Beat Insomnia

I don't think that I have met anyone who has never had a bout of insomnia. Sufferers find it affects their whole life, causing problems at work and at home.



There is no cure however there are some tricks to help manage insomnia. You have to try many strategies to find what helps you.

Time: Varies

Materials
Yourself
Comfortable bed

Method


One of the best ways to improve your sleep is to practice relaxation techniques. While many people think of this in terms of meditation, other techniques can just involve sitting down quietly or going for a walk in the evening. When I was in Shanghai doing some very stressful work, there were some late night massage places near the hotel, so I could get a massage if I needed it to relax.



Sleep experts argue that we tend to be over stimulated. So about an hour before we need to go to sleep, turn off the TV, put that book away, disconnect the Internet and stop playing computer games. Just sit and relax and your brain will begin prepare itself for sleep.


One interesting way to sleep better is to exercise. People who exercise regularly are more fit, and tend to sleep fewer hours each night but will also sleep far more regularly.



So get a daily dose of exercise to sleep better and there are other benefits to getting fit anyway. But avoid exercise just before sleep.


Whether you believe aromatherapy works or not, there is no reason you can't try a few scents to help you relax. Lavender and Sandalwood both help you drift off to sleep.




Usually insomnia is the result of life stress. If you want a good night's sleep then you often need to change your life.




I tend to sleep early simply because I get up early. This means that no matter how tired I am I will get out of bed, maybe exercise, then go to work. While this might make me more tired in the short-term it usually pays off through a good nights sleep.


One of the problems with modern society is that we are surrounded now by devices with led lights that glow all night. All these sources of light pollution stop us from sleeping and often when we do sleep it is not restful.

Noise can be a problem as well, though usually it is related to stress and the noise is a noticeable because we are stressed. However eye masks, ear plugs, dark curtains and removing all electronic devices from your bedroom can help.


Historically people never used to sleep all night. They would go to sleep early and often wake up in the middle night and then go back to sleep. The idea of the 8-9 hour a night sleep is a modern idea and there are many people who can't sleep through the night and so have changed the way they sleep.



When this has happened to me, and I am working from home,I use it as an excuse to get out of bed, do some work then go back to sleep a few hours later.


Related to all this is melatonin. This is the sleep hormone. Light, particularly, blue light, suppresses the production of this hormone and at night we manufacture it and go to sleep.

During the day make sure you get out into the sun. At night dim the lights at home, use yellow bulbs rather than the modern pure white ones and turn off all the blue LED lights on electronic devices.

If all else fails you can buy Melatonin tablets to assist natural sleep.

Categories
#life_skills
#health
#sleep
#rest




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