Sleep Hygiene: Top Tips on How to Get a Good Nights Sleep
Sleep hygiene is an important daily task that everyone should consider as vital to overall well-being. Not taking care of our sleep hygiene can be seriously damaging to our health and can result in motor vehicle or workplace accidents, development of depression or anxiety, weight gain, chronic disease and decreased life expectancy.
What can be done to improve your Sleep Hygiene?
Environment: Make sure you have a quiet, darkened room with no light sources. If you are unable to control the noise or brightness of your room then earplugs and an eye mask are easy things to try.
Sleep Routine: Set a regular bedtime and wake up time that is the same every day. It is important to get into sync with your body's natural sleep-wake cycle.
Bedtime Routine: Creating a set of habits to run through at night as this will help your body recognize that it’s time to unwind. Some ideas are 30 to 60 minutes before bed, read a book, take a warm shower or bath or write in your journal. Any activity that is not alerting can comprise part of this nightly routine.
Avoid ingesting: caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, energy drinks or any stimulus and food/fluid ingestion leading up to sleep.
Avoid using: using computers, tablets, phones and televisions. Blue light from these devices affects the release of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. If you need to use your laptop late at night, you can download a program called f.lux which changes the light settings to display less blue light.
Exercise regularly: Physical activity improves sleep quality and increases sleep duration. Exercise also helps with prevention and management of chronic disease, reduces stress, gives you more energy and helps control your mood.
Get a massage: Massage has been shown to potentially improve sleep and lead to relaxation.
Get your stress under control: Meditation, mindfulness, and deep breathing exercises have been shown to help manage stress levels.
Napping: Try to avoid napping throughout the day, and if you cannot avoid taking a nap keep it to 30 minutes and aim for earlier in the day.
Supplements: Magnesium supplements have been shown to improve insomnia and sleep efficiency. Magnesium is a vital mineral that is involved in over 300 different processes of the body. It helps as a muscle relaxant, improves immune system health, regulates the blood pressure, and promotes the breakdown of carbohydrates, fat, and protein.
Do you want to improve your sleep? Book a consultation with our osteopath now.
Written by Osteopath Ashley Gudgeon
Absolute Health & Performance- Osteopath Services Melbourne CBD.
