It’s fair to say that many of us suffer with a bad night’s sleep these days. The current climate we live in makes it almost impossible to not have some form of stress or anxiety.
For some, that can be crippling, with insomnia keeping us up all night. It happens with many other conditions too. The inability to sleep can be prominent with those suffering illness, addiction, and more all laying awake at night starting at the ceiling.
Which, of course, is not conducive to getting better either. For example, when it comes to getting treatment for addiction, you need maximum energy to be able to go through withdrawal at a treatment centre or when going through alcohol home detox, and struggling to sleep can increase various risk factors.
But, let’s face it, everyone needs a good night’s sleep. So, whether you’re looking to overcome illness, enter recovery, or just get a sound night’s sleep before work the next day, here are some top tips to help you…
Find a daily routine
Changes to the day-to-day can be one of the biggest pitfalls when it comes to getting sleep of an evening. It makes it harder to wind down, harder to wake up and really affects sleeping patterns.
If you can find yourself a routine, in which you wake up, wind down and go to bed at a similar time each evening, then that will really help your body have expectations of when it’s time to go to bed and make falling asleep much easier.
Try to manage your anxieties and worries
We can often go about our day-to-day lives pretty easily, and it’s only at night when the demons start to speak in our ear. Lying awake in worry is one of the biggest reasons people suffer with their sleep, so managing any worries during daylight hours can be much more efficient.
There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved, from something as simple as writing a to-do list for the next day before you go to sleep, to actually reaching out and seeking help, whether that be with friends and family or getting professional help.
Better prepare your body
What we do with our bodies can hugely affect our sleep. If you’re having a cup of coffee before bed, or you’re suffering with addiction and drinking alcohol heavily each evening, then that’s not going to provide you with a good night’s sleep.
Regular exercise can also be great for sleep. However, do be aware, rigorous exercise directly before going to sleep can actually have the opposite effect.
Create a relaxed space
Ensuring the environment you are going to sleep in is a relaxed and calm space is also majorly important. You’d be surprised by what clutter can do to the brain, so make sure you have a tidy bedroom.
Additionally, it’s much easier to fall asleep in a cool, quiet and dark space, so do what you can to make the atmosphere as close to that as possible.