At some point in life, a lot of people often struggle with the inability to achieve quality sleep. Fortunately, most of the factors that influence your ineptitude to initiate sleep and stay asleep through the night can be controlled. Sleep deprivation not only affects your concentration and mood during the day, but it can also affect your Cardiovascular System, Immune System, and Central Nervous System.
Getting a good night’s sleep makes you feel better and enables you to make smarter financial decisions since it leaves you well-rested and refreshed. However, due to personal lifestyle habits, psychological and medical conditions, and other factors, you might experience difficulty falling and staying asleep. This article shows that it is possible to overcome insomnia and sleep better every night with a few changes.
What is Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that makes it impossible to instigate sleep, stay asleep, or sometimes both. Individuals with insomnia always wake up feeling drained, fatigued and experience other symptoms.
As reported by the APA (American Psychiatric Association), insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders. APA also states that over ⅓ of all adults show and experience symptoms of insomnia. Of this fraction, 6 to 10% have systems that are severe enough to have them diagnosed with insomnia disorder.
How to Beat Insomnia and Sleep Better
1. Ensure You Go to Bed at the Same Time Every Night
Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day helps set your body’s internal clock to a specific time, and staying consistent enables your body to know when it’s time to sleep. Try to stick to your sleep schedule, especially on the weekend, to maintain proper sleep throughout your week. The best approach to beat insomnia is having a sleep schedule, and sticking to it will only improve the quality of your sleep.
2. Manage the Artificial Light Around You
For you to sleep better, your bedroom should be a conducive sleep environment. Light, unnecessary commotion, and noise interruption often make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Ensure your room is dark, cool, and quiet enough to emanate peace and comfort, making it easier for you to fall asleep.
Having a comfortable bed can also help you sleep better. Sleeping on an old, floppy mattress and a squeaky bed will only repress your desire to sleep.
If you find it difficult to sleep, get up and change your location. When you are ready to go back to your bedroom and sleep, try some sleep-inducing techniques like listening to soothing music or reading a book.
3. Make Sure You Exercise Regularly
Exercising helps invigorate hormones like cortisol, lift the body’s heat levels, and speed up digestion. However, you should avoid exercising too close to bedtime since it can interfere with your sleep cycle. Try to limit your exercise schedule to morning hours and afternoons to avoid encountering sleeplessness.
4. Limit Your Caffeine Consumption
Caffeine is an energizer, and taking it in the hours before you go to bed will end up keeping you up for hours. Therefore, it would be best if you restrained yourself from consuming caffeine in the evening.
Tobacco and alcohol are also things you should forgo around your bedtime. Alcohol might act as a sedative, but it is also a stimulant, and if you take it too close to the time you need to go to bed, you will experience frequent awakenings throughout the night. To ensure you sleep better, you should avoid drinking and smoking before bed.
5. Reserve Your Bed Only for Sleeping
According to sleep specialists, brains associate places with activities. Using your bed for activities other than sleep, such as eating or watching television, will inhibit your brain from associating your bed with sleep. Consequently, it would help if you resisted using digital gadgets in bed to make it easier for you to fall asleep. Doing this will help your brain adjust and recognize your room as a sleeping area.
Augment This Tips to Your Daily Sleep Schedule
Quality sleep is a vital part of your overall well-being. If insomnia is getting in the way of you accomplishing better sleep, making these few adjustments will improve your odds of accomplishing a more restful night. Although some of these tips might require some getting used to and necessitate a few changes to your lifestyle, they will help you attain the sleep that has often felt elusive.
Keep in mind that not all sleep problems can be solved by a few tips. Psychological conditions such as narcolepsy and sleep apnea will require a different approach. If you still find it hard to sleep even after implementing the tips outlined above, you should consult your doctor in order to identify potential underlying problems.
Images from ErikaWittlieb and congerdesign and SHVETS production
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