UnwindCBD’s Top Sleep Tips for Problematic Sleepers
By Space Coast Daily // June 30, 2022
The truth is, if you want to get quality sleep at night, you need to pay attention to what you are doing during the day. There are several things that you do or don’t do in the day that can impact your ability to fall asleep and the quality of sleep you end up getting. Here are some of them from Unwindcbd.com.
1. Get Some Daylight
The most important thing you can do is to start your day with natural daylight. This is a great way to reset your biological clock. Your body has an internal clock that it uses to regulate your sleep and wake cycles. By exposing yourself to natural sunlight as soon as you wake up, you can reset your clock so you can get tired when it gets dark outside.
This is known as your circadian rhythm. When this is off-balance, you can find it very difficult to fall asleep when it’s bedtime. If you cannot expose yourself to natural daylight consistently when you wake up, you’ll want to try to find alternative ways to do so. A good way to do this is by getting a lightbox or a natural light alarm clock. This is good for those that have unusual working hours and who tend to work late throughout the night.
2. Get Moving
One of the most important things you need to get into your daily routine is exercise. Getting yourself moving throughout the day can pay off in a big way when it comes to normalizing your sleep and wake cycle. Not only is it going to benefit your sleep directly, but it can improve your health which can also improve your sleep.
However, you do want to pay attention to when you are working out. It’s not ideal to work out intensely right before bedtime. Doing this is only going to increase your heart rate and make it more difficult to get restful sleep. Instead, try to work out in the morning or earlier in the day. This gives your body plenty of time to relax for quality sleep.
3. Watch Your Caffeine
While avoiding caffeine altogether can pay off when it comes to your sleep, that’s not always going to be possible for everyone. If it’s impractical to avoid caffeine altogether, you’ll want to monitor your caffeine intake. Try to enjoy your morning cup of coffee or espresso and avoid drinking anything with caffeine past noon.
By doing this, you can keep caffeine from interrupting your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep. Caffeine can negatively interfere with your sleep because it can stimulate you for up to 6 hours after you consume it. Avoid drinking or eating anything with caffeine too late in the day for the best results.
4. Don’t Drink Alcohol
Avoiding alcohol is another thing you’ll want to do. Alcohol is likely to negatively impact your sleep. While it does make you tired, it’s not going to lead to quality sleep. Alcohol can affect the quality of your sleep despite helping you fall asleep. Thus, it’s best to avoid alcohol at night. If you are going to drink, try to do it earlier in the night or even day to minimize sleep disruption from it.
5. Try To Eat Earlier
When you are looking to optimize your sleep, you want to pay attention to when you are eating and what you are eating. Eating a heavy meal at night is an easy way to disrupt your sleep. It can be very difficult to fall asleep at night when your body is in the middle of digesting a huge dinner. You want to avoid consuming heavy meals full of fat or spices at night. If you do eat earlier, you could potentially snack on some nuts or something light to keep yourself from getting hungry during the night.
6. Avoid Smoking
Avoiding smoking is not only good for helping your sleep but also good for improving your health. Smoking is bad for you in a variety of ways. One of the ways a lot of people don’t consider is how detrimental it is to the quality of your sleep. This is especially true if you are smoking cigarettes and other products that contain nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant and it can negatively impact your ability to fall asleep and get quality sleep throughout the night. This includes exposure to secondhand smoke too.
7. Keep Your Bed Limited To Certain Activities
A lot of people have fallen into the habit of using their beds to watch TV and play with their electronics. Try to avoid this at all costs. Sleep is a mental game. You want to ensure your mind is focused on sleep subconsciously as soon as you get into bed. That’s why you want to reserve your bed for sleep and sex only. This can help you associate the act of getting into bed with going to sleep.
If You Cannot Fall Asleep – Try These Things
– Relaxation Techniques
One of the best ways to help yourself at night when you are having trouble falling asleep is to practice relaxation techniques. You can do a lot of things to help you relax. This includes deep breathing exercises, stretching, and meditation.
– Get Up
While it may seem counterproductive, you don’t want to lay around in bed tossing and turning. This is only going to lead to more difficulties getting yourself to sleep. Instead, you want to get up and walk around. Try to find something to get your mind off not being able to fall asleep as that can create more anxiety only making it more difficult to go to sleep. Try to listen to relaxing music or read a book until you are tired enough to try again.
– Experiment
Always try to keep a log/journal of your sleep. This can help you figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. Try to experiment with different things to figure out what approaches help.
– Sleep Journal
As mentioned, you want to maintain a sleep journal that you can use to figure out when you experience sleep problems. This can help you identify things that you want to avoid. It could be eating certain foods at night or even problems with inconsistency with sleep hours on the weekend. With a sleep journal, you can identify issues and fix them.
– Speak With a Professional
You will want to speak with a doctor about sleep issues you are having. A doctor will be able to monitor you if needed. They can figure out what is causing your sleep issues and the best way to tackle them whether with medication or making lifestyle changes.
