Insomnia Tips
5 Top Tips on How to sleep Better

• feel rested and energetic for the next day
• think clearly and react quickly
• think creatively and problem solve effectively

Insufficient sleep can make you moody, irritable, grouchy, bad-tempered and downright unpleasant to be around. Chronic lack of sleep may make you feel depressed.

Other symptoms of insomnia include snoring, choking or gasping when sleeping, retless legs syndrome, difficulty falling or staying asleep and unrefreshed sleep.

Me, I can sleep almost anywhere these days, but when my kids were young neither of them slept through the night for the first four years.

'I felt like a Zombie most days from disturbed sleep
and thought it would ever end.'

Insomnia tips

• #1. The Bedroom checklist
  
  
• Is your bedroom the best possible temperature - neither too hot nor too cold?
  
• Is your Bedroom colour and decoration calm, restful and relaxing?
  Too bright a colour, too cluttered or disorganised, too bright may cause sleep problems.
  
• Is your bedroom for sleeping? Sounds like a silly question but ...
  have you confused your brain and body by anchoring a whole load of other activities to that space. Do you play computer games, watch TV til the wee small hours or is it your home office, hobby room or gym

• #2. Bedtime routine
  
  
Apparently we think routines are great for kids, especially bedtime and sleep routines, but then for ourselves we like to push our flexibility just a little too far. Result - your body clock does not know where it is. Its a bit like 'jet lag.' OK, once in a while is fine, but...


• Maintain some sort of semi-routine at the very least.
• Go to bed when you're tired and not when you think you should.
• Go to bed at a similar time each night including the weekends.
If your bedtimes vary wildly, then adjust them gradually (15 minutes intervals will do) til they are no more than 1 - 2 hours different. You'll find over time that you will wake up too, feeling energised and ready to go as your body clock adjusts.


• #3. Relax/unwind before bedtime
  
  
Had a busy day? Trying to cram in watching that horror movie, the chase thriller, the boxing match, or whatever film or activity that gets your adrenaline pumping.


• Chill out, calm down. and find time to wind down and relax before bed.
  Half an hour should do it.
• Listen to music, read something light, take a bath, have a hot milky drink.



• #4. AVOID
  
  
  • Alcohol, caffeine and other stimulants.
  • Eating a heavy meal within 2 - 3 hours of bedtime
  • Food you may be aware of that cause you to sleep badly.
  • Strenuous exercise right before bed. It tires out your muscles but makes you feel more awake.
  • Lying in bed awake, trying to get to sleep.
    If you've been there for more than 30 minutes, then get up and
    try something else.
  
  
• #5. Natural Sleep Aids
  
  
  • Relaxation or meditation tapes are a great way to get off to sleep.
    
  • Deep / belly breathing
    Inhale deeply through the nose, breathe deeply into the belly, feel your belly rise.
    As you breath out feel yourself actively relax and 'sink' a little deeper into the matress and the soft comfort of your bed.
  • Wear a sleep mask to create more darkness and to help relax the eyes
  • Fit blackout curtains or blinds to keep the room suitably dark.
  I travel to southern Spain quite regularly. Spanish villas have shutters that are lowered in the space between the window and the mosquito net. This is fantastic and creates total darkness in the room. I always sleep for much longer there as my body is unaware of sunrise.

  Insomnia Tips and Facts

  Insomnia will likely affect 1 in 4 people at some time in their lives. It may be termed transient - lasting a few days, short-term lasting up to 3 weeks, and long-term where it occurs most nights and lasts more than 3 weeks.

  ---

  Return from Insomnia Tips to Happiness 'Pirates.'