Did you know that there are ways to improve your sleep disorder without taking medication? In this article, we will share 10 simple tips that you can do at home. This knowledge could be life-changing for the better!
1: Reduce your caffeine intake
Coffee and tea contain high levels of caffeine and they stay in your system for around 5-6 hours, therefore it’s best to avoid drinking coffee/tea after 2 pm. Caffeine also causes you to be more alert which will decrease your chances of falling asleep at night.
2: Create a relaxing atmosphere
Creating an ideal sleep environment can greatly affect the quality of your sleep. Your bedroom needs to be cool, dark, and quiet. Don’t use any electronic devices for at least half an hour before you go to bed. If it’s too cold, you could try sleeping under a quilt or wearing socks. You should also avoid looking at bright screens as this will trigger the production of cortisol making you more alert and disrupting your sleep patterns (blue light is particularly guilty of this).
3: Get some sunlight in the morning
Make sure that when you wake up, you get some exposure to natural sunlight first thing in the morning. This will help stop your body from producing melatonin (the hormone which helps control our waking and sleeping patterns) which makes it much more likely that you will fall asleep at night.
4: Create a sleep schedule to improve sleep disorder
We have certain circadian rhythms, which are physical, mental, and behavioral changes in the body that follow the 24-hour cycle. It’s important to stick to a regular sleeping pattern as it will regulate your internal clock and help prepare your body for going to bed.
5: Exercise regularly during the day but not before bed
Exercising is beneficial to both physical and mental health so it’s best to do it regularly throughout the week. However exercising too close to bedtime can be counterproductive as exercise raises your heart rate, so if you exercise within 3 hours of attempting to fall asleep this could prevent you from falling into a deep sleep.
6: Avoid any alcohol before bedtime
While it’s tempting to have a nightcap before bed, drinking can affect your ability to fall asleep, stay asleep through the night and increase your sleep disturbances. Alcohol is also dehydrating so you will wake up feeling even more tired if you have had a drink but still feel thirsty.
7: Try not to worry too much about falling asleep at night
It can be worrying when you are struggling to fall or stay asleep at night however stressing about not being able to sleep won’t help because this type of negative thinking increases levels of cortisol which prevents deep sleep. If you are finding it difficult to fall asleep, focus on relaxing instead by breathing slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth, and do not stress about it.
8: Use a white noise machine
This can help reduce the likelihood of outside noises disturbing your sleep as this masking sound will block them out. There are many types of white noise available, for example; fan noises which use natural airflow or rain and waves to produce similar sounds to those found in the calming environment of the beach (the combination of water and wind has been proven to improve both mental and physical well-being).
9: Always consult your doctor if you’re struggling with insomnia
If you’re having problems sleeping we suggest that you always try and speak with the best psychiatrist in Bhopal before trying alternative therapies as they may be able to recommend something else that could help. If there is nothing wrong with your sleeping pattern, trying a different type of therapy can often have great results in treating insomnia.
10: Keep a sleep diary
Keeping a sleep diary will help you to pinpoint any patterns or regularity concerning when you are going to bed and how long it takes you to fall asleep at night. This will allow you to focus on the things that could be preventing you from getting enough good quality sleep and then create changes that will hopefully improve your levels of tiredness during the day.
Now that we’ve given some insight into these 10 steps, why not try out for yourself? Follow them throughout one week and see what difference it makes!