Ideas for better sleep

If you have trouble sleeping, there may be some practical things you can do to improve the situation. The following strategies will help you get better sleep without medication.

Routine Many people complaining of poor sleep go to bed at odd times rather than following a regular pattern. The human body likes routine for the time you retire and the time you rise. The more consistent this pattern, the sleepier you will feel at bedtime. (Remember having a bedtime?) Attitude Everyone has trouble getting off to sleep from time to time. The important thing is what you say to yourself when this happens. If you tell yourself “It’s ok, I can enjoy this rest and comfort, resting is almost as good as sleeping”, then you will feel relaxed and eventually fall asleep. However if you tell yourself “Oh No! I’m not sleeping yet, how terrible, I’ll be a wreck tomorrow!” then your anxiety will increase making sleep impossible. As Groucho Marx once said, “insomnia is nothing to lose sleep over.” Go with the flow. Accept there will be occasional nights when you don’t do so well.

Stimulants (C.A.T.S.) Caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, and sugars are stimulants we often over use during the day. If you are not getting good sleep, it may be helpful to look closely at your intake of these stimulants. For example how many cuppas would you have in a day? More than four may interfere with your sleep.

Exercise
Being physically tired will keep you asleep longer than mental tiredness alone. If sleep is a problem try including more exercise into your routine. A good walk is often sufficient.

No Napping
Avoid napping during the day. Napping will rob you of sleep when it really counts; at night.

Catch the wave
The human body is not ready for sleep all the time. There are in fact ‘window’ opportunities approximately every forty minutes where it is possible to enter the state of sleep. Have you noticed how you can start to feel sleepy reading a book, but because you continued reading you end up wide awake? Catching sleep is like catching a wave. You have to catch the right time. This further emphasises the need for routine.

Bed is for sleep
Eliminate non-sleep activities from your bed (not including sex which can promote sleep). This means no reading, eating, or television in bed. Also, if you don’t fall asleep in an hour or so, get out of bed and read or watch TV. This will allow your mind and body to always associate bed with sleep (not tossing and turning) while you wait for the next "wave".

Relaxation Combine relaxation techniques with mental imagery and visualization skills. After getting yourself into a relaxed state, allow yourself to visualise and imagine how good it would feel to enjoy deep sleep right now. Picture a time when you were "dead to the world" and how good it felt. If you stay with these feelings long enough, your body will follow.

Ritual
Have a ritual where you ‘turn yourself down’ in the last hour or so before bedtime. Avoid anything stimulating, just a series of tasks for preparing for sleep. This might include brushing teeth, locking doors, setting the radio alarm clock, whatever. After a week or two, your body will automatically associate these activities with sleep. The act of doing these things alone will promote sleep because your body knows what follows.

A final thought on Insomnia
Ongoing insomnia can be a symptom of depression. To rule this out talk to your doctor or mental health professional.


Another final thought
If you take the medication option, remember if an underlying depression exists it is better to treat the depression first. Anti-depressants may be more appropriate than sleeping pills. Talk to your doctor.