Some helpful cures for insomnia. Learn to win the battle with sleeplessness.
For many, getting a good night's sleep can prove to be very difficult. As lives become busier, more waking hours are needed to get everything accomplished. This can lead to many problems, both physically and emotionally. It can also cause the body's natural rhythms to become altered, increasing the chances of insomnia. Nothing can be more annoying then awakening to the sound of the alarm clock after just falling asleep. This creates the mood for a bad day due inadequate sleep - both in quantity and quality. However, with some simple interventions, the quality of sleep can be greatly improved.
Do not allow yourself to take any naps during the day. While you may feel that power naps are refreshing your body throughout the day, they interrupt your nightly sleep cycle. They prevent your body from entering into the deeper sleep stages needed to refresh your body.
Another measure that allows for a deeper, more satisfying sleep is to get more exercise throughout the day. However, try not to exacerbate yourself physically too close to bedtime, because this can also reenergize the body.
Try to begin doing things to decrease the amount of stress in your life. Learn to relax, especially within the one to two hour time span before bedtime. Try not to worry before bedtime. If your thoughts tend to race at bedtime, do things to "wear it out." Maybe attempt something that is stimulating but repetitive such as a crossword puzzle; reading a non-thriller; watching or staring at a fish tank or lava lamp; or watching boring movies.
Never go to bed hungry. Have something light such as a glass of milk with a tuna or turkey sandwich. Chemicals in turkey, milk, tuna, and cheese have been found to cause drowsiness in some people. Also, avoid such items as sodas, tea, or coffee that may have caffeine in them. Many are unable to use these products after lunchtime, and some have to avoid these items all together. Tobacco has a stimulating effect of the body. The use of alcohol around bedtime is inadvisable as well. Although it may help the body to fall asleep, the quality of sleep is usually harmed, and many experience periods of awakening after a couple of hours, and are unable to fall asleep for the remainder of the night.
Do not watch television or read in bed. Decrease the noise and light in the bedroom as much as is possible. Remove the telephone from the room, or turn it off. Allow the answering machine in another part of the house to record your messages. The use of white noise has proven helpful to many. This can be accomplished with a small fan turned on in the bedroom. Or, tapes such as a bubbling stream may played softly in the background of the room. Ban a snoring spouse from the bedroom.
Try a warm bath or hot shower before bedtime. Keep the bedroom temperature comfortable, not too hot or too cold. A heated blanket can be relaxing as well. Use cotton sheets with your favorite pillow(s).
Also, in order to restore the body's natural circadian rhythm, get out of bed at the same time everyday, whether it is a weekday or weekend. Finally, do not stay in the bed too long. If you are spending too much time in the bed waiting to sleep, more harm than good can result as the stress of the situation begins to take its toil. Get up, go to another room in the house for a short period of time, and then try returning to bed to sleep later.
