Tips on Getting a Good Night’s Sleep

Do you remember that movie the Gambler with Kenny Rogers? Of course you do. Don’t pretend like you’re not singing the song in your head right now. There’s a line in that famous song I’ve always remembered because when I was younger it never made much sense to me. Toward the beginning good ‘ol Kenny says that he and the gambler were both “too tired to sleep.” Any of you who suffer from insomnia know exactly what Kenny’s talking about. Unfortunately I understand all too well now how you can be completely exhausted yet unable to get a good night’s rest. If you struggle with this same problem let me share with you some tips I’ve learned that have helped me, and so many others, get a better night of rest.

Practice Makes Perfect

Establishing a pattern is a great way to improve your sleep quality. We humans are creatures of habit and your body will become accustomed to your schedule if you make it consistent. Just like any bad habit, good habits can become just as ingrained.

Reinforcing the habit of going to sleep at a certain time trains your body’s sleep-wake cycle. As the predetermined time for bed comes around, your body will start to slow down and prepare itself for sleep. Erratic sleep patterns will do just the opposite. If your body is not accustomed to going into a sleep-friendly mode at a certain time you may find it hard to fall asleep when you do finally lie down. Try to go to bed within ten minutes or so of the same time every night and allow yourself seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you are struggling to establish a pattern, you should try and stick to the same schedule even on the weekends.

Time is not the only pattern you can establish to help your body know when it is time to sleep. Try and establish a relaxing ritual you practice every night before bed. Repeating the same relaxing activities will reinforce the habit of winding down and further trigger you to transition between wakefulness and sleepiness.

You Are What You Eat

It should be obvious, but avoid stimulants before you go to bed. Caffeinated beverages and even sugar can make it as difficult for an adult to fall asleep as a kid. You should also watch out for heavy meals right before bedtime. Try to eat a lighter dinner at least two hours before retiring and avoid alcohol and nicotine as well.

Get Moving!

If you expend a lot of energy, you need time to recover and rest. The world in which we live does not require us to work sun up to sun down as much as it used to. For the most part, we live more sedentary lives than our ancestors did a century or so ago. Although you might still be worn out at the end of the work day, some of us might not feel the need to sleep to recover.

Physical activity, especially aerobic activity burns off some of that extra energy keeping you awake at night. Giving your body a reason to want to fall asleep at night could be just what you need to get  more restful sleep. The only thing to remember is exercising right before bed may provide you with a bit of an adrenaline rush that would prove counterproductive, so exercise regularly but give yourself enough time to wind down.

Don’t Stress

There is nothing worse than lying awake in your bed, staring at the clock, knowing you need to go to sleep but can’t. The best thing to do in that situation is to get up and do something else. Stressing about sleep in your bed will only make it more difficult to fall asleep. Get up, move around, get your mind off going to sleep and lie back down when you feel tired.

Be Smart

These are all really good ways to help you sleep better at night but sometimes you have to realize your problems are bigger than something a warm glass of milk would cure. Different problems we face at different times in our lives can severely affect our sleep patterns and it may be a good idea to try a sleep aid. There are a number of natural sleeping aids that can help you fall asleep and stay asleep without the side effects of a prescription. If you think you need to use a pharmaceutical product, talk to your doctor and carefully weigh your options, but these should only be used as a last resort.