One thing that is a key component to both physical and mental health is getting enough sleep. For those who suffer from insomnia, not only is daily life interrupted by fatigue, but the immune system is compromised—inviting illness and disease. Insomnia can also be a symptom of depression or severe anxiety, or can merely be attributed to changes in routine, lifestyle, or environment.
There are several things you can do to self-treat and cope with insomnia, all of which revolve around making simple changes to when you go to bed and what methods are involved.
The first is perhaps the easiest, which is to decrease the time you spend in bed. This means no reading or watching TV in bed, as it confuses the body when bedtime is and promotes restlessness. Another easy technique to combat insomnia is to adhere to a strict schedule, making sure that you get up and get to bed each day at the same—even on weekends. This regulates the body’s natural clock and makes getting to sleep, and waking up, easier. It is also a good idea to avoid extended naps during the day. While a cat-nap or a short rest of approximately 15 minutes is helpful, anything longer makes falling asleep at night more difficult.
The next may come as a surprise, but has been shown to have positive results. Keeping clocks out of your bedroom will remove the obsessive worry your mind has with time, which is distracting and hinders falling asleep. By simply hiding the clock from your line of sight you can focus more on relaxing, and less on panicking about late it is.
Exercising and limiting your alcohol and caffeine intake are also successful ways to treat insomnia. It is also wise to eliminate all noise by using earplugs, keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature, and to not eat or drink right before bed. Furthermore, many people have found that doing activities that are calming, such as meditation or relaxing in a hot bath, help to induce a peaceful nights sleep.
Try a combination of these methods to self-treat insomnia, and a take towards securing mental and physical health.
One thing that is a key component to both physical and mental health is getting enough sleep. For those who suffer from insomnia, not only is daily life interrupted by fatigue, but the immune system is compromised—inviting illness and disease. Insomnia can also be a symptom of depression or severe anxiety, or can merely be attributed to changes in routine, lifestyle, or environment.
There are several things you can do to self-treat and cope with insomnia, all of which revolve around making simple changes to when you go to bed and what methods are involved.
The first is perhaps the easiest, which is to decrease the time you spend in bed. This means no reading or watching TV in bed, as it confuses the body when bedtime is and promotes restlessness. Another easy technique to combat insomnia is to adhere to a strict schedule, making sure that you get up and get to bed each day at the same—even on weekends. This regulates the body’s natural clock and makes getting to sleep, and waking up, easier. It is also a good idea to avoid extended naps during the day. While a cat-nap or a short rest of approximately 15 minutes is helpful, anything longer makes falling asleep at night more difficult.
The next may come as a surprise, but has been shown to have positive results. Keeping clocks out of your bedroom will remove the obsessive worry your mind has with time, which is distracting and hinders falling asleep. By simply hiding the clock from your line of sight you can focus more on relaxing, and less on panicking about late it is.
Exercising and limiting your alcohol and caffeine intake are also successful ways to treat insomnia. It is also wise to eliminate all noise by using earplugs, keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature, and to not eat or drink right before bed. Furthermore, many people have found that doing activities that are calming, such as meditation or relaxing in a hot bath, help to induce a peaceful nights sleep.
Try a combination of these methods to self-treat insomnia, and a take towards securing mental and physical health.
