If you have insomnia, there are many changes you can make to your lifestyle as well as your behaviors in order to deal with this problem. We will now look at a few guidelines that will help you to finally sleep.
Sleep and wake up at the same time consistently
If you’re like most people, you may try to get more sleep on holidays or weekends. This is especially true if you don’t sleep well throughout the week. Once you have insomnia, then you should avoid doing this and sleep and wake up at the same time each day. This will teach your body to be consistent in its sleep patterns.
Get rid of stimulants and alcohol
When you consume alcohol, it will affect your body for as many as 24 hours which means it will negatively impact your sleep. Additionally, you should cut down on your caffeine intake since it will not only affect your sleep but cause you to wake up throughout the night.
Even though many people believe that alcohol helps them to sleep, it only has this effect for the first couple of hours. Then, it disrupts sleep by causing you to wake up throughout the night. If you do need to take medical stimulants such as inhalers, decongestants etc be sure to talk to your doctor to determine the best times to take them so they don’t negatively impact your sleep.
Reduce napping
You may believe that napping during the day will help you to catch up on your sleep, however, this isn’t necessarily the case. You will need to create a better sleep pattern and ensure your body knows that darkness and certain times mean it is sleep time. Keep in mind that napping throughout the day can negatively affect how well you sleep at night.
Exercise
Next, when you exercise regularly it can improve how well you sleep and how long you sleep. With that said, you shouldn’t exercise just before you go to bed since this can cause your body to become too stimulated and cause you to have sleep issues. Instead, you should exercise at least 3 hours before bedtime.
Reduce how many things you do in bed
You should only use your bed for sexual activity and sleeping. So, if you have insomnia then avoid doing other activities in your bed such as working, studying, talking on the phone, doing your accounts etc.
You should also avoid looking at television or listening to music while in bed. If you do these things it will make you feel more awake and you’ll have more trouble falling asleep.
Avoid drinking or eating before bedtime
If you consume any food or drink before bedtime it will likely activate your internal digestion which will make it much harder to fall asleep. This is especially true if you have heartburn, GERD or gastroesophageal reflux.
As a matter of fact, if you drink or eat anything before bed it will likely make these health issues even worse. When you drink too many liquids before going to bed they can disrupt your sleep by causing numerous bathroom visits throughout the night.
Improve your bedroom
There are many things you can do to improve the ambiance of your bedroom such as reducing the temperature, reducing noise, getting rid of light etc. This can be done to make your bedroom a lot more comfortable for sleeping. Invest in a Tempurpedic mattress topper. If you typically sleep with your pet in the bedroom you should think about shifting your pet to another room especially if they disturb your sleep or make noises throughout the night.
Worry before bedtime
One of the reasons why many people have insomnia is because they can’t stop worrying, even when it’s time to sleep. So, you should create a specific time when you can think about your day and make all your plans for the next day or days. This will help ensure you don’t need to think about these things when you need to sleep. It may also be a good idea to create your next day’s to-do list so that you don’t have to worry about those things.
Lower stress
There are lots of different ways that you can lower your stress and relax. For example, you can try meditation, muscle relaxation techniques, biofeedback and more. You may even want to do cognitive therapy.
In this therapy, you’ll be able to deal with the causes of insomnia by figuring out the negative beliefs you may have or the negative thoughts that cause it. Cognitive therapy will also help you to create good sleep goals, teach you about sleep norms, sleep changes and more.
