, which makes it more difficult to fall asleep at night. However, many of us love our phones, so if you are going to go on it, then try wearing blue light glasses.
Routine
Stick to a sleep routine. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including on weekends. It may take some time to adjust if you’re not used to sleeping on a regular schedule. But once you get into the habit, it will become second nature. A healthy sleep schedule maintains the timing of the body’s internal clock, helping you fall asleep and wake up easily.
