Getting a good night's sleep is essential for both your physical and mental health. If you struggle to get a good night's sleep, try a few of the habits and behaviors discussed below that have been shown to help people sleep better:
#1 Set A Schedule
One of the most important things you can do is set-up a consistent schedule for sleep. This can be very hard to create and stick to. Figure out a time you can both go to bed and get up during the week and weekends. Stick to this bedtime. Set an alarm on your phone about an hour before bed so you can start getting ready for bed. Set an alarm to wake you up in the morning. Sticking to the same schedule can help your body figure out when you need to go to sleep and wake up. Sticking with the same schedule long enough will help your body develop a natural rhythm, so eventually you will just need to listen to your body to know when to go to sleep and when to wake up.
#2 Limit How You Use Your Bed
Falling to sleep is a bit of a mental exercise. Your brain associates certain things with certain activities. For example, your brain probably associated your kitchen with eating. You want your brain to associate your bed with sleeping. To achieve that, you need to make sure that you limit what you use your bed for. Only use your bed to sleep and engage in intimate activities on.
That means you shouldn't cuddle up in your bed every time you want to read your favorite book. You should not sit in your bed with your laptop doing work. You should not use your bed as a folding table for your laundry. The only times you should touch or get into your bed is if you are going to sleep or doing something intimate. This will help your brain associate your bed with sleeping instead of relaxation, work or chores.
#3 Watch When & What You Eat
Next, getting enough sleep is not just about creating the perfect sleep schedule and environment, it is also about what is happening with your body. What you eat and when you eat can influence how you sleep.
Try to eat your largest meal earlier in the day, like at lunchtime, or take your dinner early, like at a more traditional dinner time like five or six o'clock at night. Try to eat a light snack during the evening time. Limit your caffeine drinking to morning and early afternoon. Stop drinking caffeine by the time you hit late evening. Try to limit your fluid intake in the evening as well. Limiting your fluid intake can you clear out your bladder so that you are not awoken up by the need to use the restroom at night.
Try setting up an established sleep pattern, limit how you use your bed just to sleep, and watch when and what you eat so the need to use the restroom doesn't wake you up at night. If you still struggle to get enough sleep at night, talk to your doctor. A sleep clinic that can monitor your sleep patterns.
Contact a company like Elkview General Hospital for more information and assistance.
