Hello All, I posted this originally as an answer to someone who said they couldn't sleep but my husband pointed out that more folks might need it. Look up Sleep Hygiene techniques for more in depth instructions but my job with the military for a while was to help soldiers sleep better so here goes a few tips.
1.) Have a routine. - It works for kids, it still works for adults. Set yourself up the same routine for every night. Your body and mind form habits. You can set it to form healthy habits like brushing your teeth-> light stretching -> sleep. The more you do this the better it works. The key to sleep hygiene is patience and repetition.
2.) Set a filter for blue light on your technology. The light that is given off by cellphones, computers, and TV screens messes with the production of melatonin. This in turn messes with a persons ability to get good quality sleep. There are filters available that turn off this blue light f.lux is one of these.
3.) Do only two things in your bed. Sleep and sex. In that the body/mind form habits if you watch movies/listen to music/read etc. in your bed you tell your brain and body that your bed is the place to do those things. Its the same reason why people think better in the shower or work better at a desk. You've trained your brain that that it what it is suppose to do in those situations.
4.) One habit that people form that is always a killer is thinking in bed. Its an easy habit to from and ITS A TRAP! If you lie in bed and allow yourself to continue to think about why you can't sleep/what you have to do tomorrow/that manga you just read you are reinforcing the idea that your bed is a place for thinking. If you are in bed for 15 minutes and still not asleep you should get up and do something relaxing. Stretch, listen to music, read a boring book. Once you feel sleepy again go back to bed and try to sleep again. Rinse and repeat for however long it takes. Eventually it will break your brain of thinking in bed.
5.) Get in bed. Get into comfortable position, or what should be a comfortable position if only you weren't so restless. Start at your feet. Curl your toes, flex your feet and tighten the muscles in your feet as hard as you can for 10-15 seconds. Then totally relax those muscles, enjoy the warm feeling of blood rushing to your feet. Now not moving your feet move up your body to your calves. Repeat. Move up your body in this manner focusing on different muscle groups. As you move up you can also pair this with the imagery of pushing all the worries of the day up your body. Do all the muscles you can think of, always moving upward. Clench and then relax, leave your face for last. As you clench your teeth, furrow your brow, and scrunch your eyes closed push all those dark thoughts and worries up out of the top of your head.
Your body should be warm and comfortable and ready for deep soothing rest.
Sorry so long. Hope this helps some of you unwilling night owls out there. ლ(´ڡ`ლ)
Hello All,
I posted this originally as an answer to someone who said they couldn't sleep but my husband pointed out that more folks might need it. Look up Sleep Hygiene techniques for more in depth instructions but my job with the military for a while was to help soldiers sleep better so here goes a few tips.
1.) Have a routine. - It works for kids, it still works for adults. Set yourself up the same routine for every night. Your body and mind form habits. You can set it to form healthy habits like brushing your teeth-> light stretching -> sleep. The more you do this the better it works. The key to sleep hygiene is patience and repetition.
2.) Set a filter for blue light on your technology. The light that is given off by cellphones, computers, and TV screens messes with the production of melatonin. This in turn messes with a persons ability to get good quality sleep. There are filters available that turn off this blue light f.lux is one of these.
3.) Do only two things in your bed. Sleep and sex. In that the body/mind form habits if you watch movies/listen to music/read etc. in your bed you tell your brain and body that your bed is the place to do those things. Its the same reason why people think better in the shower or work better at a desk. You've trained your brain that that it what it is suppose to do in those situations.
4.) One habit that people form that is always a killer is thinking in bed. Its an easy habit to from and ITS A TRAP! If you lie in bed and allow yourself to continue to think about why you can't sleep/what you have to do tomorrow/that manga you just read you are reinforcing the idea that your bed is a place for thinking. If you are in bed for 15 minutes and still not asleep you should get up and do something relaxing. Stretch, listen to music, read a boring book. Once you feel sleepy again go back to bed and try to sleep again. Rinse and repeat for however long it takes. Eventually it will break your brain of thinking in bed.
5.) Get in bed. Get into comfortable position, or what should be a comfortable position if only you weren't so restless. Start at your feet. Curl your toes, flex your feet and tighten the muscles in your feet as hard as you can for 10-15 seconds. Then totally relax those muscles, enjoy the warm feeling of blood rushing to your feet. Now not moving your feet move up your body to your calves. Repeat. Move up your body in this manner focusing on different muscle groups. As you move up you can also pair this with the imagery of pushing all the worries of the day up your body. Do all the muscles you can think of, always moving upward. Clench and then relax, leave your face for last. As you clench your teeth, furrow your brow, and scrunch your eyes closed push all those dark thoughts and worries up out of the top of your head.
Your body should be warm and comfortable and ready for deep soothing rest.
Sorry so long. Hope this helps some of you unwilling night owls out there. ლ(´ڡ`ლ)