How To Get A Better Night’s Sleep – Part 2
By Troy Rampy, Editor, The Wellness Blog™
“That we are not much sicker and much madder than we are is due exclusively to that most blessed of all natural graces, sleep.”
– Aldous Huxley
This weekend, in addition to being Halloween, is also that twice-a-year event when people most obsess about the amount of sleep they are, or are not, getting. It’s time once again to adjust your clocks for Daylight Savings.
Now, for most people, this is the fun one…where you let your clocks “fall” back so you’ll get one more hour of sleep. But for some individuals, any disruption at all in their sleep pattern is cause for concern. Many of these folks are among the 50% of Americans that the National Sleep Foundation has identified as individuals who, at least part of the time, have sleep difficulties. The truth is, in these stressful times of economic uncertainty, dual-income families, overfull to-do lists, and compulsive multi-tasking, we all need a healthy amount of sleep to stay well … and sane.
Although it varies from person to person, sleep experts generally recommend approximately eight hours of sleep per night to function properly. Too many of us live an “on-the-go” lifestyle in which our need for sleep gets downgraded on our to-do lists to a low priority. If you are stressed or under more demands than usual, you may need even more than eight hours, and most certainly you’ll need better quality sleep.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, the first step requires a little detective work. You’ll need to examine your diet, exercise patterns, sleeping environment, personal habits, lifestyle and current concerns. As you begin to see a connection between, for example, what and/or when you eat and poor sleep, you can develop your own good sleep plan.
Here’s what you can do to improve the quality of your sleep…beginning tonight:
- Keep regular hours. Get your biological clock in sync by going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning — even on weekends. Go to bed only when you are sleepy, and avoid staying in bed too long in the morning.
- Unwind early. Deal with worries and distractions several hours before going to bed. Find ways to relax an hour or so before bedtime. For example, you can take a warm bath, shower, or foot bath, listen to soothing music, or read an enjoyable book. Don’t watch the “bad” News, or work on your lap-top before going to bed. Those activities will only serve to stimulate your nervous system and disrupt your frontal lobes. When that happens, it’s much harder to get good quality sleep.
- Develop a sleep ritual. Do the same things each night just before going to bed. This cues your body that it’s time to settle down for the night.
- Make sleep a priority. Find the optimal sleep schedule that keeps you energized throughout the day, then stick to your schedule. For most, that means getting to bed by 10:00 PM, and certainly no later than 12:00 Midnight. Studies show that two hours of sleep before 10:00 PM is worth four hours of sleep after 12:00 Midnight. Be careful not to sleep too much or too little.
- Make your bedroom primarily a place for sleeping. It’s not a good idea to use your bed for paying bills, doing work, etc. Help your body recognize that this is a place only for rest…or intimacy.
- Keep your bedroom peaceful and comfortable. Make sure your room is as dark as possible, well ventilated, and slightly cool during the night. And try to keep it quiet. You could use a non-ozone producing air purifier, fan, or a “white noise” machine to help block outside noises.
- Jot down all your concerns and worries. Anxiety excites the nervous system and makes you more alert. Write down your worries and possible solutions before you go to bed, so you won’t need to mull them over during the night. A journal or concise to-do list can help you put away your concerns until the next day when you are fresh and can do something about them.
- Go to sleep when you are sleepy. Pay attention to your body and the natural cues it gives you. When you feel tired, go to bed.
