How To Sleep Better

Insomnia can affect everything from your productivity to your relationships. If you have difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep, without a medical condition to blame, there are many natural ways to begin alleviating this problem without habit-forming drugs or sleeping pills.

Here are some tips to help you sleep better:

1.  Sleep in complete darkness, or as close to it as possible. Even the tiniest bit of light in the room can disrupt your internal clock
   and your pineal gland’s production of melatonin and serotonin. The tiniest glow from your clock radio could be interfering with your sleep. If you want to sleep better, try closing your bedroom door, and get rid of night-lights. Refrain from turning on any light at all during
   the night, even when getting up to go to the bathroom. Cover up your clock radio.
2. Keep the temperature in your bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly their upstairs bedrooms too warm. Studies show that the optimal room temperature for sleep is quite cool, between 60 to 68 degrees. Keeping your room cooler or hotter can lead to restless sleep. This is because when you sleep, your body’s internal temperature drops to its lowest level, generally about four hours after you fall asleep. Scientists believe a cooler bedroom may therefore be most conducive to sleep and helps one sleep better, since it mimics your body’s natural temperature drop.
3. Go to bed the same time each night and wake up at the same time. This helps you sleep better as it will promote the proper body rhythms.
4. Don’t drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom, or at least minimize the frequency.
5. Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you’ll wake up to go in the middle of the night. How to sleep better includes not waking up in the night.
6. Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. These will raise your blood sugar and delay sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you may wake up and be unable to fall back asleep.
7. Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When your body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating slumber. The temperature drop from getting out of the bath signals your body it’s time for bed. Again, this method helps people sleep better by mimicing their body’s natural temperature drop during sleep.
8. Wear socks to bed. Feet often feel cold before the rest of the body because they have the poorest circulation. A study has shown that wearing socks reduces night wakings. However, when I wear socks, I usually wake up with my socks disappearing. So, as an alternative, you could place a hot water bottle near your feet at night.
9. Wear an eye mask to block out light. As discussed earlier, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it’s not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can be helpful for better sleep.
10. Put your work away at least one hour before bed (preferably two hours or more). This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow’s deadlines.

You must recognize the importance of good sleep. It is awfully important for our body in both physical and mental health; productivity and efficiency; and concentration and keenness. Just like exercising, what health benefits you receive from sleep depend on how long you spend at it and the quality of it. Learning how to sleep is a skill.

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