There’s no way I’m the only one who gets frustrated when it’s 3:00AM and I’m staring at the ceiling. There is no worse feeling in the world than not being able to fall asleep or tossing and turning all night long. But, this feeling is especially bad when you know you have to wake up early the next day. Here are some solutions to help fix your insomnia!
Insomnia is the inability to sleep, remain asleep, or get the amount of sleep an individual needs to wake up feeling rested. (Wikipedia – Insomnia) Insomnia can last a few nights, or it can be chronic and last months or even years if you don’t take the correct actions.
Firstly, establish a regular bedtime. Sticking to the same sleep-wake cycle throughout the entire week (yes, even weekends) will help your body adjust to a certain time that it will start automatically winding down. Using your bed properly is important as well. Sleeping is the only activity your bed should be used for. If you start bringing homework onto your bed, your brain could be confused whether it should be in work-mode or sleep-mode.
If that does not work, there have been studies that show relaxation methods such as meditation helps individuals to sleep. People who practice meditation, yoga or deep breathing saw improvements in total sleep time and quality. (Laura Newcomer, October 2014)
Next, it is a good idea to dim the lights about two hours before going to sleep. There was a study shown that leaving on lights right before you go to bed could negatively affect your quality of sleep. The lights suppress melatonin levels which affects how tired you are. (The Endocrine Society – January 14, 2011) One last technique is not to stress your brain out too much right before bed. Try not to think too much, which includes, watching stimulating TV shows or reading complex material. Activities like these tend to keep the brain running, which ultimately, will keep the body awake.
References:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110113082716.htm
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/cant-sleep-insomnia-treatment.htm
I think that this blog was generally well thought out and researched, however as the blogger above commented, insomnia is not that easy to cure. I think that your blog definitely gives some good tips for people who are just having an abnormally hard time falling asleep, however for insomniacs I don’t think it’s a matter of just doing a few deep breathing exercises and turning off the lights a few minutes earlier. Maybe for your next blog you could focus more on tips that have worked for insomniacs and try to find some data that supports the things that you find. Some of the things that you mentioned I have never tried which I definitely will in the future, but you might have wanted to clarify that this won’t necessarily work for insomniacs, but those everyday sleepers who just can’t to fall asleep.
This blog caught my eye because I tend to have the same problem when it comes to falling asleep at night. However insomnia isn’t that simple. Even if you’re spending eight hours a night in bed, if you feel drowsy and fatigued during the day, you may be experiencing insomnia. Insomnia is the most common sleep complaint and usually isn’t just a single disorder. “It’s more accurate to think of insomnia as a symptom of another problem, which differs from person to person. It could be something as simple as drinking too much caffeine during the day or a more complex issue like an underlying medical condition or feeling overloaded with responsibilities.’” This site helps further explain, http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/cant-sleep-insomnia-treatment.htm
I noticed that when I try to fall asleep if I was recently on my phone or just got done eating a certain food it stops me from falling asleep as easily. I was wondering if you read anything while writing your blog that addressed the affect phones and food have on sleep patterns?