8 Proven tips for better sleep at night

by meziesblog.com, posted in Articles
sleeping child

With everyone trying to make ends meet and the stress that comes with it, tips for sleeping has become a widely discussed topic.

Sleep is supposed to be that “it’s finally over” part of the day when you just want to put your feet up and relax for some hours.

However, you lay down and toss for hours thinking about irrelevant things, worrying about the next day or counting sheep. Finally, you get up feeling exhausted and wondering where the time went. This can happen several times and you may begin to wonder if something is wrong and begin to feel cranky or worse become ill. The number of health conditions linked to lack of sleep is endless. Hence, adequate sleep is very important.

 Here are some very effective tips for sleeping that if adhered to, will make you sleep better as you should;

  1. Do not look at the clock:It is normal to wake up in the middle of the night. However, you may be unable to fall back to sleep which can persist for a while. You can even obsess about the limited time you have to sleep when you wake up and end up looking repeatedly at the clock. This causes anxiety and is common among people with insomnia. Therefore, if possible, remove the clock from within your reach and do not check your phone for time. You can set an alarm but avoid watching the time when you get up.
  2. Be conscious of what and when you eat:The food you eat before you sleep matters a lot. Consuming a large bowl of carbohydrate-based meal immediately before bed may be detrimental to prolonged sleep. This does not imply you shouldn’t eat what you want. Rather, if you want to consume a heavy meal, do so at least 3 hours before bed so it will have ample time to digest. Otherwise, you can opt for a lighter meal for dinner.
  3. Ensure you are physically active during the day:This can be in the form of exercise or a walk. This is beneficial to quality sleep because physical activity can increase duration of sleep by promoting the production of serotonin in the brain and reducing the stress hormone, cortisol.
  4. Avoid products that contain caffeine during the day:Caffeine is present in some products that you may not be aware such as energy and carbonated drinks, pain medication, tea and even chocolate. This can interfere with your regular sleep pattern. Therefore, avoid taking any of these after lunch.
  5. Use a reliable sleeping aid that contains GABA (Gamma amino butyric acid): GABA is an amino acid that reduces activity of neurons in the brain. This in turn, leads to a variety of effects such as reduced stress, increased relaxation, balanced mood and boosting sleep. Therefore, taking a sleep-inducing supplement that contains GABA is guaranteed to restore you good sleep. 
  6. Breathe in through your left nostril:Put a finger on your right nostril and breathe slowly and deeply through your left nostril. This activates your parasympathetic response which calms and relaxes your body, soothes your nervous system and improves your brain function.
  7. Try not to force yourself to sleep:Lying in bed for several hours stressing about how you can’t get to sleep is counterproductive and frustrating. If you find that after about 15 minutes of being in bed in the dark, distract yourself with calming activities like listening to soothing music or think of some ridiculous movie you’ve watched previously, whatever works for you. You need this distraction because of how our brains work. Once you try not to think of something, it immediately pops into your head. Likewise telling yourself not to sleep, your brain will take it as an instruction to sleep and you feel sleepy soon after. This is one very effective tip for sleeping.
  8. Make a personalized sleep ritual:This simply means create a routine you follow before you go to bed. This could be listening to slow music or talking to a loved one on the phone as long as it is not something mentally stimulating. This works because your body becomes used to this pattern and you will find it easier to sleep.

Insomnia is not matter to be handled with levity, because it can affect you both mentally and physically. Therefore you should take appropriate measures to restore your normal sleep pattern.