Everyone has had a bad night sleep. Some of us haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time. These people go by the title of ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad,’ but on a serious note, we need to all be getting better sleep. Here are some tips that can help you rest easy.
1. Go to bed as cold as you can manage. That means taking off the quilt or that extra piece of clothing before you try and sleep. Tucking in slightly cooler can help you fall asleep faster.
2. Avoid caffeine 8 hours before bed. Caffeine in the afternoon may not prevent you from sleeping but it may prevent you from getting into a deeper stage of sleep.
Further Reading: http://www.sleepeducation.org/news/2013/08/01/sleep-and-caffeine
3. Exercise: A study showed that a good workout led to better sleep for twice as many respondents in the 2013 American National Sleep Foundation poll, but not within 2 hours of going to sleep.
Further reading: https://sleepfoundation.org/media-center/national-sleep-foundation-poll-finds-exercise-key
4. Avoiding emotional topics before bedtime. Stressful topics less than an hour before sleep can affect your deep sleep. So, keep your bickering to mornings and lunchtime All Stars!
5. Get the Tv & iPads out of your bedroom. Bright screens can cause increased alertness leaving us ‘less ready’ for sleep. Repeated use of a bright screen for 5 consecutive days can also result in a body clock delay of 1.5 hours, meaning that you want to fall asleep later and wake up later too.
Which is a major problem for you morning boot campers!
Further reading: https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/public-information/fact-sheets-a-z/802-technology-sleep.html
6. Alcohol: According to studies alcohol does allow people to fall asleep faster but it’s more disruptive to your sleep during the second half of the night. The more you drink the more disruptive.
Further reading: https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20130118/alcohol-sleep#1
7. Magnesium Supplements: magnesium helps reduce cortisol, the stress hormone that can keep you up at night. I started taking magnesium almost 5 months ago and it’s really helped me sleep through the night. I can’t see myself ever stopping now!
Further reading: https://paleoleap.com/magnesium/