It’s completely normal to experience insomnia every now and then. It could either be due to lingering thoughts, a change in the environment, or a symptom of any other physical or mental struggle. However, it becomes detrimental to one’s health if it happens too often. You should book an appointment with a top ENT Specialist in Singapore to find out the cause of your sleep deprivation. But in any case, here are 10 tips for a good night’s sleep from the experts!
1.Exercise
Contrary to popular belief, you should not be doing any heavy workouts before you go to bed because it can actually boost your energy and give you a hard time falling asleep.
However, when you’re physically active on a regular basis, your body expends more energy during the day and will require more rest at night. It also helps with insomnia caused by anxiety. The result? Better sleep quality.
2.Relaxing Before Bed Time
One of the most common reasons why people suffer from insomnia is because their brains are cluttered before going to bed. You might feel that processing things before bed increases your productivity but the reality is – it actually makes you sleep-deprived, making you perform poorly at work.
Close the day by making a detailed to-do list for the next day so you don’t feel anxious about it anymore. This way, you get to free your mind from anything that has to do with work and you can focus on relaxing for at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
3.No Screen Time Before Bed
The light that your TV, laptop, or phone emits keeps you awake. It triggers you to stay that way because it inhibits the production of sleep hormones (melatonin). Some people go as far as having a no-tolerance rule when it comes to having devices in their rooms and it does help big time!
4.Develop a Night Time Routine
Self-care experts strongly advocate developing a nighttime routine because it signals your body that it’s time for sleep.
It doesn’t need to be too tiring or too extensive. It can be as simple as a 3-step skincare routine or reading 5 pages from a book. The key to making this effective is by doing it religiously.
5.Fix Your Bedroom
If you haven’t ruled out your bedroom as being the reason for your sleep deprivation yet, then it’s worth taking your time to do so.
Anything that seems to make you restless could be contributing to this problem. It could be the pile of laundry, the noise around, the color of your night light, and the like. Turn your bedroom into a place for rest by making sure it has the right temperature, lighting, and even scent. Yes, diffusers with essential oils are worth checking out!
6.Sleep Quality Matters
Have you ever tried waking up from a long slumber and yet feel so tired? This means that you didn’t have good quality rest.
This happens when our bodily functions such as having the need to pee disrupt our sleeping cycle. Hence, make sure your sleep doesn’t get disturbed by not drinking too many liquids before bed, making sure your door is locked and no one interrupts you or that your phone is on silent.
7.Eating the Right Food
You’ve probably read that tea helps with inducing sleep. While that’s true, there are other foods that could have the same effect. How does turkey or fatty fish sound for dinner?
Turkey has a protein called tryptophan that induces the production of melanin, while fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna have omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D that aid in the production of serotonin for better sleep quality.
8.Avoiding the Wrong Food
Some foods promote sleep and others just end up keeping you awake. A classic example would be coffee, or anything caffeinated. Anything with too much sugar or spice should be avoided before going to bed.
Generally, try your best not to consume too many calories from these sources at least 3 hours before you go to bed because they can spike up your energy.
9.Dim Your Lighting
People who work at night find it hard to sleep in the morning because it’s still pretty bright even with the windows closed.
So do your best to keep your room dark during your slumber so your rest doesn’t get interrupted. You can purchase blackout blinds if you want your room to be pitch dark during the day or you can just switch off everything at night.
10.Stop Watching Your Clock
The more time you spend looking at your watch, the more you get pressured to sleep, and the more you find it difficult to get.
This is why people who want to remain productive and those who want to stick to their body clocks avoid putting clocks or any form of digital watches inside their rooms except for their phones.
Don’t take the quality of your sleep for granted. The better sleep you get, the more rested you are, and the more productive you’ll be at work.
What are you waiting for? Follow these 10 expert tips, and you’ll be well on your way to catching some Zs!
