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A Good Nights Sleep.

Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

Sleep is integral to life. When you sleep you rest, and rejuvenate, ready for the next day. Sleeping too much or too little effects your life and work for the worse. Fatigue is stressful and it makes it dangerous to drive and operate machinery. Taking control of your sleep patterns can change your life for the better. And you are not always of the mercy of your tiredness or insomnia. There's things you can do to change. Whether it's sleep-hygiene, relaxation, herbal medicine or just having an alarm clock that works for you I assure you the situation is retrievable. So, just read on to find out how. 


Sleep Hygiene

So the question is, what is sleep hygiene.? It basically consists of going to bed and getting up at the same time every morning. It could include sleeping right through the night and not napping during the day if possible. Although I know naps can be nice but try not to. 

Insomnia

Insomnia is a state of not being able to sleep on time if at all. Insomniacs are prone to worry and have a strong belief that they can't sleep. Natural ways to get to sleep are: (1) just relaxing in bed without worrying that you won't get to sleep. (2) Closing your eyes tight and keeping them shut until sleep overcomes you. (3) Following your breathing and keeping calm until you fall asleep. (4) Getting out of bed to do something else for a while. (5) Or you might be prescribed a light box that you gaze into in the mornings to cure your insomnia. 

Somnolence

Somnolence means sleeping, and sleeping too much. It can interfere with work and life. It can be caused by medication, drug interactions, chronic fatigue, or you might just be a long sleeper by nature - in which case you will have to be a bit more flexible about when you wake up. 

Sunrise lamp

A sunrise lamp imitates the sunrise with a light that gradually grows stronger approaching the hour you want to get up, then it has chirping sounds. The sunrise lamp also includes the sunset feature which mimics the sunset in the half hour it takes to go down. After the lamp has set you should be able to get to sleep more easily. I got mine from Amazon. 

Concentrate 

Keep busy during the day. The more productive you are the better you will sleep and wake up nice and early. If you can work yourself into the zone (fully concentrate) and flow-state, your sleep quality will improve.

“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.” - Leonardo Da Vinci.

Sleeping aids. 

There are many supplements, herbs, teas and tinctures that can help you sleep. It might be worthwhile checking with a herbalist what might make you sleep better. Or at least get recommendations from friends and trusted sources. If you have an underlying mental health condition that's affecting your sleep you may need medication for that and that's all. Melatonin is a natural sleeping aid, that can help reset your body clock if you take it at the same time every night. (providing that you don't suffer from side effects). Sleeping pills may be used temporarily but only as a last resort. Muscle relaxers can help, so you can ask your doctor for that and see if it helps. 

Anti-depressants etc.

Sometimes anti-depressants can increase your energy and even if you're not depressed you can use them off label for that. The higher doses may work better. There's also stimulants such as Ritalin and Modafinil that can help you stay awake, and is especially good for shift workers too. Then there's nootropics which some people claim help them get into the zone and stay there. Nootropics can be a bit of a rabbit hole on the web, so make sure you go to trusted sources. One simple hack for energy is to drink some rosemary tea everyday. It's meant to increase energy, focus and even improve your memory. 

Time

If your sleep schedule is really awful, try going to bed ultra early, like at 7.30pm. For some reason, probably because it's more in line with the sun, the earlier you go to sleep the better quality sleep you will have. And the bonus is that you will wake up really early. 

'Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise'. (English proverb)

Body Clock

I know it's hard but you can reset your body clock with a bit of work. Use the sunrise alarm, try not to have too many late nights, use your sleep hygiene, wash your face, have showers, stand up, and keep on the move. 

Medicine

You can see a specialist for your sleeping problems. They will test you for things like sleep apnea, narcolepsy, hypersomnia and, insomnia. And they may follow up with treatment, whether it be relaxants, stimulants or even a machine to help you sleep better. They might even prescribe a light box to help reset your body-clock. They will at the very least give you insight to the problem. If your problem is shift work they can assist with that as well. 

So, are you ready to change a few things for a better night's sleep? If you are, follow my advice; speak with your doctor, see a sleep specialist, Work whilst it's day. Stop pulling all-nighters: Wake up early!  Enjoy a full night of rest every single night. Be a morning person. Live in the light!

  'The early bird catches the worm'. (English proverb).

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