Developing a Good Routine That Can Help You Get to Sleep at Night
The transition from day to going to sleep at night is much easier if you develop a nighttime routine and stick to it. A routine is defined as “a prescribed, detailed course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.” If you want to know how to Sleep Better and finally find an insomnia treatment that works and improve your ability to have a restful night’s sleep, one well founded technique is to do the same activities every night before going to bed. Establishing a pattern will help to quiet and calm both the body and the mind, preparing you for sleep. Knowing what to expect is very comforting to most people and a routine can be a key part of this.
Preparing for bed should be a time for quiet and calm as you ‘wind down’ the day. Some suggestions for routine activities before bedtime include listening to soothing music, doing light stretches (but not vigorous exercise), taking a bath, practicing deep breathing exercises, meditating or reading a book (but not in bed and something not too suspenseful or arousing).
The same routines that work for you will also work for your children. Your example of a calm, peaceful environment before bedtime will help create the conditions for the entire family to get a good night’s sleep. Children often appreciate routines and predictability, so activities like taking a bath or reading a bedtime story can signal that it is time to stop playing and get ready to go to sleep.
For some people, falling asleep comes easily and for others, not as much. One technique is to try to go to sleep and get out of bed at the same time everyday. Developing a routine with the same time schedule everyday can help your body’s biological clock know what to expect. If you have a hard time sleeping, you might be tempted to sleep in the next day, but this can lead to more problems that night. Also, on weekends, you might like to stay up late because you do not have to go to work the next day, but this can lead to sleep disturbances on other days of the week. If you are able to teach your body what time to go to sleep, this will help improve your sleeping habits. This is definitely how to sleep better.
Are you a smoker? You might consider quitting. As you probably know, smoking is harmful to your body in many ways. But it can also contribute to sleep difficulties. The main ingredient in cigarettes is nicotine, which is a stimulant. Research has shown that people who smoke heavily don’t spend as much time in deep sleep and they are more likely to wake up during the night. Cutting back or quitting altogether can help improve your sleep patterns and the rest of your life as well.
Alcohol is another substance that you will want to limit your consumption of, especially before bedtime. Also, eliminate anything with caffeine in it, such as coffee, teas, soda or chocolate, at least four to six hours before going to sleep. A good rule is to stop drinking or eating these items after 3:00 pm. Remember, some over the counter medications, such as Anacin and Excedrin also contain a fair amount of caffeine. Keep this in mind if you are developing a headache around bedtime. You might want to take another type of medication.
These are just a few of the many techniques that you can use to help you get the rest you need. If you follow these suggestions and create a good sleep routine, it can help you defeat your insomnia. Teach your body to fall asleep quickly so that you can wake up refreshed and alert.
If you’re interested in learning more about the best insomnia treatment for you, visit my website where I share information, tips and resource recommendations for how to treat your insomnia symptoms.
Get Help To Sleep Better With The Physical Benefits Of Exercise
Not one or two, but three brand new studies have found that if those who want help to sleep better are active in the day they actually sleep for longer and more deeply compared with those who spend most of their day sat down. In one instance, for adults suffering from sleep apnea, the benefits of physical exercise when following a program of fast walking combined with weight training reduced the symptoms by 25%, a similar outcome to some surgeries used to treat the problem.
When it comes to this troublesome disease, experts are anxious for any treatment option that can bring such results, especially when it’s all natural and free from side effects.
We know that sleep apnea brings up blood pressure. It’s also been associated with a number of heart problems, things like heart attack, stroke, heart failure and arrhythmias (fluttering heartbeat). It’s a fairly common disorder where there are one (or more) pauses in breathing that can last from a few seconds to minutes during sleep.
Not surprisingly, stopping and starting breathing, as many as 5 to 30 times an hour can disrupt your sleep, though many cases go undiagnosed unless a family member or sleeping partner notices the symptoms.
What’s truly surprising (even to the experts), is that the impressive 25% improvement in sleep apnea found in the research comes without losing weight, just by being more active on a regular basis.
Doctors know that being too heavy is a risk factor for developing sleep apnea, and earlier work has found that losing weight brings improvement. Exercise may now be another treatment option.
In fact, the improvement in sleep apnea symptoms from exercise alone is equal to losing about 10% of body weight. For the participants, who weighed in at an average of 220 pounds, such a weight drop for them would equal 22 pounds.
For this work, researchers recruited 43 adults who lead sedentary lives and who had moderately severe sleep apnea symptoms - 50% followed exercise regimen, that lasted for 12 weeks, while the remaining 50% took part in a low impact stretching program.
The exercise included 30 – 40 minutes of brisk walking four days a week, resistance training two days a week. The participants assigned to group doing the stretches only met up two times a week to take part in 30 minutes of stretching to increase their flexibility.
Both prior to and after the study, the team evaluated participants with sleep studies conducted in the lab and questionnaires to measure changes in mood, fatigue levels and how they functioned during the day.
At the end of the study, the frequency with which the subjects stopped breathing dropped from 32 to 25 per night for the group who were exercising. The stretching group actually saw their breathing issues get worse, going from 24 to 29 episodes per night.
Another study on the same set of subjects found that the exercise also helped with feelings of daytime sleepiness, improved fatigue and improved thinking skills in comparison with light stretching only.
In another small study, twelve healthy young adults wore sensors that monitored movement during a typical week. The researchers then assessed the quantity and quality of sleep they had during sleep test in the lab.
Those who were more active throughout the day went to sleep more quickly after going to bed and experienced more deep sleep, thought to be vital for both memory and learning. This is the stage of sleep that enables you to feel rested and refreshed when you wake.
Experts not involved in this study see the findings as a good strategy. Being active, beyond helping sleep apnea symptoms, brings many benefits to the heart, particularly important for this group of patients.
More work is needed to see how long lasting the improvements might be, and if patients might experience more benefit if exercise and weight loss were combined.
Experts caution that those who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea not think that the physical benefits of exercise alone can help… we’re not there yet. You should continue with whatever therapies you’re using now, though being more active throughout the day can offer some help to sleep better, you need to discuss your situation with your doctor first.
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Sleeping Longer Boosts Workout Performance
Once more, sleep gets its due. A new study finds that sleeping longer can help improve workout performance.
What’s more, according to work, getting enough restful sleep before a big game, an event or an attempt to beat your best time, is as important as anything else you do. But getting the proper rest has to be part of your training long before game day, at least 10 hours per night in the weeks before a performance has been shown to help an athlete make some noise.
Researchers are just coming to understand the role sleep plays in athletic performance, but extending the sleep period and performance have not been well studied. Fewer still have investigated the effect sleep might have on athletes.
To get peak performance athletes put lots of focus on nutrition and physical training, but give little or no thought to getting enough of the restorative rest the body needs. Clearly this is an area of training that should be getting more attention… from athletes, trainers and coaches.
The most recent work on sleep and performance used basketball players at the elite college level, and found that upping the time spent sleeping from their 6 to 9 hour average to ten hours each night brought speedier sprint times and more free throws for weeks afterward.
Beyond their performance on the court, the players also reported having more energy and feeling better, feeling less fatigue at practice and on the court during the game.
In the past, researchers have studied swimmers, football and tennis players, with similar results.
The football players actually reduced their 40-yard run by 10 seconds. It appears all types of athletes can benefit from extra shut eye, getting a competitive edge that lets them become top performers… set records… win games.
And what if you’re not a professional athlete?
Getting enough sleep is important for getting the best out of any type of exercise you’re doing. What’s more, enough restorative sleep is known to help us get through a challenging day, help us cope with stress better. It helps students get good grades, improves our performance on the job and keeps us from being part of a tragic sleep deprived accident at work or on the road.
Getting sufficient amounts of sleep might even help people lose weight.
You should know that you can’t sleep in at the weekend and think you’ve cured a sleep-deprived body, returning to the routine of long days and little sleep without worrying. Short-term fixes just don’t work. You need to make getting sufficient sleep a priority – just as you do eating right, exercising and doing other things that are good for you.
The best way to be sure you learning how to sleep better is to practice good sleep habits. Set a bedtime and stick to it, even on days off and when you’re on vacation. Make your sleeping space a quiet, restful place and be sure to unplug all your handhelds long before turning in for the night.
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