For any working adult or parent, getting good sleep is crucial and at times life and death even. This is because it can be very frustrating when you find yourself rolling in bed unable to fall asleep. It gets worse when you have an important meeting or presentation the next day.
Possible to fall asleep well
It is important to note that falling asleep should not be this difficult. In fact, it should be something that is almost automatic because it has been a long day and your body is tired. You need to ensure several factors like:
- Room temperature
- Time of sleep
- lighting
- and relaxation mood, among others
Be regular
The first thing that you should do is to start sleeping at regular hours. No doubt, you need that 6 or 8 hours of sleep every night but when you are sleeping at different times, your body is unable to cope. This means that even if you get a good 8 hour sleep, you will wake up feeling tired because your body has not rested properly. You should do this each day even if it is the weekend.
Get the right lighting
It has been reported that your body will produce melatonin when night falls. This is an automatic reaction that your body does so that it prepares you for sleep. So when it starts to get dark, your body starts to switch off gradually. Any form of light will only deter this process. Melatonin helps your body to rest, so you want this process to be uninterrupted. Never sleep with any form of lighting in your room if possible. And in all that, avoid blue light as well. Many people like to play with their phones after the lights are off. Stop that because your body thinks that it is daytime when there is light and halt the melatonin production process.
Get the right temperature
Notice how you are unable to sleep when it is too warm or too cold in the room. You need the right temperature in order to fully relax. The ideal rate here is about 68 degrees Fahrenheit which is equivalent to about 18 to 19 degrees Celsius. When your body gets ready to sleep or rest, it will automatically reduce its temperature by about 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit.
No alcohol or coffee
For coffee drinkers, having a cup after dinner might not deter your sleep. In fact, you think you sleep very well even if you take a latte before sleep. When this happens, although you are sleeping very well, it is the depth of sleep that your body suffers. That is why you wake up feeling more tired than before sleep.
On the other hand, alcohol is one which is an absolute no-no. Alcohol does help many people to sleep but it is actually forcing your body to sleep instead of easing it in. When you do this, you find yourself waking up a few times during the night. The effect is like having coffee where you will feel like you have not slept after waking up in the morning.
Stop staying awake
When you are rolling in bed endlessly after half an hour, stop that. Get up, go to another room and do something which will make you feel sleepy. This is because your body has gotten accustomed to the fact that your bed is not helping you to sleep. So, try meditation or head to another room to read a book or a boring journal. Avoid digital devices because it will defeat its purpose. Some might tell you to watch a boring programme on television or something but that will mean you staying up longer than you should. When you watch a programme, your body wakes up because it might be exciting and cause anxiety. That will only slow down your sleeping process.