There are many factors that can interfere with a good night's sleep. Pressure at work, a hectic lifestyle, family circumstances, stress and illness to name but a few. For most of us it's not possible to drop everything and implement drastic change, but the benefits of sleep don't have to be a case of 'all or nothing'.
Here are some of my top tips and tricks for a good night's sleep.
Mumsomnia and Night-time Waking
If you find you can't get to sleep within 20 minutes of getting into bed, get up again. Go into another room, read a book or fold laundry, just do something in a different space. If you've got stuff on your mind, get them out of your head or onto paper by keeping a journal in your bedside drawer.
When you feel yourself getting sleepy go back to bed and try again. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, stay in bed. Conserve your energy by lying still and being calm and relaxed.
Be mindful and welcome your thoughts and emotions.
15 Minutes More
Increasing your sleep by as little as 15 minutes a night can immediately and drastically improve the way you feel and function. Start with a little more sleep by setting the alarm for 5 minutes extra. After a couple of days, extend this to 8 minutes and so forth.
If you start treating yourself to an extra 15 minutes shut-eye tonight you can start to soak up the health rewards right away.
Eat to Sleep
What you eat and when you eat during the day can have a big impact on how well you sleep at night. The first step is to eat a balanced, nutritious meal with snacks, evenly spaced throughout the day, as well as drinking 8 glasses of filtered water.
Eat too little during the day, and you'll overstuff yourself in the evening, leading to a night of tossing, turning, and indigestion. Eat too little for dinner, and you might find yourself lying awake, longing for a trip to the fridge.
Timing Your Main Meal
Consume your main meal about four hours prior to bedtime. Include complex carbohydrates and foods rich in tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid and an essential chemical, which helps to build protein.
Consuming it late in the day will release melatonin and serotonin for good sleep. It speeds up the onset of sleep and decreases the level of spontaneous awakenings during your sleep. It is found in meat, fish, greens, and eggs.
Bedtime Snacks
Include a bedtime snack. Foods that contain calcium, magnesium and potassium are good choices, since these minerals support healthy nerve and muscle function and can help muscles relax.
Some bedtime snacks you could consider to help you sleep include:
- Nuts and tofu
- Cheese and crackers
- Cereal with milk
- Banana slices on whole wheat toast
- Peanut butter sandwich
- Tart cherry juice
- Dried goji berries
- Fresh raspberries
- Almonds and walnuts
Avoid Afternoon Slump
Afternoon slumps are a major mojo zapper and how we handle them can make or break your sleep routine. Afternoon naps are bad news, no matter how good an idea it might seem at the time. Unless you are suffering from night-time sleep deprivation with a newborn, you should try to avoid afternoon naps at all costs.
But that doesn't mean reaching for sugary or fatty foods to give you a pick-me up. The boost is short-lived, followed by a slump, and in turn will lead to poor quality sleep.
Natural Energy Alternatives
If you struggle mid-afternoon, try a 10-minute relaxing meditation, or a walk around the block. Both are great ways to increase your energy naturally.
Limit your intake of caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine can disrupt normal sleep patterns. You may be able to fall asleep, but you don't stay asleep. And that makes it harder to reach the deepest (and most restful DELTA) stage of sleep.
The general rule of thumb is to avoid caffeine after 2pm.
Move Your Body
You need to ensure you have moved your body during the day to ensure that you are physically tired as well as mentally tired at bedtime. Apart from relieving stress (which can trigger insomnia) exercising in the afternoon or early evening can also help you fall asleep by raising your body temperature a few hours before bed.
This allows it to fall as you are ready for sleep later in the evening. A fall in body temperature is one of the triggers for sleep.
Sleep Schedule
Stick to a sleep schedule by consistently waking up and retiring at the same time every day. Yes, even on weekends! Your best bet is to pick a schedule that will allow you to sleep for at least 7 hours a night.
So, if you like to get up at 5am for gratitude rituals or exercise, you need to get to sleep earlier. Do whatever you can to get to sleep at your chosen time each night, including getting the kids to bed at a regular time, and keep practising until it becomes a habit.
In time you will be able to train your body to get tired, go to sleep and wake up at the required time feeling refreshed. You may not even need an alarm clock!
Relaxing Bedtime Ritual
Don't let that rascal, cortisol (the stress hormone), get the best of you! Have a routine every night that relaxes you and cues sleep time is coming. If your bedtime is 10pm, try switching off TV, mobile phone and other electronics at 9pm.
Your bedtime routine might include:
- Making yourself a night time camomile drink that is conducive to sleep
- Taking a warm bath with lavender oil
- Removing make-up and brushing your teeth
- Dimming the lights
- Taking stress herbs or a magnesium supplement
- Writing in a journal
- Doing some yoga stretches
- Reading a book
To raise melatonin (your sleep hormone) turn off the laptop and instead listen to a guided meditation before bed to help you get mentally ready for sleep. Try Take A Break, a free app with guided meditations for achieving Zen in as little as seven minutes.
Bedroom Ambiance
Save your bedroom for sleeping (and sex). Think relaxation and release rather than work and entertainment. This means not watching TV, texting, working or scrolling through Facebook.
Make sure the room is cool. When it's time for lights out, make sure that the room is completely dark. Darkness cues your body to release the natural sleep hormone melatonin, which is crucial for falling asleep, while light suppresses it.
Even the smallest amount of light will affect your release of melatonin. If you have to have an alarm clock or phone plugged in, try turning them away from you or covering them to black out the light.
The darker it is the better you'll sleep throughout the night and wake up with your mojo in full flow!
