Not sure if you are getting enough sleep?

Are you taking naps in the day? Are they involuntary sometimes? Do you need your caffeine in the morning in order to function? If you are saying yes to any of these questions (or all of them) then you probably aren’t getting the sleep you need. Here are some basic tips for getting a better sleep.

Have a dark room

Dark helps us sleep. In fact dark encourages the production of melatonin a natural hormone our bodies make that helps us fall asleep. Light wakes us up. It actually inhibits the production of melatonin and encourages us to wake up. Lights are actually used as a tool to wake people up, so if you are trying to sleep in a room with a lot of lights you’re going to have a harder time.

Use your bed only for sleep and sex

It’s pretty common to do things while sitting in bed like work on our laptops or play on our phones. Without boundaries between work and sleep (or sex but we’re talking about sleep here) it can make it harder to get your body into a relaxed sleep mode. If you’re living in a studio apartment while working at home for pandemic purposes this can be a real challenge. So, if there is any way you can create a boundary so that it is very clear when it is time for work and when it is time for bed that’s going to help.

Remove distractions from the environment

This means no televisions or phones if possible. (At least put your phone on silent and set it far enough away that you aren’t picking it up every few minutes – I know we’re all guilty of that me included. Bonus you’re less likely to drop your phone on your face while your lying in bed if you aren’t looking at the phone in the first place.)

Pets can be extremely disruptive to sleep. If you can bring yourself to move them out of the bed or better out of the room that is usually best. I deal with this on a nightly basis with my soft hearted husband’s unwillingness to kick our cat and dog out of the room. This is also something that can really impact allergies, especially if you are someone like me with a mild allergy to your pets who chooses to have them anyway.

Create a calming routine before bed

Generally doing something calming helps people get into a mode where it’s easier to fall asleep. Have you ever gone to a concert or a sporting event that was exciting and weren’t able to go to sleep right away because you were so keyed up? Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You need to calm your body down for a good nights sleep. Making the calming ritual into a routine helps train us into falling asleep easier. We do this with babies and children, but when we become adults our lives get crazy busy and many of us stop. Getting back to a routine is helpful just like it was when you were a kid or when you sleep trained your own kid.

Give yourself enough time to sleep

If you are someone who stays up late and gets up early every day even if you are falling asleep fine you’re probably still really tired because you aren’t getting enough sleep. As adults we need at least 7-9 hours of sleep each night.

Want more guidance on sleep?

Schedule an appointment with Dr. Lofdahl for a personalized treatment plan.

Resources On Sleep:

American Academy of Sleep Medicine https://aasm.org/clinical-resources/patient-info/

Sleep Education from AASM http://sleepeducation.org/essentials-in-sleep/healthy-sleep-habits

American Alliance for Healthy Sleep https://www.sleepallies.org/healthy_sleep.php

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/index.html