Don’t let night sweats keep you awake. Here are 11 things you can do right now to get a good night’s sleep.
When it comes to symptoms of menopause, insomnia tops the list of complaints. Physicians are not sure how your low level of hormones affects your sleep but in some cases it can be the other symptoms such as nights sweats that is keeping you wake at night.
Do you find yourself tossing and turning every night? Do you wake up in the middle of the night sometimes for no apparent reason and struggle to go back to sleep? Insomnia is any of the aforementioned sleeping difficulty that you might have. It varies from woman to woman.
When you wake up in the morning (if you managed to get a wink of sleep at all), you may feel sluggish, tired and even irritable. Not having a good night’s sleep can even affect your memory and concentration, cause weight gain and can even weaken your immune system, putting you at risk of disease.
All this sounds very bad, but what can you do about it that doesn’t include sleeping pills or some crazy nighttime ritual that you can’t be bothered with?
Well, let’s take a look at 11 things you can do today to improve your sleep by tonight:
Who doesn’t love a good midday nap after having a big lunch? But did you know that can interfere with your ability to fall asleep at night?
Sure, power naps are great in the day to give your eyes and brain a few minutes to rest but should last no more than 30 minutes.
Any longer than that will confuse your body’s internal clock and make you toss and turn at night. You might not even be tired enough to fall asleep. When you finally feel tired, it’s time to get up and the cycle continues until you get your sleeping schedule back on track.
While some medication can cause you to feel drowsy, others can make it harder for you to fall asleep. This is because they contain stimulants such as caffeine or pseudoephedrine that keep your mind alert.
Talking to your doctor about the ingredients of your medicine to see if this is the reason behind your sleeplessness. If it is, explore alternative medicines or ask for a sleep aid.
Working out is great. It can improve your health, give you that beach body you’ve always wanted and even help you to sleep better.
You might think that working out right before bed will get you tired enough, but it can backfire and keep you up longer. This is because exercise stimulates your entire body, gets your blood pumping and releases certain hormones, like adrenaline, that keeps the body alert.
Try to keep your workout routines in the day time or at least five hours before you are ready to go to bed.
During the day, your bright light exposure should be high. This helps your body’s natural clock to distinguish day from night, i.e awake time versus sleep time.
This natural clock is called the circadian rhythm and regulates certain hormones such as melatonin in the brain. Having natural bright light from the sun promotes a healthy sleep pattern and increases the amount of energy you have in the daytime.
In one study where participants had their bright light exposure increased, it took about 77.5% to 90% less time to fall asleep at night. They also slept longer and felt more energized in the day.
This bright light doesn’t even have to come from the sun, it can come from bright store-bought lights if you don’t leave the house often.
At night, your bright light exposure should be low. If you are still exposed to bright light, your brain will be tricked into thinking it’s still daytime and will cause you to stay awakelonger.
Bright light exposure can come from blue light-emitting devices such as laptops, tablets, phones, and TVs. To reduce the effect this has on your sleep cycle, reduce exposure in the evening by wearing glasses that block blue light, install apps that reduce blue light emissions from your devices or turn them off at least two hours before going to bed.
This will say to your body, hey it’s nighttime, time to go to bed.
Caffeine is any working adult’s best friend and can help to boost concentration, focus, and energy in the morning. Why do you think coffee shops will never go out of business?
In the morning, it’s fine but in the evening when your body is supposed to start winding down naturally, it can make it super hard for you to fall asleep.
The thing is, caffeine stays in your body for up to 10 hours , enough time to get you through the workday and back home. At 9 am, it’s fine since it will be out of your system by 5 pm but having it in the late afternoon is not recommended .
As it relates to alcohol, sure it can be a good nightcap sometimes but it also has the effect of making it hard to stay asleep. You can wake up several times in the night since it interferes with your melatonin production and messes with your circadian rhythm. Drink some chamomile tea instead.
Snacking before bed and having full meals before going to sleep can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Some teas, sodas, and chocolate contain caffeine which can keep you up later than you need to be.
Drinking lots of liquids can cause you to wake up in the middle of the nigh cold to use the bathroom. Going to bed before your food has a chance to digest can also cause digestive issues and force you to tend to an upset stomach.
Part of the reason many persons find it so difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep is that they are so stressed out. They stay up thinking about everything that happened during the day, what will happen tomorrow and in the future.
If you’re like this, then you need to stop doing that and relax. Relaxation can help you to go to bed sooner and can help you sleep like a baby.
You can create a night time relaxation routine that doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive at all. You can draw a warm bath and listen to your favorite music, or read a book while your partner gives you a relaxing “massage”.
Breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation can also put your mind at ease and help you to have a restful night’s sleep.
Your bedroom is where you will spend a good chunk of your life so it should be as comfortable as possible. You can do this by:
Reducing noise
If you live on a busy street or anywhere with a lot of external noise , this can have a pretty big impact on your quality of sleep. Reduce noise by drowning out other noises with some relaxing music or even a fan.
Removing artificial light
We already touched on how light can affect your sleep pattern, but you should also note that even small amounts of light can have an impact. Reduce light by getting thick curtains and remove artificial lights such as alarm clocks and night lights from your bedroom.
Keeping it clean
Clutter can have a huge impact on your quality of life and can even affect the way you sleep.
Having a messy, smelly bedroom can make it harder for you to enjoy being in there and even harder to fall asleep. Make sure your bed is clear of any objects, meaning no books, no laptop, none of your kid’s toys and unfolded laundry. This way you will be able to relax completely without wondering what is sticking you in the side at 3 am.
You can improve the smell by cleaning up and using air fresheners. You can even get a little, cheap diffuser with a few essential oils that promote good sleep and keep your bedroom smelling good. Having clean sheets can help as well.
Regulating temperature
Your bedroom shouldn’t be too hot or too cold since being uncomfortable makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. One study even concluded that temperature affects sleeps way more than external noises.
A good idea is to test temperatures to find out what you feel most comfortable in, which is typically warm and snug. If you experience hot flashes and night sweats then you will want to have a cooler bedroom with cooling sheets and pillows.
When it comes to sleep your body it on a sort of loop, i.e the natural clock or circadian rhythm thing we talked about earlier. That’s why you can wake up at the same time in the morning without even setting an alarm sometimes. Your body is just following a schedule.
When you mess with this schedule, like on weekends by partying or staying up super late, then you sort of mess up this schedule and your quality of sleep declines dramatically. Why do you think it’s so hard to wake up on a Monday?
Watching the clock is never a good idea since it makes any situation worse. Remember when you were in class bored and kept watching the clock? Didn’t it make it seem longer than it really was? Or if you’re late and rushing, watching the clock can make you clumsier and you’ll take much longer to get ready and out the door.
At night, watching the clock, especially on your phone, forces your eyes to keep working and stimulates your brain. The bright light doesn’t help either.
Put your alarm clock outside of your reach so that when you wake up you won’t be tempted to roll over and look at it every five minutes or so. This can help you to relax and fall asleep.
Trying to fall asleep is the worst way to fall asleep since you’re overthinking it. If you find that you definitely can’t fall asleep, try one of the relaxation techniques or read a book ( a hardcopy) until you get tired again.
These 11 tips are all you really need to have a good night’s sleep. If they don’t work, it might be an indication of a bigger issue.
Talk to your doctor to rule out any possible sleep disorders and for more tips on how to get a good night’s sleep.
