A few points for better, deeper sleep.
- Avoid shift work if you can
- Have a small high carbohydrate snack before bedtime. Carbohydrates
make people feel more relaxed and sleepy.
- Have a hot bath half an hour before bedtime. When your body heats
up to this extent the 'reptilian' brain perceives that you are overheating
and cools the body down. This cooling leads the drop in body temperature
that occurs as we fall asleep.
- Stop watching TV or 'surfing the net' at least an hour before bedtime
as TV and net surfing stimulate the emotions.
- Don't engage in rigorous exercise less than two hours before retiring.
This is not conducive to sleep.
- Don't take any stimulants such as tea or coffee after 6pm.
- Don't use the bedroom for anything other than sleep or sex. For example,
some people work in the bedroom, anchoring the bedroom to concentration
or stress. Don't watch TV from the bed.
- Wearing bed socks or having a hot water bottle near your feet triggers
a widening of the blood vessels and an increased blood flow to the body's
extremities, mirroring what the body does naturally as it redistributes
heat from the body core to the extremities when falling asleep.
- Dairy products (and turkey!) contain a lot of tryptophan, which can
promote the production of serotonin, which encourages deep sleep so
a hot milky drink will probably help you sleep. Note, however, that
cocoa contains caffeine and many products contain large amounts of sugar,
both of which impair sleep onset.
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