Having a good day starts with having enjoyed a restful sleep. Insomnia affects many people and fighting it is a priority on their list of priorities. If we haven’t slept at all at night, we will probably try to “make up” for sleep during the day with a nap, for example. This can make it easier for us to suffer from insomnia again and the vicious circle to continue.
The lifestyle habits we have are extremely important for homeostasis and the adjustment processes that occur in our body. It is important to take care of our health by doing everything in our power. Acquiring good habits before going to bed is one of them. It is called sleep hygiene and it can help us sleep more and better.
We are used to hearing that it is necessary to sleep at least 8 hours a day, but realistically, with the lifestyle we lead, almost no one does it. The workload is often very heavy and we want to make the most of our free time.
That’s why we spend our free time doing activities and watching television … and we try to go to sleep as quickly as we go from one daily activity to another when good sleep needs some preparation time. Here are some tips from experts to enjoy a better rest and learn to combat insomnia:
1. Establish a schedule for sleeping and waking up
Establishing a schedule helps a lot with sleep regulation. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every night creates a habit that can make it easier to fall asleep when your usual bedtime approaches. Also, it’s important that if you haven’t slept well one day, you wake up at the same time as always. This will make it easier to fall asleep at night.
2. Avoid drinking alcohol before bed
Although alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and causes drowsiness, it does not provide restful sleep. Alcohol causes poor-quality sleep with interrupted sleep and less time in the REM phase. If a large amount of alcohol has been consumed, in addition to fragmented sleep, sweating and very vivid dreams may occur.
3. Sleep in a dark room at a suitable temperature
There should be no distracting light in the room, such as red lights or lights that can awaken our senses. It is also counterproductive to have digital clocks that we can constantly look at while we cannot sleep. The temperature is also influential.
It has to be a room with a pleasant temperature, neither too cold nor too hot.
4. Exercise daily, but not just before bedtime
Sport is beneficial for almost all aspects of our health. Exercising daily for 20-30 minutes causes us to expend energy which can influence fatigue and the need to sleep at night. But it is always good to leave at least a three-hour gap between the moment we finish exercising and the moment we start preparing for sleep .
If we train too late, we will transfer our activation to bed and it will be more difficult for us to fall asleep.
5. Do not use electronic devices in bed
The bed is a place of rest. It should not be used as a place for leisure, and it is better to avoid using tablets, phones, or televisions in bed. Although at first, it may seem that reading the news or watching television can help you fall asleep, in reality, we can delay it. Paying attention to the screen can keep us from sleeping, as well as stop associating the bed with sleep.
6. Do not stay awake in bed for more than 30 minutes
There are days when we simply find it impossible to sleep and we toss and turn in bed all the time. Give yourself 30 minutes to try to sleep, if you can’t, get out of bed and do some relaxing activity. It’s important not to spend too much time in bed without being able to sleep, the only thing you’ll achieve is frustrating yourself and encouraging insomnia.
7. Relaxation techniques before sleeping
It is advisable to do some relaxation exercises before going to bed. For example, breathing exercises, light stretching, listening to relaxing music, or taking a warm bath. All these activities help us relax and put our worries aside.
8. Avoid consuming caffeine after 6 pm
Drinking coffee before bed is not beneficial for falling asleep, but even drinking it in the afternoon can affect us. It should be noted that caffeine remains in our body for 4 to 9 hours. Being a stimulant, it will directly interfere with sleep.
9. Wake up with the sunlight
Some experts recommend waking up with sunlight. It can help regulate insomnia and our circadian rhythms by getting our body moving and at night, when we are in the dark, it promotes the natural production of melatonin in our body. Melatonin is a neurohormone secreted by the pineal gland and regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
10. Don’t go over important issues in bed
This advice is not easy to follow. When something is on our mind that worries us, bedtime is one of the most likely times to think about it. Even if we try to clear our minds, we are still inundated with thoughts. That is why solving our problems before going to bed, by making lists of what we have to do the next day, for example, can help.
11. Be careful with naps
It is not about eliminating naps either. Some people benefit from them and need them to recharge their batteries. But it is important to be cautious. It is not recommended that they last more than 30 minutes and should not be used to compensate for lack of sleep. If we do not usually take a nap and we do so because we have suffered from insomnia, it can cause that night to happen again.
It’s not just about sleeping 8 hours a day, but also about ensuring that those 8 hours are quality sleep.
The goal of maintaining good sleep hygiene is to have energy and feel good during the day. Implementing these habits in our daily lives is a great way to take care of our health and combat insomnia easily and effectively. Is insomnia something you suffer from daily?