Better Sleep, Sweeter Dreams
You deserve – and need – to sleep peacefully and soundly – and awake refreshed. Sleeping well is a habit you can learn with a little practice and effort. Each small change you make can add to big effects. Start today to take steps toward good sleep habits.
Take care of your body:
- Do not drink caffeine after 4 o’clock: no tea, coffee, cola, energy drinks or chocolate.
- Cut down on caffeine in general. Caffeine can cause sleep problems up to ten to twelve hours after drinking it!
- Do not eat a big, rich, heavy, fatty, acidic or spicy meal late in the day.
- Do not go to bed hungry. (See “light snack before bed” below for snack suggestions.)
- Avoid alcohol as it interferes with sleep.
- Avoid drinking too many liquids in the evening.
- Quit smoking. Smoking causes sleep troubles in numerous ways.
Physical exercise
- A brisk walk in the late afternoon can help to make your body tired and help you to sleep.
- Move or exercise every day: a minimum of 30 minutes daily is recommended. You can break up the time: a 10-minute walk here, a 15-minute bike ride there, some housework and so forth.
- In the evening: Relaxing exercises such as yoga or gentle stretching can help promote sleep.
Bedtime routine
Having a regular bedtime routine teaches your body when it’s time to go to sleep.
- Take a warm bath, or have a routine of washing your face and brushing your teeth.
- Have a soothing drink like chamomile tea or a milky drink.
- For some people, a light snack before bed can promote sleep. Tryptophan combined with carbohydrates works best. Good light snack choices:
- A banana
- Half a turkey sandwich
- A small bowl of whole–grain, low–sugar cereal or granola with low–fat milk or yogurt
- Peanut butter or cheese on ½ slice of toast or cracker
Relaxing bedtime rituals
- Read a book or magazine by a soft light
- Listen to soft music
- Do some easy stretches
- Wind down with a favorite hobby
- Listen to books on tape
- Make simple preparations for the next day
Sleep time habits – AKA “Sleep Hygiene”
- Go to bed at the same time each night.
- When in bed, think about nice things. For example:
- Think of 5 pleasant things that happened during the day – they may be big or small, such as a nice conversation, feeling the breeze on your skin, noticing a bird, a tree or the moon, smelling something pleasant, or hearing music you liked.
- Or remember the details of aspects of a past positive experience, like a flower garden or walk in nature. Let yourself experience again the sounds, sights, smells and feelings of it.
- Learn and practice healthy, supportive sleep postures. Once you get used to them, they will improve your posture and body comfort day and night.
- The book, “8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back: Natural Posture Solutions for Pain in the Back, Neck, Shoulder, Hip, Knee, and Foot” http://gokhalemethod.com/8-steps-pain-free-back by Esther Gokhale is an excellent resource.
- Try Gokhale’s stretch-lying back and side postures starting for at least 5 minutes each per night until eventually you will become comfortable sleeping longer in these healing postures.
Relaxing, sleep-inducing techniques
- Do a relaxed breathing exercise with one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest.
- Breathe deeply into your stomach instead of high in your chest.
- Take deep, slow breaths—making each breath even deeper than the last.
- Progressive muscle relaxation. This is an excellent way to put yourself to sleep! Instructions:
- First, tense up your entire body up all over, then relax. Repeat 2 more times.
- Then, starting at your toes and moving up your body, tense each set of muscles as tightly as you can, then completely relax them.
- Tense up (contract the muscles of) your toes and hold to count of 5 seconds, then relax.
- Tense up the balls of your feet, and hold for a count of 5 seconds, then relax.
- Tense up the tops of your feet and hold for a count of 5 seconds, then relax.
- Tense up your heels and hold for a count of 5 seconds, then relax…
- Tense up your ankles…… and so on up your body, working your way from your feet up to the top of your head.
- Repeat as needed.
- Look online or in your local shop that sells CDs for guided sleep and/or relaxation audio recordings that you like.
- Meditate. See “Cultivating Mindfulness” at http://www.catherinelockwoodmft.com/psychological-health/cultivating-mindfulness
- Visualizing a peaceful, restful place. Close your eyes and imagine a place or activity that is calming and peaceful for you. Concentrate on how relaxed this place or activity makes you feel.
Sleep schedule
- Aim for waking up at the same time every day, even if this is tiring in the beginning.
- If you need to make up for lost sleep, opt for a daytime nap rather than sleeping in late.
- Keep daytime napping to a minimum.
- While a nap can be a great way to recharge, especially for older adults, it can make insomnia worse.
- If you must nap, do it in the early afternoon, and limit it to thirty minutes.
- Fight after–dinner drowsiness. If you find yourself getting sleepy before bedtime, get up and do something mildly stimulating to avoid falling asleep, such as washing the dishes, calling a friend, or getting clothes ready for the next day.
Boost daytime light exposure
- Remove your sunglasses in the morning and let light shine onto your face.
- Spend more time outside during daylight. Take breaks outside in sunlight, exercise outside, or walk during the day.
- Let as much light into your home/workspace as possible. Keep curtains and blinds open during the day, move your desk closer to the window.
- Use light therapy. Uplift Technologies’ “day light” brand meets the non-profit Center for Environmental Therapeutics’ www.cet.org specifications: see http://www.day-lights.com/us/usindex.html. A good desk model is the “Sky Lamp” http://www.amazon.com/Day-Light-DL2000-Day-light-Sky/dp/B002WTCHLC. (Light therapy also helps alleviate seasonal depression.)
Raise nighttime melatonin production
- Turn off the TV and computer. Instead, listen to music or audio books, read with a soft light, or practice relaxation exercises. If your favorite TV show is on late at night, record it for viewing later at an earlier hour of the day.
- Don’t read from a backlit device at night (such as an iPad). If you use a portable electronic device to read, use an eReader that is not backlit, i.e. one that requires an additional light source such as a bedside lamp.
- Turn down lights in the evening.
- Use low-wattage light bulbs in the areas of your home where you relax in the evening before bedtime.
- When it’s time to sleep, make sure the room is dark. The darker it is, the better you’ll sleep.
- If you need light during the night, use a weak flashlight or nightlight.
Your bedroom
- Keep noise down. If you can’t avoid or eliminate noise, mask it with a fan, a white noise machine, an air filter that makes some sound, earplugs, soft music or nature sounds, etc.
- Keep your room cool – around 65° F or 18° C – with adequate ventilation.
- Make sure your bed is comfortable
Reserve your bed for sleeping and sex only.
- Your bed should only be used for:
- Sleeping
- Cuddling and sex
- So if you cannot sleep after 30 minutes, don’t stay in bed tossing and turning! Instead:
- Get up and do another quiet activity elsewhere such as reading or listening to music.
- But AVOID THE TV AND THE COMPUTER.
- After 15 minutes, return to bed and try to sleep again.
- If you still can’t sleep after 30 minutes, get up again.
- Repeat this routine as many times as necessary.
Make your bedroom a pleasant place to be
- Keep it clean and neat.
- Introduce nice smells such as a drop of lavender, valerian, vetiver, chamomile, or sandalwood oil on the pillow.
- Have the right pillows to make yourself comfortable
- Feel safe in your home with doors locked and windows closed before you start your sleep-preparation routine.
- To harmonize the chi in your home, a wonderful book is the out-of-print “Feng Shui Directory” by Jane Butler-Biggs (2000), which is still available used online at bargain prices. It is not about old superstitions, but about how your home and environment affect your life. Highly recommended.
Nightmares and bad dreams
Some tips to try…
- Prepare in advance for bad dreams by thinking of a bad dream you’ve had in the past; then imagine a different, more positive ending for it. Practice this new ending many times whenever you have time and before going to sleep.
- Before going to sleep, prepare to re-orient yourself when you wake up from a bad dream.
- Remind yourself that you are at home, that you are safe. Imagine your street, your neighborhood, local businesses….
- Put a damp towel or a bowl of water by the bed to splash on your face.
- Place a special object by the bed, such as a photograph or a small soft toy.
- Practice imagining yourself waking up from a bad dream and reorienting yourself to the present, to safety, by splashing your face, touching a special object, having a bottle of rose or lavender essential oil to sniff, going to the window to see the surroundings.
- When you wake up from a bad dream, move your body and reorient yourself immediately by touching the object, wetting your face, going to the window, and/or talking to yourself in a reassuring way.
- The audio series, “Turning Nightmares into Dreams” by Barry Krakow M.D. Turning Nightmares into Dreams | Products … – Nightmare Treatment is available through the Maimonides International Nightmare Treatment Center website in CD or digital download formats; or on CDs elsewhere.
When to see a sleep doctor…
If you’ve given the tips above some time to work, but are still struggling with sleep problems, you may have a sleep disorder that requires professional treatment.
Consider scheduling a visit with your doctor for a referral or make an appointment directly with a sleep doctor if, despite your best efforts at self–help, you are still troubled by any of the following symptoms:
▪ Persistent daytime sleepiness or fatigue
▪ Loud snoring accompanied by pauses in breathing
▪ Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
▪ Un-refreshing sleep
▪ Frequent morning headaches
▪ Crawling sensations in your legs or arms at night
▪ Inability to move while falling asleep or waking up
▪ Physically acting out dreams during sleep
▪ Falling asleep at inappropriate times
