The following tips and recommendations will help you get to sleep faster and sleep more soundly once you’ve nodded off.
- Create a wind-down ritual
Wearing yourself to exhaustion and then plopping yourself down in bed usually isn’t the best approach. “When you don’t take time to relax, your mind can remain in a mild state of alertness, making you prone to nighttime awakenings,” says Michael Breus, Ph.D., a sleep specialist and author of Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s Four-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health. It can also create problems with insomnia. So try to stick to a schedule that lets you wind down, with a relaxing activity (reading a book, listening to a nature CD, meditation, etc.) right before you go to bed.
- Start a sleep journal
Track the patterns in your sleep for around 1 to 2 weeks. Record details such as the hours you sleep, time you went to bed, approximate time of falling asleep (recorded the next morning), wake up time and hours slept, any midnight awakenings, what happened that day (stress at work?), caffeine or alcohol consumption, bedtime rituals, and so on. (You can download a free log at markspsychiatry.com/sleepcharts)
After two weeks, sit down and look at the log. There’s a good chance you may notice certain habits or rituals that coincide with those nights you have problems getting to sleep. If so, try to address these things or alter your habits in a way that can eliminate the problem.
- Change your sleep position
Believe it or not, sleep position can also affect how well you sleep. On average, 57% of people start sleeping on their sides, 17% start on their back, and 11% on their stomach. Videotaped studies have also found that adults change their sleep position between 3 and 36 times a night, with the average person switching about a dozen (11 to 13) times. Younger people tend to switch positions more often, as the tendency to move around while asleep decreases with age. (Reddy, 2013)
Always sleeping in the same position can cause problems, and each sleep position has its advantages and disadvantages. What matters most is that your bedding is neither too firm nor soft, conforming to your body without creating pressure points. Having lots of pillows can help, since it can allow you to prop one in-between your legs if you sleep on your side or otherwise position them in a way that reduces strain on your body. If you suffer from sleep apnea, avoid sleeping on your back.
- Have more sex
Sexual activity releases all sorts of positive neurotransmitters and endorphins that can have a relaxing, calming effect, helping you get to sleep and sleep better through the night. It’s also a natural antidepressant, anti-anxiety, and delivers loads of health benefits that vastly outdo just about every other drug on the market. Yet in the same way that children under stress tend to limit play, even though that’s precisely what they need to help themselves feel better, adults under stress tend to cut back on sexual activity, even though this could improve their mood and alter their brain chemistry in a number of healthy ways. Try to find ways to get yourself in the mood.