In my last blog post, I wrote about the
importance of sleep. I touched on some
of the compelling evidence about its effects on mood, concentration, and a
range of physical conditions. I also
wrote about the tendency for people to tell themselves that they can get by
with six or fewer hours of sleep. According to sleep researchers, the vast
majority of these people are kidding themselves. Their caffeine dependence,
afternoon sleepiness, difficulty staying focused and marathon sleep catch-up
sessions reveal the truth about their true sleep needs.
I hope that my last post convinced you to
take sleep seriously. Today, I provide some tips for getting a good night’s
sleep.
- Cut out caffeine 10 hours before bedtime. When you enjoy a cup of coffee or other caffeinated drink, it takes about five to seven hours to eliminate half the caffeine from your body. After eight to 10 hours, around 75% of the caffeine is gone. For most people, a cup of coffee or two in the morning won't interfere with sleep at night. But a mid-afternoon pick-me-up is a different story.
- Limit alcohol. A drink before bedtime might help you fall asleep, but it will disrupt your sleep in the middle of the night. You might find yourself lying awake at 2AM, wondering what you did to deserve this sleeplessness. Chances are likely that your nightcap was at least partly to blame.
- Exercise during the day. Regular aerobic exercise leads to better sleep quality, researchers have found. But be careful about exercising too late in the day. Some (but not all) people find evening exercise makes it difficult to get to sleep.
- Create an evening ritual for relaxing before bedtime. My ritual involves drinking chamomile tea and looking through catalogs that came in the mail that day. Other people listen to music or take a bath. Find a way to involve your senses in the process of relaxing, whether it be taste (chamomile tea), hearing (music), touch (a hot bath) or something else.
- Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning. This teaches your body a predictable rhythm for sleeping and waking. It is important to keep to the same schedule even if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep. Oversleeping or daytime napping to compensate for insomnia the night before only fuels the problem.
- Make your bedroom a relaxing and comfortable place. Do not bring work into the bed with you.
This is only a partial list. If you have recurrent insomnia, you probably
will need to take additional measures. I
list a few resources below.
Sleep well!
Additional resources on getting a good night's sleep:
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