Insomnia is incredibly common, and it can begin to influence many different areas of an individual’s life. It can be disruptive to work, and take a toll on your social life as well. What’s even worse, is the more trouble you have sleeping, the more it could start to take over your thoughts. Experts say that many people will begin to feel stress and anxiety when it comes time to sleep, and many dread the idea of sleep because they know they will just toss and turn all night long. The agony over potential sleep difficulties could only serve to make insomnia worse.
There are some measures you can take though to ensure that you get a good night of sleep. Rather, this is a little bit of a back door list, as it involves the top things you should not do if you struggle with insomnia.
Fighting Insomnia and Sleep Problems – What NOT To Do.
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1) Don’t Get Too Much Light After Dark
Making certain that “lights out” means just that is very important. Noise, light, and being too warm can all lead to sleep problems and insomnia. An eye mask or blackout curtains can shield your eyes from the light and help you to gear down after dark.
2) Don’t Go Against Your Clock
While it could be tricky, try and support your natural sleep cycle by going to bed and getting up at around the same time every day, and that includes weekends, too. You might be tired at first, but getting up at the same time every day “trains” your body when to sleep.
3) Don’t Nap
This one should be obvious, but many people can’t help themselves from tucking in for a few minutes (or hours) when it isn’t bedtime. Be warned, napping during the day can make it hard to sleep during the night. Experts advise that if it is absolutely necessary to take a nap, make sure you do it early afternoon, and for less than 30 minutes. This will minimize the impact on your nightly sleep schedule.
4) Don’t Stress
And not just mental stress. Physical stress right before bedtime can make for poor sleep quality as your body has begun the process of amping up, rather than relaxing and slowing down. Exercise, talking about stressful things, arguing with your partner, as well as the use of electronics shouldn’t take place just before bed.
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5) Don’t Use Stimulants
Another easy one, but you need to consider how long the particular stimulant is affecting you. Coffee, for example can still be in your system for up to 8 hours. So that means in order for that coffee not to affect you, you need to stop drinking it 8 hours before you plan to go to bed, which might not be as easy as it sounds.
The quality of your sleep is very important, but on top of this eliminating the stress that could be associated with your sleep problems and insomnia could be the root of the issue. Sleeping pills might work in the short term, but nipping the problem in the bud is one of the most important things you could do to begin sleeping better tonight
Related Reading: Your tiredness could be hypersomnia
