This is a big topic, but giving yourself the gift of sleep is vital to your wellness. Included below are some sleep hygiene tips to help you fall asleep quickly and easily. If you have employed these things and are still struggling, there may be more to evaluate. We have some great tools to try including melatonin, herbal formulas, and checking your cortisol and neurotransmitter levels. Some people need further assistance and will need to have a sleep study done to determine if there’s a more complex sleep disorder happening. In any case, you will benefit from investigating the underlying cause of your sleep related imbalances. Many of us know the hard way, that sleep is precious and delicious!
Sleep Hygiene Tips:
- Turn off screens 30 minutes before bedtime. If you must be on a screen closer to bedtime, be sure to turn off blue light on screens. You can use an app or set a time for night mode on an iPhone.
- Keep the temperature in the bedroom cool.
- Create a ritual to signal winding down at the end of the day. Examples are 10 deep breaths, journaling, meditation or prayers, etc.
- Keep the room dark. Consider room darkening curtains to block out excess light.
- Do not do work or other activities like watching TV in the bedroom. Create an association with calmness and sleep in the bedroom.
- Avoid stimulating activities near bedtime. This is not the right time for exercise as that will boost your cortisol levels. Cortisol works in opposition with melatonin, our sleep hormone.
- Consider white noise to support sleep and drown out any outside noise that may wake you. You can run a fan in your bedroom, buy a white noise machine, or download this white noise app on your phone.
- If you’re not falling asleep within 20 minutes or so, get up and do something else for 15- 20 minutes, then try again. Lying in bed getting frustrated is only going to create a negative association and that is the opposite of these tips.
Remember we are here for you, if you are having sleep concerns that these tips are not addressing, please give us a call!