How To Get A Good Night’s Sleep--Improving The Quality of Your Sleep

We all know that we need good quality sleep in order to function properly. But how to get it? Our lives are so stress-filled that, while we’re physically exhausted at the end of the day, our minds are still churning away. Worries and anxieties keep us awake into the wee small hours of the night, and counting sheep just doesn’t cut it anymore. Yes, we know that getting a good night’s sleep is crucial to our health, that we should wind down at the end of the day, do yoga, and meditate, but who has the time? You want some tips, a quick fix, maybe a pill (preferably natural, safe and non-habit forming), and you want it right now, or at least before your bedtime tonight, which, incidentally, is looming ever closer.

Before you lose any more sleep, consider this. Inadequate or poor quality sleep not only makes you feel lousy, impairs your memory and your physical and mental performance, it can also suppress your immune system, increasing your susceptibility to all kinds of diseases. To add insult to injury, since your body produces growth hormone during sleep, lack of it can age you prematurely. A study has even found that people with long-term insomnia have a three times greater risk of dying, from any cause.

We’re talking serious stuff here. So listen up. It’s time for a major re-haul of your sleep habits, and I don’t just mean what you get up to in the privacy of your boudoir. I’m proposing steps you can take to improve the quality of your sleep, and as we don’t always know what’s causing our insomnia, let’s take the various causes into account and address them one by one.

Environmental causes (those pertaining to the ambience of your sleep sanctuary) are easy to pinpoint and just as easy to fix. Lifestyle changes require more effort and time, but are ultimately rewarding, not just improving the quality of your sleep but the quality of your life as well. Establishing a bedtime routine is the last step to ensure you get the best quality sleep every single night.

Environment

It’s important to think of your bedroom as your sanctuary. As a place for rest and repose, it requires the right ambience. You do not want any distractions that will stop you from getting a good night’s sleep. You certainly do not want anything, e.g. light or EMFs (electro-magnetic fields) disrupting your body’s production of the sleep hormones, melatonin and serotonin.

1. Darkness

§ With the lights off, your bedroom should be as dark as possible. Make sure the curtains are dark and thick enough to block out any sunlight and that they close completely, not allowing even the slightest chink of light to get through any gaps. If this is not possible, use an eye mask.

§ Do not have any of your computers, laptops, cell phones, or any other techno personal devices blinking while you sleep. Turn them all off completely. They should not even be in your bedroom in the first place (because of the EMFs they produce).

2. EMF

§ Do not have a digital alarm clock close to you on your bedside table. Either replace it with an old-fashioned battery-operated alarm clock, or move the digital clock at least an armslength away and facing away from you so the display does not shine onto your eyelids. Better yet, invest in a 'sun alarm' that simulates a natural waking to daylight.

§ Do not have a cordless phone right beside you on your bedside table. Do away with the constantly emitting electromagnetic radiation by removing it or replacing it with an old-fashioned phone with a cord.

3. Temperature

§ The ambient temperature should be cool, not warm. Aim for between 60F(16C) and 70F(21C). Quite a bit cooler than what you’d consider comfy during the day.

§ During the summer, if you turn the air-con on, make sure the thermostat cuts off before it gets too cold. Make sure you have a light blanket or duvet for cover.

§ In the winter, whatever your thermostat is during the day, you want it down a notch while you’re sleeping. If your feet tend towards coldness, for heaven’s sake wear socks to bed and kick them off when your toes warm up.

Lifestyle Choices

§ If you’re not physically tired by the end of the day, you need to exercise. Establish an exercise routine that you will actually follow. Exercising in the morning has been found to be the best time, never immediately before bedtime.

§ Losing weight (through diet and exercise) can help improve quality of sleep. Being overweight puts you at higher risk of sleep apnoea, a dangerous condition that can seriously impair your sleep and your health.

§ If you are menopausal or peri-menopausal, hormonal changes may be causing symptoms that prevent good quality sleep, so get help from a naturopathic doctor.

§ Your bed is for sleeping, not for work—do not take your laptop into bed with you. No pets either. If your partner snores, consider separate bedrooms. If either of you snores to excess (missing a breath here and there), get checked for sleep apnoea.

§ Reduce your alcohol intake (cut out that ‘nightcap’—it’s not helping).

§ No caffeine (coffee, tea, unless decaf) in the evening, perhaps even afternoon if your body is sensitive to caffeine.

§ Go to bed before 11pm to get the best quality ‘beauty’ sleep.

§ For dinner, make sure you have some protein (your body needs L-tryptophan to produce melatonin and serotonin) and a small piece of fruit (e.g. banana, which is itself high in trytophan).

§ Don’t eat or drink within an hour or two of bedtime.

§ Increase the melatonin in your body naturally with exposure to sunlight during the day (full spectrum flourescent bulbs in the winter) and complete darkness at night, in order to restore your body’s circadian rhythm. If this is not possible, consider a melatonin supplement, which has been shown to increase sleepiness, help you fall asleep more quickly, and increase your ability to stay asleep during the night.

Bedtime Routine

Kids have a bedtime routine, for the sole purpose of preparing them for their night’s repose, ushering them gently and consistently towards slumber. No reason why grown-ups shouldn’t have one as well. Establish your own bedtime routine by winding down from the day’s stresses. Put aside your work, engage in some pleasant light reading and put on some soft music. If you have time, indulge in a hot bath replete with aromatherapeutic bath salts or a massage. If not, light a diffuser with judiciously-chosen essential oils or try some herbal remedies in the form of tea or tablet. Better yet, hug a herb-filled pillow close to you and drop off to dreamland accompanied by the smell of calming herbs and flowers.

§ Don’t work or watch TV/DVD right up to bedtime. Read a book (nothing too taxing, and certainly not horror) or listen to calming music. Invest in a few relaxation CDs. There are ‘guided meditation’ ones that are specifically designed to promote a peaceful night’s sleep.

§ Aromatherapy (essential oils in diffusers, bath oils, bath salts, massage oils) is pleasant and inexpensive.

§ Herbal remedies (tablet or teas/tisanes or dried herbs in pillows) have been in use for hundreds of years.

§ If your mind is still churning away, jot down your thoughts in a notebook and call it your journal.

§ Look into alternative therapies such as EFT/MTT (emotional freedom technique/meridian tapping technique) to resolve emotional issues that may be stressing you out.

§ The Silva Sleep technique is another one to add to your arsenal of sleep-inducing techniques.

So there you have it, a game plan to help you get a good night’s sleep. By eliminating stressors within your bedroom, you optimize your immediate environment for sleeping. By adopting a healthy lifestyle, you improve the quality of your sleep, resulting in an improvement in your mood and energy levels throughout your day. By establishing a restful bedtime routine, you propel yourself gently into a mood conducive to slumber, leaving the worries and stresses of your day behind. Sleep tight!