The best night activities are activities that relax you and prepare for sleep.
If you have trouble falling asleep, avoiding external stimuli about an hour before bedtime may help.
Stimulation, like watching TV, keeps the brain active and alert. If you find it difficult to quit TV before going to bed, try to choose calming rather than aggressive and action-packed programs.
When reducing nighttime stimulation to promote healthy sleep habits, try the following tips:
• Keep your bedroom away from the TV. This will help your body and mind connect the bedroom with sleep.
• Do not exercise three hours before bed. Remember that exercise can wake up your body, and unless you do good physical exercise before you plan to go to bed, it will adversely affect you when you try to fall asleep.
• Plan to relax after going out and going home. If you go directly to bed, your body and mind may not have enough time to decompress and enter your night routine.
• Try to read. Non-technical reading can help you feel tired. Avoid materials that are too complex or work-related.
• Avoid falling asleep without turning off the lights. This will wake you up at night and disrupt your sleep cycle and bedtime.
The goal is to determine the boundary between stimulation and relaxation when deciding how to relax. Being able to relax at night is essential to achieving natural sleep.
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7. Stay Away from Internal Stimulants Although there are many external stimulants in your environment, there are also some that can affect your body from the inside.
These products that affect how you feel, think, and relax contain caffeine, sugar, and chemicals. Although you do not need to completely eliminate these foods from your diet, you should be careful and make sure not to eat them after dinner to avoid difficulty falling asleep.
• Caffeinated beverages. Caffeine wakes up your mind and body by increasing your heart rate. Because of its effect, it is considered a stimulant. Coffee, cola, tea and chocolate drinks all contain caffeine. Drink the last caffeinated beverage at least 3-4 hours before bed to avoid difficulty falling asleep.
• Chocolate. Chocolate contains caffeine and sugar, both of which are stimulants and can make you sleep well. Do not drink chocolate 2-3 hours before going to bed.
• Alcohol. Although alcoholic beverages can make you feel tired and help you fall asleep, sleep is usually not peaceful. For example, you may wake up in the middle of the night feeling dehydrated and then have difficulty falling asleep again. Like any other potentially addictive drug, you should not rely on alcohol to fall asleep at night.
• Smoke. Tobacco contains nicotine, which is a stimulant. When the level of nicotine in your blood drops, your body's dependence on nicotine can cause your body to wake up. Try not to smoke a few hours before going to bed.
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Caffeine in Common Beverages and Drugs Beverages
Brewed coffee, drip method, 5 oz cup 60-180 mg caffeine Instant coffee, 5 oz. cup
30-120 mg caffeine
Decaffeinated coffee, 5 oz. cup
1-5 mg caffeine
Brewed tea, 5 oz. cup
60-180 mg caffeine
Instant tea, 5 oz. cup
25-50 mg caffeine
Iced Tea, 12 oz. cup
67-76 mg caffeine
Cola, 12 oz. cup
36-47 mg caffeine
Chocolate
Dark/semisweet, 1 oz.
5-35 mg caffeine
Non-prescription Drugs
Dexatrim
200 mg caffeine
No Doz
100 mg caffeine
Excedrin
65 mg caffeine
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Diet affects your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.
By eating a healthy diet low in processed foods, sugars, fats, and preservatives, you may find that you can stop the insomnia cycle and improve your overall health.
Consider the following healthy sleep diet guidelines:
• Follow the recommended daily fruit and vegetable guidelines.
• Increase the complex carbohydrates in the diet.
• Eat low-fat protein and consider meat alternatives such as tofu or veggie burgers.
• Avoid spicy and heavy foods.
• If you need a snack before going to bed, keep it low in fat and sugar.
• Eat your last meal four hours or more before bed.
• Try not to overeat during late night meals, because you may feel drowsy immediately after eating. Or, make sure you eat enough so that you don't feel hungry before going to bed.
• Drink plenty of water throughout the day. A well-hydrated body will not wake up at night due to dehydration. Drinking eight glasses is equivalent to drinking 2 liters of water a day.
Watch out for food allergies that can subtly cause sleep disorders.
Common food allergies that may affect sleep patterns are wheat, dairy products, corn, and chocolate.
A healthy and balanced diet will help you become a healthier person.
General health is an important factor in whether you can fall asleep naturally.
If your daily food intake is healthy, your body and mind will be healthy and well nourished, helping you sleep well and not waking up at night.
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9. Get Rid of Anxiety and Worries When you try to fall asleep, are you a person who is full of thoughts about your family, your finances, your work, and your future?
Is it difficult for you to stop thinking and/or worry about falling asleep long enough?
If your brain is busy before going to bed, it can cause constant tossing and turning and insomnia.
If you are worried about your life situation, there are some techniques you can use to help you forget your worries and fall asleep.
First of all, remember that now is the time to go to bed, and stressful situations and events will appear tomorrow.
Try to make a "worry notebook". In the notebook designated for this purpose, list the causes of your stress and anxiety before going to bed.
Then look at the list and determine which items can be covered tomorrow.
Your to-do list for tomorrow will become your to-do list for the next day.
This will help you have more control and a positive sense of the situation.
In a separate section of the notebook, create a list of things that are relevant to you but are beyond your control.
Reconfirm that you have no right to change these things.
When you have completed your checklist, put away your notebook and remind yourself that you have erased these things from your mind and written them on paper, and you will not think about them until tomorrow.
If you find yourself thinking about these stressors at night, keep in mind that you have put your notebook aside until morning, and it is bedtime.
Another way to get rid of worries and anxiety is to keep a diary every day.
In addition to the daily record, be sure to include the things that bother you and cause you stress.
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The main goal of this exercise is to write down your feelings on paper so that you can avoid thinking and worrying about them overnight.
For both techniques, writing down your anxiety and worrying behaviors allows you to rest at night and manage your emotions the next day.
In addition to these techniques, consider using the relaxation techniques detailed in the previous chapter.
Yoga and soothing music or soothing sounds can help you clear your mind. Consider reading lightly to keep your mind away from worrying thoughts.
Teaching your brain to relax will make it easier for you to sleep well.