Getting a good night’s sleep nowadays is really a challenge for many people. Today, Stephanie is going to share with you some of her top tips to help you sleep better and deal with insomnia.
Number one, what’s the temperature in your bedroom? Our bodies are going to be a little bit more hot at nighttime, so we need the temperature in our bedroom to be a little bit cooler, experiment with this. Make your temperature setting a little bit lower than you normally would. Make sure that you’re covered with blankets. Getting the temperature correct can really resolve a lot of problems with sleep, so make it a little colder. Try to aim for mid 60s to 70 degrees and see if that helps for you. You might even have to go a little bit lower than that. Another way to help with the temperature is to take either a hot shower or hot bath right before bed. You will get hot and then you’ll cool off very quickly and will notice the drop in the temperature more and you’ll be able to sleep better.
Next, if you’re going to be on a device like a phone or a TV or computer, try to start winding down about an hour before you go to sleep. The blue light from all of these devices enters our eyes and interferes with our sleep. Another thing you can do is turn on your device’s night mode or there are plenty of apps out there that will help adjust the light settings coming out on a laptop. You can use something like f.lux. There are plenty of other apps out there that will work for this, so make sure you’re avoiding the blue light. You can even get blue light glasses just to help you avoid getting so much blue light into your eyes.
Another problem is that everyone is drinking coffee and tea and caffeinated drinks most of the day. However, if you’re having trouble sleeping, you may want to start limiting your caffeine by about 12 to 2:00 PM. You can have it in the morning. Later in the afternoon, it really might interfere with your sleep, so you may want to stop drinking anything caffeinated after that time.
An easy way is making sure that you are getting exercise on a regular basis, it is really helpful with your sleep. Make sure that you are getting in your workouts, because then your body will be able to rest better later that day.
One of the ways that Stephanie really loves and uses herself is a sound machine or white noise machine. If you have a hard time winding down your mind, and your thoughts are racing at night when you’re laying in bed this is a great option because having some kind of whooshing sound in your environment will help drown out those thoughts that continue to keep you up at night. You can use an app on your phone or you can buy a machine on Amazon. They’re not very expensive and they really make a big difference.
Essential oils are also a great, inexpensive way to help you sleep. Lavender oil is very relaxing and you can find it almost anywhere. There are a couple of ways that you can use it. You can add it to a diffuser and diffuse it throughout your room. Amazon sells diffusers in all price ranges. You can just add a few drops directly onto your pillow case, or you can use it topically by applying it to the bottom of your feet.
You can also try drinking some type of sleepy time or herbal tea before bed that contains something relaxing like chamomile. Chamomile is mild, but it does help with some people. It just helps you calm down a little bit and get prepared for bed. Drinking a nice herbal sleepy type of tea before bed can also be useful.
As far as supplements go, there are many. But the reason why you’re not sleeping or you’re having trouble can vary from person to person, so it’s too complicated to give you a comprehensive list here. It’s best to work with somebody on this. In our clinic, we can help you with a customized protocol, find out why you’re not sleeping and get you on the right supplements for you. One thing to mention in this category, because a lot of people take it, is Melatonin. Stephanie is not a fan except in a case of jet lag and traveling, because what you don’t want to do is take a hormone that’s going to stop your own body’s production or slow it down. It’s best to avoid Melatonin for the most part. You definitely don’t want to take it all of the time, because then you’re going to stop making and producing more of your own.
These are Stephanie’s best tips for getting a better night’s sleep. If you need our help, please let us know. We do offer a free consultation at both of our offices.