Good Sleep Hygiene
Is The First Step
On Your Way To Better Sleep
In today's demanding world many of us have to deal with an overwhelming, over-scheduled and over-stimulated life.
| As a result,
a great deal of people suffer from anxiety,
depression,
and sleep disorders
such as insomnia,
night terrors or
persistent nightmares.
It is very helpful to know how to manage every day stress. You can find some useful tips in a new interactive health tutorial from the National Institute of Health. The first and most important condition for better sleep is good sleep hygiene. Check out our tips below to start your way to a healthy body and mind, happy life free from sleeping troubles. |
Follow
these tips to improve your sleep hygiene:
- Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Don’t change your routine for the weekend.
- Be physically active, exercise regularly 20 to 30
minutes every
day. For best results try to exercise a few hours before going to bed.
- Eat a well balanced diet with the appropriate amount of fiber, vitamins and minerals.
- Consider a relaxing activity before bedtime to help your body slow down the metabolic rate (meditation, soothing music, warm bath). You can try to incorporate certain activities into your sleep routine, it works for some people.
- Plan to have a little time before you go to sleep for an "inventory" of your worries and try to come up with a schedule for the next day. Some people find relief if they write their thoughts down.
- Make your bedroom look and feel peaceful, with no
bright lights, quiet,
with
a comfortable temperature. Check Feng Shui Ideas for your bedroom. - If you try hard and cannot fall asleep, get up and do
or read
something calming (didn’t want to say boring) until you become sleepy.
- Being
unable to sleep may cause anxiety in some individuals, which may
actually aggravate your sleeping problem.
- If possible get some exposure to bright light soon after you get up, it helps to reset the body’s biological clock every day, and may be beneficial for some people.
Avoid these things to get better sleep:
- Avoid napping during the day.
- Avoid drinks with caffeine 6 hrs before going to bed, they may keep you awake.
- Avoid a large meal or hard to digest foods 4 hrs before bed.
- Avoid alcohol - it makes people sleepy quickly but it wears off within a few hours.
- Avoid stimulants 6-8 hrs before bedtime (be aware that some appetite suppressant have stimulating properties).
- Do not use your bedroom for regular daily activities like watching TV, eating, paying bills etc.
- Don't think about what happened that day, rather, make plans for the following day.
- Avoid late exercise – your body temperature will increase and some hormones will be released that may prevent you from falling asleep easily.
- Avoid fluids before you go to bed. Making trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night may contribute to insomnia in some individuals.
In order to avoid sleeping troubles and to experience more happy mornings and afternoons follow a healthy lifestyle including the above tips for better sleep. It will help you not only with your sleeping problems, but will also make your life healthier and happier. After all it's always better to prevent health problems than to cure them.
