Eliminating emotional and environmental factors can help improve sleep. Determine your natural sleep cycle, relax before bed, reduce physical and environmental factors, and avoid using electronic devices before sleeping. If taking sleeping pills, follow instructions carefully. Unwinding before bed can lead to better sleep.
Some people find it difficult to sleep through the night without at least one fit of restlessness or unexpected interruption. While over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids might help address the physical aspects of insomnia, many of the issues that make sleep difficult are emotional or environmental in nature. By eliminating or reducing these other factors, it may still be possible to sleep through the night without the dreaded two o’clock bathroom trip or the four o’clock case of dry mouth. Often the key is proper preparation while you’re still awake.
An important factor when trying to sleep through the night is determining your natural sleep cycle and following it. Many people set their bedtime around a work or school schedule, only to find they aren’t ready to sleep in for hours. When they do manage to fall asleep, they may find themselves waking up too early or feeling reluctant to get out of bed at the prescribed time. It’s much better to set your bedtime at the time you start to feel sleepy. If you’re a night owl, you may find yourself better prepared for sleep if you wait a few hours later to go to sleep. An early riser may want to go to bed an hour earlier, rather than risk becoming overtired by staying up watching a late show.
Many sleep experts suggest turning off your television, radio, or computer at least an hour before bedtime to improve your ability to sleep through the night. Too much visual or sound stimulation just before bedtime can keep the brain active for hours, which is not conducive to good sleep. To sleep through the night without restless hours, you should make an active point of relaxing your mind and body during the last hours of an active day. Taking a long, hot bath or practicing relaxation exercises before bed can help you disconnect from the day’s events and focus on your night’s rest.
You should also make an effort to reduce physical and environmental factors that can keep you from sleeping at night. Avoid eating a heavy meal or drinking caffeinated beverages right before bedtime. Make sure you take care of any toilet needs, like urination, before you try to sleep. If there’s a drip in a faucet or a rattle in a window, it might seem to get louder and louder as the night goes on. Control any distractions or use a white noise generator to mask unpleasant sounds. Some people sleep better through the night if they can hear a familiar noise like a fan or clock. Completely eliminating all sights and sounds can be counterproductive, but using a sleep mask to control light cues could be very helpful.
If you decide to take an over-the-counter or prescription sleeping pill, be sure to read and follow all directions on its use. Some sleep aids start to work after about an hour, but their effectiveness can be compromised if you deliberately stay awake after taking them. Let the sleep aids take effect while you’re in bed, not while you’re in front of a TV or computer screen. If you choose not to take a sleeping pill, we recommend that you give yourself at least an hour to unwind from the stresses of the day. If you can successfully shut down the analytical or problem-solving side of your brain and allow sleep to occur naturally, you should be able to sleep through the night without interruption and wake up in the morning feeling like you’ve really rested properly. significant .
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