Tricks to Help You Get More Sleep
By Sara Butler
Not being able to sleep is a terrible feeling. Your mind starts to race with all you have to do the next day and that only makes getting to sleep harder! A lack of sleep can take a toll on your health, your career, and your personal life, so learning how to get to sleep fast and stay that way is important. If you have trouble getting to sleep, then you need to try to cultivate some good sleep habits. Here are a few tricks to help you get started!
Step Away from the Technology
Smartphones may be handy, but if you’re having trouble falling to sleep at night, then they might be part of the reason. The light emitted by these phones doesn’t allow your brain to do what it needs to help you settle into sleep. So, break the habit of using your phone in bed. Turn it on silent and keep it far away so you’re not tempted to pick it up and check your Twitter feed.
Get Up
When you have trouble sleeping, sometimes all you need is a change in perspective. If you can’t fall asleep in 20 minutes or less of shutting off the light and settling in, then get up out of bed and find something to do that isn’t stimulating. Pick up a paperback (yes, a real book) and do some reading until you feel as if you could fall asleep, then go back to bed.
Turn Off the Television
While it may seem like a great idea to nod off while watching your favorite reality television show, research has shown that it’s terrible for your ability to get to sleep. People who binge watch television right before bed were found to have trouble getting sleep, then have worse quality of sleep once they were asleep. Why? Because binge-watching your favorite show right before bed actually keeps your brain stimulated, so it will have difficulty shutting down and letting you sleep. You can wind down with a little TV, but watch a single episode and then turn it off.
Create an Hour to Power Down
A sleep routine is the cornerstone of healthy sleep. You need to do something to help your body relax and your mind power down at the end of the day. In the hour before sleep, perform some relaxation exercises, take 20 minutes to do your hygiene routine, and then a final 20 minutes doing a non-stimulating activity you enjoy. That may help you to get to sleep faster and stay that way!
Sleep is so important to your overall health, so try to get the right amount to be at your very best!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Albuquerque, N.M.