Dealing with Insomnia Top Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

Getting a good night’s sleep is important, however with our stressed lives many of us are finding that when we hit the pillow we are not getting a rested 8 hours of slumber. Instead we are falling asleep later, waking up earlier, suffering from interrupted sleep or not falling into a deep sleep to begin with. Yet we are all aware that not getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis has dire consequences for our health, personal sense of well-being, on our relationships and how we perform at work.

Here are our top tips for getting a good night’s sleep:

Maintain a Sleep Journal

If you think you are not sleeping well, or not getting the amount of sleep you think you need, start a sleep journal. You record not only when you sleep, but what you are doing with your day – exercise routines, diet (caffeine intake), work and play periods as well as noting how easy it was to fall asleep and how you felt when you woke up. A sleep journal will typically be the first exercise a doctor or therapist is going to ask you to do if you seek treatment or advice, so start now and establish the patterns for yourself.

Establish a Routine

Go to bed at the same time and wake up and get out of bed at the same time too. You will condition your body to know when it is time to sleep and when it is time to be awake. This supports the body’s natural sleep cycle and will help you get to sleep more easily.

Do Not Eat or Drink an Hour Before Bedtime

Eating before bedtime is not a good idea – it can cause indigestion and in any event, the body’s digestion system is a complicated and powerful process. You should let all of your body rest at bedtime, and this is simply not going to happen if you start your digestion system off too. In addition, what you eat and drink will affect your body, especially caffeinated drinks though the act of digestion will release energy into your body, which will lead to a need to burn some of that energy off. Eat a good breakfast, lunch moderately well and eat a light meal in the evening.
Do Not Drink Alcohol at Nighttime

Alcohol is a depressant, which is why many people find they are uninhibited after imbibing alcohol and why many believe it to have a sedation effect. The reality is that alcohol will impair the quality of sleep you would otherwise get, and in particular in the latter half the sleep session. This is because of the disruption caused by alcohol of the brain’s chemical messaging system which controls REM sleep and non-REM sleep: what REM sleep is is unimportant here, what is important is that the balance between the two forms of sleep is what contributes to you waking up and feeling fresh as a daisy in the morning.

Make Your Bedroom a Place to Sleep

The best sleeping environment is one which is dark and cool. However, many of us sleep with a gadget-laden room which provides the temptation to watch television in bed, illuminates the room with led lighting or we leave a cell phone which chirrups whenever a Facebook friend has updated their profile. Be strict about what you let into your bedroom and be disciplined about what you have on display and use so you are encouraging sleep.

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