Getting a good night’s sleep can be refreshing and rejuvenating. For millions, though, a good night’s sleep seems just out of reach. People of all ages across the globe suffer from occasional to chronic insomnia. According to the Sleep Health Foundation, 67% of adults occasionally experience insomnia symptoms, and 10-15% of adults suffer from chronic insomnia i.e., insomnia that persists for over three or more months. What’s more, women are 40% more likely to experience insomnia than men.
Insomnia is a condition that interrupts your ability to fall asleep or stay asleep. It can also include those who wake up too early and cannot get back to sleep. If you are suffering from this sleep disturbance, you may be reluctant to turn to prescription or over-the-counter medications to help you fall asleep. Here are 5 ways that you can help improve your sleep naturally.
1. Eliminate caffeine
The morning cup of coffee seems to be a staple drink of choice for many people. However, caffeine is not just in coffee. Caffeine can be hiding in the carbonated drinks you drink, the tea, and even some of the foods you eat. While eliminating caffeine out of your diet 100% may not be possible, try to limit your consumption of caffeine to the mornings only. Ideally only consuming them in the first 5 hours of your day. Caffeine can disrupt your sleep if ingested up to 6 hours prior to sleep.
2. Exercise
Not only does exercise help you maintain a healthy body weight and better mental outlook, it also contributes to feeling less tired during the day and promotes a better night’s sleep.
While a new exercise routine may leave you a little tired at first, regular exercise will soon give you more energy and help you fall asleep at bedtime. This is due to the chemicals released by the body when you exercise. The neurotransmitters released by the brain during exercise have all sorts of beneficial properties and improved sleep is one of them.
3. Meditate
Meditation has a restorative effect on the brain. While there are all sorts of benefits that meditation can have for a person, many of the benefits of meditation include reduced stress and a better ability to cope with difficult issues in one’s life.
Meditation is also great for insomnia. A Harvard study found that mindful meditation does help to combat insomnia. It invokes a relaxation response in those who participate helping them relax enough to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep through the night. If you are not familiar with how to meditate there are many guided meditation audio programs that you can buy or check out from your library.
4. Sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene is a series of activities that have been incorporated into your nighttime routine to promote better sleep. It relates to environmental cues. Here are some environmental cues that you can consider if you want to sleep better.
- Use the bedroom for sex and sleep only
- No electronics in your bedroom
- Keep the room dark and quiet
- Keep your room cool
- Have a good mattress
- Set your alarm clock away from your bed where you cannot see the time
5. Get up every morning
Getting up at the same time every day and avoiding naps helps your body follow a circadian rhythm. It can be tough in the beginning but after a few days, your body will start to adjust to your routine.
- Stop hitting the snooze and train yourself to get up at the same time every day. If you hit the snooze button once or twice (or 6 times), you are not really training yourself to get up at the same time every day. If you know you do not need to get up until 7:30 a.m., stop setting your alarm for 7. Save yourself the 30 minutes of interrupted sleep set the alarm for 7:30 am, and get up the first time it goes off.
- Stop napping or falling asleep on the couch. If you are not used to getting up in the morning, then this may be the hard part for you. Napping can disrupt your sleep patterns because it lessens your desire for sleep at night. Skip the nap (and the caffeine), and stay up so that you can get a good night’s sleep. If you need to go to bed earlier instead.
Now you have an arsenal of information that should help you fall asleep faster at night. Remember, finding what works well for you may take some experimenting. So, if you don’t get it right the first night or two don’t give up. Keep experimenting.
These sleep strategies are proven to work. They just take time. Give them a few weeks and you will be so pleased you persevered.
If you would prefer to work with me to receive a tailored approach to solve your sleep challenge, then book a confidential call with me and we can explore together how you can transform your sleep experience.
