Sleep Hygiene

If you have an overactive mind like me you may experience sleeplessness in your life. For some people poor sleep comes in stages and for others it is a consistent problem that can affect your happiness and well being. I have always envied people who can fall asleep anywhere at anytime and soak up 8 hours of unadulterated shut eye. Due to my own lifetime battle with getting a good night’s sleep, and having been through sleep therapy, I have had an active interest in the study of sleep for more than ten years. In this section of the site I will be discussing various issues surrounding sleep and do my very best to pass on my knowledge and most of all try to help you get a better night’s sleep.

There are numerous factors that can affect a person’s sleep, but for now I would like to concentrate on what I know to be a tried and tested method of getting your body back to achieving a healthy amount of sleep.

When I was first put on a course of ‘sleep hygiene’ I could not believe how obvious it was that this could solve my problem. I was involved in the music industry at the time and my bedtimes were so varied it was not helping my already bad sleep habits.

So, for the next two weeks you need to go to bed at the same time every night, and adhere to the 6 steps below.

1. Let your Body know it is Time for Bed

Develop a ‘bedtime ritual’ that involves at least three things your body can begin to associate with preparing to sleep. These may include:

• Washing and cleansing your face
• Brushing your teeth
• Changing into bed clothes
• Having a shower (may cause stimulation for some people, others find it relaxing)
• Putting your dirty plate and mug out into the kitchen, turning off all the lights and shutting the doors
• Putting the dog out in the garden for 5 minutes
• Switching off all electrical equipment

You may already do some of these things and they may seem like obvious things to do before bed. You will be surprised though how many people shut their computer down or turn the television off and head immediately off to bed thinking that they will sleep straight away. For many of us sleep is not that straight forward and our body needs some signals to let it know that now is the time to wind down and sleep. Do at least 3 of the above in routine order each night, take your time doing them and do not rush, be methodical and enjoy the winding down of the last minutes of your day.

2. The Bedroom is a Sleep Sanctuary not a Playroom

Do not watch television or play on a computer in your bedroom, the bedroom should be a place that the body associates with sleep not with brain stimulating activities.

Reading in bed before you sleep can be helpful to some people, it can take your mind off of the stresses of work or any troubles you may have and engage your thoughts within the story. Try not to sit in your bedroom at all when you return home from work, your bedroom is where you sleep not where you should eat or stay for long periods of time. When you do go to bed make sure your bedside lamp has a soft bulb in it, this will help relax you if you decide to read for a while, bright lights can stimulate the brain.

3. Falling Asleep

If you do not fall asleep after 20 -30 minutes then try the following technique.

Breathe in deeply through your nose and hold your breath for 5 seconds, now blow out through your mouth, repeat this ten times. This is a great technique for those who feel anxious about sleeping and get frustrated when they cannot fall asleep. This technique will slow your heart rate down and make you feel relaxed

Becoming anxious and frustrated increases your stress levels and the chances of falling asleep are minimised.

Do not lie in bad for more than 30-40 minutes if you cannot sleep. If you feel yourself becoming stressed or frustrated then you must get up and leave the environment you are sleeping in and go into another room. Do something very easy that does not require too much brain power or attention. Watch a boring late night news program or a silly film. Reading celebrity magazines are ideal as they do not require you to absorb complicated words and the pictures are really telling the story for you. After a while you will start to feel ready for bed again and can go back to your bedroom.

The point of this exercise reiterates point number 2. We must let the body know that our bedroom is a place of rest and for sleep. By leaving the room we are triggering a new habit for our body that tells the brain that the bedroom is for sleeping and feeling tired in. If we do not feel tired or are not falling asleep then we leave the room and come back when we are prepared to sleep again.

4. Get out of Bed at the Same Time Everyday

This is the most important step in rediscovering that wonderful yawn after yawn tired feeling before bed. For the two weeks you take on this sleep hygiene you MUST regardless of what time you fall asleep wake up at the same time everyday for these two weeks. You may very well be tired the next day and yawn a lot but believe me you will start to sleep like a dream within a couple of nights. Regardless of whether you have work the next day or not you must wake at the same time, this technique starts to give your body a routine. When your body starts to realise it has to wake at this time everyday it will want to sleep at least 6-8 hours before this time. You will notice how tired you start to become before bedtime. Use an alarm clock but pay close attention to point 5.

The biggest and most obvious contributing factor to poor sleep patterns is going to bed at different times and waking up at a variety of times. Lying in bed in the morning falling in and out of sleep is not good for your sleep pattern.

5. Clock Watching

I know the feeling. You are lying there not awake worrying about that important meeting at 9am which you are destined to feel shattered for. You keep looking at the clock getting even more stressed and basically decreasing your chances of getting any sleep.

DO NOT look at the clock at all during the night, set your alarm by all means but turn the clock around and do not look at it. No matter what time you fall asleep, even if it is light outside do not look at the clock. When we clock watch we start doing sums in our heads working out how many hours sleep we would get if we went off now or perhaps in 30 minutes time. This heightens stress levels, we become frustrated and our chances of a good sleep deteriorate.

6. Do not Stress or Obsess

Having a bad nights sleep or even two or three is not actually going to make a massive difference to your life. You may feel a bigger afternoon dip of tiredness and be a bit less talkative but in terms of work performance the adrenalin in your body will get you through. Do not obsess about sleep, do not think throughout the day “I must sleep well tonight or I will pass out tomorrow”, or even “my work will suffer and my boss will sack me”. If you must say anything to yourself use powerful positive expressions such as “I will sleep well tonight”. Bad sleep can become as much psychological as it is physical, the more we obsess about not sleeping the worse it will get. It is a well known fact that top sportsmen do not sleep well before a big event yet this seldom affects their ability to compete and win.

Please note that I do not under any circumstance recommend using sleeping pills or any other form of medication. Sleeping pills are a temporary fix and induce an unnatural sleep, they are addictive and do not address the problem. Your body just needs re-training not medicating! There are some great natural alternatives specifically designed for sleep which help your body relax and switch off. I recommend these sleep hypnosis downloads because they are safe and very reasonably priced. They take a little getting used to but that is because we are just not used to giving ourselves proper care and attention when it comes to relaxation.

http://www.self-help-product-reviews.com/sleephygiene

Sleep well

Peter

Note: See Peter's brand new sleep hygiene website here: http://www.goodsleephygiene.com

It's jam packed full of great advice and resources.