How To Get Better Quality Sleep
Sunday, July 26th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Looking for better quality sleep? Here’s 5 Mistakes to Avoid.
The majority of us experience poor sleep from time to time. Usually it’s only a couple of nights, but some unfortunate people sleep poorly most of the time. What then is the answer to better quality sleep? Well here’s 5 mistakes to avoid!
Don’t sleep in on weekend mornings —
It’s so tempting isn’t it? After all we don’t have to leap out of bed and catch a train. But don’t be seduced by sleeping late on weekends. You’ll upset your circadian rhythm (body clock) and your sleep pattern will be disrupted.
Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day maintains a healthy circadian rhythm. It’s one of the most important habits to acquire for a better night’s sleep.
Make sure you have something interesting planned for the weekend so you’ll want to get up early.
Having a drink or two before bed won’t help you sleep —
After all alcohol is relaxing and should help you fall asleep, shouldn’t it? Yes, alcohol does help you relax. However a few hours later it starts to metabolize in the body and can make you feel wide awake. Limit yourself to one drink with dinner if you can
Don’t work on the computer just before bed —
We get so busy sometimes that we have to squeeze things in where we can and before bed seems like an ideal time. But did you know that working on your computer, or even surfing late at night can speed up brainwave activity. Staring at the bright computer screen can affect your sleep rhythm for the night. It’s best to do your computer work in the morning and afternoon when your feeling more alert, you’ll get through it a lot faster.
Stop your worrying when you go to bed —
Now if you’re one of these worriers, I understand that it’s a very hard habit to break. This was my downfall when I was suffering from insomnia. During the day our thoughts are occupied with our daily activities, but as soon as we get into bed it seems to trigger the worry button and out thoughts come streaming into our minds, keeping us awake for hours. Even if everything in your life is going well, you can always find something to worry about!
The best anti-worry strategy is to create a worry time – say 20 minutes – before bed. Spend this time worrying solid about anything and everything. You can even have a special journal to write your worries down. When you have finished, tell yourself you will continue worrying about these things tomorrow, but tonight is for rest. This was how I broke my worry habit so give it a try.
Wait until you’re feeling sleepy before turning off the light —
Spend some time winding down before hitting the sheets. Breathing exercises are good for this or you can read for a while if this relaxes you. Reading in bed can make some people pleasantly drowsy but it can keep others awake. Try it to see how it works for you.
Hopefully knowing about these 5 mistakes will improve your bedtime habits and help you get the better quality sleep you need.
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