Healthy Living

Sleep Disorders: Tips on Falling and Staying Asleep

Sleep Disorders: Tips on Falling and Staying Asleep

Tips to Get Your Beauty Sleep Back

Make your bedroom a comfortable, quiet, and relaxing place. Before going to bed, enjoy a warm bath while listening to soft, relaxing music. Many people also enjoy using a sound machine that can mimic sounds of nature, such as the crashing waves of the ocean, the rain, or the forest. Theses sounds are not only therapeutic, but also overshadow other noises around the house that may wake you.

How many times have you just gone to the bed and fallen asleep instantly? Feels like a distant dream, doesn’t it? By the end of the day, you are so tired and exhausted and just want to doze off, but the body simply won’t allow you to relax, or the mind starts to play tricks wherein it does not allow you to sleep, which you so desperately want. The mind starts to revolve around all the activities you had planned for the day, those that you completed, but it tries to focus more on the items that did not get accomplished and then comes the sea of thoughts on why it did not get finished and how it could be done, and so on and so forth. This list just goes on without end, and then you check your clock to see it is past midnight. These are all signs of lack of sleep, or insomnia. In our current lifestyle, insomnia is something that affects a lot of people. There are multiple causes for a lack of sleep and, hence, the method of treatment also varies from person to person. Below are certain tips that can be helpful for an individual who suffers from sleep related disorders:

  • Create a soothing atmosphere in your bedroom: Before going to bed, one should be sure to keep the bedroom clutter-free so that it can create an atmosphere appropriate for sleeping. A room that is cluttered with various items such as books that have not been read, papers that are lying around and have not been attended to, and dirty laundry strewn around many other things, all act as constant reminders of the work you have to carry out. Before going to bed, you need to take care that at least ten to fifteen minutes should be allotted to every day to clear out the clutter, thereby making the room look more soothing to the mind as well. Also, before going to bed, you should be sure to shut down your laptop, television, and also not answer any calls on the phone. Try to put the phone aside and resist the urge to check it time and again since, in today’s changing lifestyle, mobile phones and smartphones are one of the biggest distractions for people, mostly during bed time.
  • Regular physical activity: A good 30-minute or one-hour session of exercising can make the body feel tired and also ready for a good night’s sleep by the end of the day. Thus, you would not need to make too great of an effort to sleep since the body is so tired that by the time you lay down, you would drift off to sleep relatively quickly. Exercise is not only considered to be important for sleep, but it is also good for the overall health of the individual. The extra energy which you spend carrying out certain physical activities, such as walking, jogging, or high intensity workouts, would make you fall asleep quickly, and there would also not be any disturbances during the sleep throughout the night. But be sure not to exercise too close to bed time since it may interfere negatively with the sleep as well.
  • Warm shower before bed: Many a times, warming the body with the help of a hot shower an hour before bed time and then stepping into the cool air can cause a drop in one’s body temperature. Research says that this rapid dip in temperature can slow down the rate of metabolism in a much faster way, thereby preparing the body for sleep. Showers before bed time have shown to be quite effective, and it also helps to relax the mind as well as the body. In one study, it was shown that if you shower every night at the same time and try to make it a regular bedtime routine, you will notice a lot of improvement in your sleep.
  • Avoid caffeinated drinks: Try to avoid the intake of alcohol as well as any caffeinated drink at least four hours before bedtime. Both of these substances are known to cause an interference with sleep and may even keep you up all night. Although alcohol is known to make one fall asleep initially, it also tends to disturb the sleep in between, and you may wake up early in the morning feeling very tired as well as restless. When it comes to caffeinated drinks as well as other such items, you can look to avoid the intake of soft drinks, coffee, tea, snacks that are loaded with sugar, and chocolate.
  • Create a bedtime routine: Our body and mind are wired to how we schedule our activities throughout the day. Have you ever noticed that when you are awake at a certain time in the morning, and if the same routine is carried out for the next two or three days, then in the coming days, automatically, we have a tendency to wake up at the same time without the need for an alarm clock? The reason is because our mind and body are used to the routine of getting up at that particular time, and it becomes a habit. Hence, it is said that the closer one sticks to a routine, the more the body will start to recognize as well as respond back to the bedtime as well as wake up time. But try not to make up for any lost sleep during the entire week by sleeping throughout the weekend. Instead, try to focus your energy on a single tip for a week, and then you can add one each week once you feel that the previous ones have now become a habit for the body. Try also to notice whether you are falling asleep much easier than previously, and if it is a sound sleep or if you have a tendency to wake up in between. You can track your sleep quality to better understand what changes you should make.
  • Use the correct breathing technique: There are various yoga and breathing techniques which can be used to make oneself fall asleep quickly. One such technique is known as the “4-7-8” technique. This breathing method is said to relax the body and the mind by bringing about an increase in the level of oxygen in the bloodstream, leading to the slowing of one’s heart rate and also the release of greater amounts of carbon dioxide from the lungs. Below is the detailed method on how one can carry out this technique:
    • First, place the tip of the tongue against the ridge of the tissue, which is located just behind the upper front teeth. Keep the tip of the tongue placed there throughout the entire exercise.
    • Now, exhale slowly, but completely through the mouth by making a whooshing sound.
    • Close your mouth and inhale gently and quietly from the nose, and at the same time, count to four in your mind.
    • Once you breathe in to the count of four, hold your breath until the count of seven.
    • Once the above is done, exhale through the mouth completely, again making a whooshing sound until the count of eight.
    • This process should be repeated three more times to make for a total of four breaths.